Plato's Republic: summary and explanation of the book

The Republic It is one of the most important works of Plato, which dates from 370 BC. C., it compiles a large part of his philosophical ideas. It is composed of 10 books in which he reflects, among other things, on what justice is, what a just State is like and what functions man has in the constitution of an ideal State.

In addition, The Republic It involves a debate about politics, justice and ethics, and its main character is Socrates, Plato's teacher, who dialogues on these issues with different personalities. Socrates is here the alter Plato's ego that expresses, in reality, the ideas of his disciple.

Let's see what each book is about by summarizing and explaining the entire work.

Summary of The Republic

Book I: in this book he begins the main theme that covers much of this work: justice. Socrates first reflects on this with Polermachus and then with Thrasymachus.

Book II: Glaucón and Adimanto intervene in this book who want to find out what justice is. There are also topics such as the existence of three types of goods, the characteristics of the just and unjust man. Likewise, Socrates offers the first details of what the ideal state should be like.

Book III: This book focuses on what the education of future guardians should be like. Socrates delves into different disciplines that, according to him, must be "watched over" in the educational process. From the heroes that appear in literature, gymnastics and music, to the images made by artisans.

Book IV: the fourth book begins with the opposition on the part of Adimanto to the words of Socrates, where he affirms that the governors have to do without any type of property. Socrates argues about the need for the city as a whole to be happy, not just one class. Likewise, the philosopher establishes an analogy between the ideal city and the soul.

Book V: Adimanto, Polemarco, Thrasymachus and Glaucón intervene in this part who, dissatisfied with Socrates' answers, want him to continue specifying details about the ideal city. Although Socrates is about to talk about the different forms of government, he first responds about the role of women in that ideal state.

Book VI: Socrates exposes his arguments about why the ideal state should be governed by philosophers. On his part, Adimato points out that most people think that philosophers are strange. Socrates argues in defense of philosophers as rulers and uses two allegories: that of the sun and that of the line.

Book VII: In this part, Socrates talks about the importance of the education of the philosopher-king. Here he exposes the myth of the cave in order to explain the importance of the philosopher as a guide for people to extract them from ignorance and direct them towards knowledge.

Book VIII: Glaucon summarizes the conclusions about the ideal state that Socrates has offered in previous books. Socrates is in charge of describing the four types of government: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Which the philosopher describes as "deficient" forms of government. Socrates goes through each form of government as he imagines the failure of the city.

Book IX: In the ninth book Socrates ends his reflection on the different forms of government, he concludes by talking about the tyrannical man and how he arises from the democratic man. Likewise, Socrates tries to show that the just man is happier than the unjust man.

Book X: In the last book of The Republic, Plato investigates the subject of poetry and poets. Socrates and Glaucon address the expulsion of poets from the Ideal State.

Explanation of The Republic

The influence of Plato's work on Western culture throughout history has been enormous. The impact of Platonic thought has been multidisciplinary since it has not only influenced later philosophy, it has also influenced ethics, politics, literature, psychology and religion. Each era has interpreted Plato's work with the prevailing values ​​at each moment, up to the present day.

The repercussion in later philosophical currents such as Neoplatonism is evident. Also in the dissemination of Christianity, with authors such as Saint Augustine and, later, in scholastic philosophy with Saint Thomas Aquinas.

The Republic explores topics as varied as the organization of the ideal city, the types of government, the role of women in society, education or the Theory of knowledge. To do this, Plato uses different allegories, including one as well known as The Myth of the Cave.

Approach to the end of justice

The concept of justice arises from the first part of the book. Each of the characters has their own impression about the subject, Polermaco, Socrates and Thrasymachus present different opinions:

In the first place, Polemarco considers that justice consists in "doing good to friends and bad to enemies." The idea of ​​justice of this character is related to that attributed to the Greek poet Simonides.

However, Socrates differs from this definition. For the philosopher, justice does not mean being willing to do good things to friends, but in knowing what things are good for them. Acting just means not hurting anyone.

On the other hand, Thrasymachus considers that justice is "what suits the strongest." That is to say, his position defends that what is fair is what is set by the laws that governors set at their convenience and that they impose on the weakest. In this sense, Thrasymachus affirms that the most tyrants, the unjust, are happier because of their tyranny.

Classes of goods

So what kind of goods does justice belong to? In order to frame justice within a type of property, Glaucón affirms that there are three classes of property.

• Desired goods for themselves: they are those that we seek for what they are and not for the results they offer. Within this class of goods would belong, for example, joy.
• Desired goods for themselves and for their consequences: They are the ones we want for the satisfaction they produce and for the results they bring us. An example of this type would be health or vision.
• Goods desired for their usefulness and not for themselves: those who are sought for the advantages they provide, for example, a salary.

Socrates claims that justice is in the second category. That is, in the desired goods for themselves and for their consequences. However, Glaucón understands that ordinary opinion encompasses justice among the goods desired for their usefulness and not for themselves.

