Plato Republic Book 6 Pdf

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TheRepublic (Greek: Πολιτεία, translit. Politeia; Latin: De Republica[1]) is a Socratic dialogue, authored by Plato around 375 BC, concerning justice (δικαιοσύνη), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man.[2] It is Plato's best-known work, and one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically.[3][4]

However, the first book of the Republic, which shares many features with earlier dialogues, is thought to have originally been written as a separate work, and then the remaining books were conjoined to it, perhaps with modifications to the original of the first book.[8]

While visiting Athens's port, Piraeus, with Glaucon, Socrates is invited to join Polemarchus for a dinner and festival. They eventually end up at Polemarchus' house where Socrates encounters Polemarchus' father Cephalus.

In his first philosophical conversation with the group members, Socrates gets into a conversation with Cephalus. The first real philosophical question posed by Plato in the book is when Socrates asks "is life painful at that age, or what report do you make of it?"[9] when speaking to the aged Cephalus.

Cephalus answers by saying that many are unhappy about old age because they miss their youth, but he finds that "old age brings us profound repose and freedom from this and other passions. When the appetites have abated, and their force is diminished, the description of Sophocles is perfectly realized. It is like being delivered from a multitude of furious masters."[9] The repose gives him time to dedicate himself to sacrifices and justice so that he is prepared for the afterlife.

Thrasymachus then responds to this refutation by claiming that insofar as the stronger make mistakes, they are not in that regard the stronger. Socrates refutes Thrasymachus with a further argument: Crafts aim at the good of their object, and therefore to rule is for the benefit of the ruled and not the ruler.

At this point, Thrasymachus claims that the unjust person is wiser than the just person, and Socrates gives three arguments refuting Thrasymachus. However, Thrasymachus ceases to engage actively with Socrates's arguments, and Socrates himself seems to think that his arguments are inadequate, since he has not offered any definition of justice. The first book ends in aporia concerning the essence of justice.

Adeimantus supplements Glaucon's speech with further arguments. He suggests that the unjust should not fear divine judgement, since the very poets who wrote about such judgement also wrote that the gods would grant forgiveness to those who made religious sacrifice.

Socrates suggests that they use the city as an image to seek how justice comes to be in the soul of an individual. After attributing the origin of society to the individual not being self-sufficient and having many needs which he cannot supply himself, Socrates first describes a "healthy state" made up of producers who make enough for a modest subsistence, but Glaucon considers this hardly different than "a city of pigs." Socrates then goes on to describe the luxurious city, which he calls "a fevered state".[10] Acquiring and defending these luxuries requires a guardian class to wage wars.

They then explore how to obtain guardians who will not become tyrants to the people they guard. Socrates proposes that they solve the problem with an education from their early years. He then prescribes the necessary education, beginning with the kind of stories that are appropriate for training guardians. They conclude that stories that ascribe evil to the gods or heroes or portray the afterlife as bad are untrue and should not be taught. They also decide to regulate narrative and musical style so as to encourage the four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice and temperance. Socrates avers that beautiful style and morally good style are the same. In proposing their program of censored education, they are repurifying the luxurious or feverish city. Socrates counters the objection that people raised in censorship will be too naive to judge concerning vice by arguing that adults can learn about vice once their character has been formed; before that, they are too impressionable to encounter vice without danger.

They suggest that the second part of the guardians' education should be in gymnastics. With physical training they will be able to live without needing frequent medical attention: physical training will help prevent illness and weakness. Socrates claims that any illness requiring constant medical attention is too unhealthy to be worth living. By analogy, any society that requires constant litigation is too unhealthy to be worth maintaining.

Socrates asserts that both male and female guardians be given the same education, that all wives and children be shared, and that they be prohibited from owning private property so that guardians will not become possessive and keep their focus on the good of the whole city. He adds a third class distinction between auxiliaries (rank and file soldiers) and guardians (the leaders who rule the city).

In the fictional tale known as the myth or parable of the metals, Socrates presents the Noble Lie (γενναῖον ψεῦδος, gennaion pseudos), to convince everyone in the city to perform their social role. All are born from the womb of their mother country, so that all are siblings, but their natures are different, each containing either gold (guardians), silver (auxiliaries), or bronze or iron (producers). If anyone with a bronze or iron nature rules the city, it will be destroyed. Socrates claims that if the people believed "this myth...[it] would have a good effect, making them more inclined to care for the state and one another."[11] Socrates claims the city will be happiest if each citizen engages in the occupation that suits them best. If the city as a whole is happy, then individuals are happy.