Society organization

How can you know what is fair or what is unfair? Socrates determines that it is necessary to first know what is fair for the collective, the city, and then specify the term of individual justice.

In the ideal city that Plato proposes, each person is specialized in some particular profession. In this way, the just State is divided into three estates, each of them fulfilling its specific mission in the city in order to contribute to collective abundance:

• Rulers-philosophers: in charge of directing the citizens.
• Warrior-guardians: they will defend the citizens of the enemies.
• Farmers, artisans and merchants: they will produce the goods necessary for the population.

We see how, for Plato, the ideal state is based on a class division of society. However, for the philosopher these social categories should not be hermetic. That is, belonging to one class or another is not hereditary nor does it have to do with the wealth that each person possesses, but due to the capacities that are manifested since childhood, this is how citizens would be educated to belong to one or the other estate. This way of organizing society is revealed again later, through the myth of metals.

The figure of the guardian of the State appears here, citizens prepared to make war whose qualities, he points out, must be the following: courage, strength, activity and philosophy.

On guardian education

Another of the themes that Plato deals with in The Republic is that of education. The educational system proposed by the philosopher would be strictly controlled so that it outweighs the promotion of the good of the city over individual interests. Thus he establishes how the education of the guardians and the rulers of the city should be.

On the one hand, he emphasizes that they must be those who fear slavery more than death. For this, it is important that during their education, as children, they do not know stories in which the gods comment on injustices. In this sense, he proposes that a kind of censorship be made to some verses of Homer, where gods and men are shown behaving dishonestly. Education, for Plato, must be monitored and the moral literature that promotes the good of the city over the individual must prevail.

Also, guardians and warriors should not own property, beyond what is necessary. Only in this way does Plato understand that his power will be prevented from being abused.

The myth of metals

How to avoid that each person is satisfied with his social position and not to alter the order of the city? Plato proposes that philosophers, the only people who are allowed to lie for the benefit of the state, tell a noble lie to citizens. This would be the myth of metals, which justifies that human beings are shaped by the gods.

In this way, the soul of each individual enters different metals in different proportions, these are: gold, silver, bronze and iron. Each metal corresponds to a social class. Therefore, the estate to which each person in the city belongs is bequeathed by the gods. Thus, according to this myth, the positions would be as follows:

• Gold: rulers
• Silver: Guardians
• Bronze and iron: merchants and craftsmen

City-soul analogy

The ideal city for Plato, in the words of Socrates, is one in which there are four virtues: prudence, courage, temperance and justice.

First of all, the prudence. A prudent city is one that succeeds in its decisions. Within the city, the subjects possessing prudence are the rulers.

Second, the value. This virtue helps to overcome difficulties, have the strength to fight against them and determine what to fear or what not to fear. Courage is what characterizes warriors.

On the other hand, the temperance in the city it determines the moderation of the bodily appetites and the temptations of the senses. This is the main characteristic of farmers, artisans and merchants.

The fourth virtue is Justice that Plato understands as order and harmony. This appears when the previous virtues are given.

Plato establishes an analogy between the State and the individual. He proposes a tripartite division of the individual soul:

• Rational: able to measure, think and calculate
• Irascible: it is the emotional part of the soul
• Appetitive: is the one that is carried away by desires and appetites

All three in balance result in a just man. We understand that the concept of justice for Plato consists of each person fulfilling the "role" that corresponds to him in the city. If the city is "happy" as a result, the citizens will be "happy."

The role of women in the ideal state

Plato considers that both women and men possess the necessary qualities to govern, therefore they must receive the same education. However, on several occasions Socrates refers to the inferiority of women in all aspects.

In a State there is no profession that is properly affected by men or women by reason of their sex, but having endowed nature of the same faculties to all sexes all trades belong in common to both, only that in all of them the woman is inferior to the man.

Philosophers as rulers

So when will the ideal state according to Plato arrive? The philosopher affirms, through Socrates, that this will occur when the philosophers rule. According to Plato, philosophers are the only connoisseurs of knowledge, truth and the Beautiful. Philosophers are the only ones capable of knowing the Forms and, therefore, they have true knowledge.

In this sense, the government that Plato proposes is not democratically elected but only those who know the idea of ​​the Good will be those who are prepared to govern.

To explain the nature of Good, he refers to the Allegory of the sun.

Allegory of the sun

Socrates uses the sun as an analogy to speak of the Good. In this sense, the Good would be like the sun. While the sun makes it possible to see the objects of the visible world through the eye, the Good makes it possible to access the world of ideas through intelligence. In this sense, the following comparison would be established:

• Sun: Good
• Eye: Intelligence
• Sensitive objects: Ideas

Allegory of the line

How does the philosopher come to understand the Form of Good? To get there, Plato metaphorically represents the degrees of knowledge with a line, through which the philosopher passes from the objects perceived by the senses to the abstract ideas of that object. Only the philosopher is capable of reaching the last link on this line. This is divided into the sensible realm and the intelligible realm. Also these two worlds are divided into two other segments. This allegory, in reality, is a preview of what he will develop in The myth of the cave.

Allegory of the cave

The myth of the cave it symbolizes different aspects of the theory of ideas, or of Plato's forms. In it, the philosopher distinguishes between two planes of knowledge: the sensible world and the intelligible world.

Most of us live in a dark cave, chained, looking at a white wall where we see the shadows that the fire behind us cast, which we believe to be reality. However, this reality is not found within the cavern.

The sensible world it is inside the cave, where we find two more planes of that "reality. On the one hand, the imagination (eikasía) is the most adulterated side of all, it is the shadows that the prisoners see. On the other hand, the belief (pistis) refers to the false knowledge that men have about things.

So, if what is inside this cave does not correspond to reality, where does Plato understand that reality is?

The exterior of the cave represents true knowledge, the intelligible world. For Plato, we can only aspire to reality if we stop looking at the wall, believe in the shadows and leave the cave. This world can only be accessed through reason and we find two levels.

On the one hand, the discursive reason (Dianoia), is represented when the prisoner leaves the cave and can see the reflections of the sun on the water. It is very close to getting to the truth.

On the other hand, the supreme knowledge (Noesis), it happens when the prisoner observes the sun, which illuminates the ideas, the sun is the idea of ​​Good. The men and natural objects that he observes would be the ideas.

He may also interest you: Plato's cave myth

Plato's ideal state organization

The ideal city should be made up of women and children, the education of the young, the philosopher-kings should be the best among them and excel in education and in war. Guardians should not have anything private but everything in common. The rest of the citizens must provide what they need to live to the philosopher-kings, so that they can rule.

Four types of government

Plato not only describes the characteristics of a Just State, he also shows the different types of government and how all of them are destined for corruption, as demonstrated by the story. The philosopher makes a kind of historical tour explaining each one of them.

• Timocracy: military rules, honor, and victory are valued above all else. Leaders are chosen for their skills in warfare and not for their wisdom. The soul of the timocratic man is not controlled by reason but by the spirit. "The timocratic man is controlled by emotions."
• Oligarchy: where all political power resides in the rich. Due to the situation of extreme wealth and extreme poverty, the division into two cities occurs, rich and poor are at war with each other. The deficiencies of the oligarchy lead, according to Plato, to a democracy.
• Democracy: arising from a battle that pits the poor against the rich. This for Plato is one of the worst forms of government, it only surpasses tyranny. According to Plato, in the words of Socrates, the good of democracy is freedom and excess freedom leads to tyranny.
• Tyranny: It occurs due to the deterioration of democracy. The people put an individual in power to enforce order in the State and to defend its interests. Once in power, the tyrant removes whoever can block his decisions and his citizens end up as slaves.

Characteristics of the tyrant man

Socrates addresses the subject of pleasures and desires. The tyrant is unable to control his wishes since his soul is not governed by reason, he seeks any means to achieve his wishes. It is just as unhappy as the tyrannical form of government.

The three types of men and happiness

To defend that the just are happier than the unjust Plato understands that there are three types of men, just as the soul is tripartite:

• The man who is dominated by reason and who seeks wisdom and knowledge.
• The man who is governed by the spirit and seeks honor.
• The man who seeks profit and is dominated by his desires.

For Plato the unjust will be the most unfortunate since he is dominated by his wishes and ignores reason. The good and happy life is the one that is guided by reason, the rational part is the one that should govern the soul. In this sense, only the righteous man is happy.

Condemn poetry

For Plato, poets are imitators whose creations are far from the truth. Artists only create copies of ideas, so the fair city should not allow poetry.

ER myth

Socrates uses this myth to prove the immortality of the soul and to show that justice rewards in the afterlife those who have been just. While injustice punishes the unjust.

Er is a soldier who comes back to life after spending several days on a funeral pyre. Man is resurrected in order to tell the living what happens to the souls of the just and the unjust when they die, this decision is made by the gods. The souls of the righteous are gratified when they are born in a new body and their new life will reflect how they have been in the previous one.

We see here how Plato accepts the idea of ​​reincarnation. The immortal soul would be reborn, when the body dies, in one element or another depending on what type of life it had previously led.

Characters

• Socrates: keynote speaker The Republic. He was Plato's teacher and greatly influenced his philosophy. In this work, Socrates is the alter ego of his disciple.
• Cephalus: he is an elderly Greek merchant. In his house all the dialogues take place and he is the one who begins the conversation with Socrates.
• Thrasymachus: sophist and disciple of Socrates. In this work he opposes Sócrate's ideas regarding justice.
• Glaucon: Greek philosopher and brother of Plato. He accompanies Socrates most of the dialogue and tries to find out what justice really means.
• Polemarco: he is the son of Cephalus and a disciple of Socrates. He is one of those who oppose Socrates' speech in The Republic.
• Adimanto: brother of Plato and disciple of Socrates. At first he does not agree with the words of his teacher, however he ends up convincing him.

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• All about Plato: biography, contributions and work of the philosopher
• Socrates' Apology