Socrates proceeds to search for wisdom, courage, and temperance in the city, on the grounds that justice will be easier to discern in what remains (427e). They find wisdom among the guardian rulers, courage among the guardian warriors (or auxiliaries), temperance among all classes of the city in agreeing about who should rule and who should be ruled. Finally, Socrates defines justice in the city as the state in which each class performs only its own work, not meddling in the work of the other classes (433b).

Socrates, having to his satisfaction defined the just constitution of both city and psyche, moves to elaborate upon the four unjust constitutions of these. Adeimantus and Polemarchus interrupt, asking Socrates instead first to explain how the sharing of wives and children in the guardian class is to be defined and legislated, a theme first touched on in Book III. Socrates is overwhelmed at their request, categorizing it as three "waves" of attack against which his reasoning must stand firm. These three waves challenge Socrates' claims that

The Allegory of the Cave primarily depicts Plato's distinction between the world of appearances and the 'real' world of the Forms.[17] Just as visible objects must be illuminated in order to be seen, so must also be true of objects of knowledge if light is cast on them.

Plato imagines a group of people who have lived their entire lives as prisoners, chained to the wall of a cave in the subterranean so they are unable to see the outside world behind them. However a constant flame illuminates various moving objects outside, which are silhouetted on the wall of the cave visible to the prisoners. These prisoners, through having no other experience of reality, ascribe forms to these shadows such as either "dog" or "cat". Plato then goes on to explain how the philosopher is akin to a prisoner who is freed from the cave. The prisoner is initially blinded by the light, but when he adjusts to the brightness he sees the fire and the statues and how they caused the images witnessed inside the cave. He sees that the fire and statues in the cave were just copies of the real objects; merely imitations. This is analogous to the Forms. What we see from day to day are merely appearances, reflections of the Forms. The philosopher, however, will not be deceived by the shadows and will hence be able to see the 'real' world, the world above that of appearances; the philosopher will gain knowledge of things in themselves. At the end of this allegory, Plato asserts that it is the philosopher's burden to reenter the cave. Those who have seen the ideal world, he says, have the duty to educate those in the material world. Since the philosopher recognizes what is truly good only he is fit to rule society according to Plato.

As this socioeconomic divide grows, so do tensions between social classes. From the conflicts arising out of such tensions, the poor majority overthrow the wealthy minority, and democracy replaces the oligarchy preceding it. In democracy, the lower class grows bigger and bigger. The populism of the democratic government leads to mob rule, fueled by fear of oligarchy, which a clever demagogue can exploit to take power and establish tyranny where no one has discipline and society exists in chaos. In a tyrannical government, the city is enslaved to the tyrant, who uses his guards to remove the best social elements and individuals from the city to retain power (since they pose a threat), while leaving the worst. He will also provoke warfare to consolidate his position as leader. In this way, tyranny is the most unjust regime of all.

In parallel to this, Socrates considers the individual or soul that corresponds to each of these regimes. He describes how an aristocrat may become weak or detached from political and material affluence, and how his son will respond to this by becoming overly ambitious.The timocrat in turn may be defeated by the courts or vested interests; his son responds by accumulating wealth in order to gain power in society and defend himself against the same predicament, thereby becoming an oligarch. The oligarch's son will grow up with wealth without having to practice thrift or stinginess, and will be tempted and overwhelmed by his desires,[18] so that he becomes democratic, valuing freedom above all.[18] The democratic man is torn between tyrannical passions and oligarchic discipline, and ends up in the middle ground: valuing all desires, both good and bad. The tyrant will be tempted in the same way as the democrat, but without an upbringing in discipline or moderation to restrain him. Therefore, his most base desires and wildest passions overwhelm him, and he becomes driven by lust, using force and fraud to take whatever he wants. The tyrant is both a slave to his lusts, and a master to whomever he can enslave. Socrates points out the human tendency to be corrupted by power leads down the road to timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. From this, he concludes that ruling should be left to philosophers, who are the most just and therefore least susceptible to corruption. This "good city" is depicted as being governed by philosopher-kings; disinterested persons who rule not for their personal enjoyment but for the good of the city-state (polis). The philosophers have seen the "Forms" and therefore know what is good. They understand the corrupting effect of greed and own no property and receive no salary. They also live in sober communism, eating and sleeping together.

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