REPUBLIC—PLATO

BOOK I
Socrates first discusses old age with Cephalus, as well as the benefits of being wealthy
and just. Cephalus believes that to be just, one simply needs to give back what is owed. However,
Socrates points out that one may borrow a weapon, the person borrowed from may go crazy, so
you would no want to return the weapon back to the person, even though that seems to be what is
owed. Cephalus is now out of the discussion. Polemarchus follows up with this idea and says that
doing good to friends and doing bad to enemies is just because that is what is owed to each of
them. However, what about in the case of medicine and cooking? Doctors are supposed to be
curing people, but are they supposed to just kill their enemies, since that is the opposite of curing?
Context is an issue. Also, if they do these bad things, that makes them good at being unjust and
doing useless things. Socrates also points out that we may not know exactly who our friends and
enemies are. Therefore, we may accidentally treat someone the opposite of how they supposedly
should be treated. Finally Socrates explains that treating anyone badly seems like an unjust thing
to do. Thrasymachus then enters the conversation and claims the justice is doing whatever benefit
the stronger person. Socrates clarifies by asking if that means doing what is actually beneficial to
the stronger or what the stronger thinks is more beneficial to him. However, strong rulers
sometimes may make laws that don’t actually work to their advantage. Thrasymachus argues
back that the strong are the ones who know what is beneficial to them. Socrates refutes this by
stating all of the arts and crafts that are done for the benefit of the subjects, not of the
practitioners. Thrasymachus then continues by saying that people who are able to do injustice
without getting caught are much more happy than people who always act justly. He explains this
through a tyrant who is able to satisfy all of his desires. Going off of rulers, Socrates explains that
the best rulers are the one’s who don’t actually want to rule, but only rule in fear of being ruled
by someone inferior. Then, Socrates explains why being just actually leads to a happier life than
would being unjust. He says that the just man is wise and good, the unjust man opposite. Injustice
creates disharmony inside oneself, which prevents them from being able to have effective actions.
Virtue is doing well at something, and the just person will be happier since they have virtue and
can perform the functions of the human soul well. Socrates then realizes that he must define
justice in order for this argument to go anywhere.

BOOK II
Glaucon explains that there are three different types of good; things good in themselves,
things good only for their consequences, and things that good in themselves and in their
consequences. Socrates has placed justice in the last of these three categories. Glaucon believes
that people only practice justice because they are afraid of the consequences of doing injustice.
He explains that they only act justly in order to avoid bad consequences, making justice only
good for its consequences. Glaucon explains this through the story of the ring of Gyges. If
someone turns the ring, they become invisible and, therefore, can do all the injustice they wish
without being caught. They will end up being much happier than the person who sticks to justice.
Also, it really is the reputation for justice that is best. The person with a reputation for injustice
will be less happy than the person with a reputation for justice. Therefore, an unjust person can
have a reputation for being just and will, therefore, be happier than the person who is actually
just. Socrates then attempts to defend justice for what it really is, not just for its reputation. With
this, he begins his journey in creating a city as a metaphor for the individual and talks about how
this city can be just. Socrates first discusses a city in which only basic human necessities are
satisfied. The most efficient way for humans to satisfy the needs of the city is for each human to
do what they are naturally suited to do. After Glaucon describes the city as being “a city of pigs,”
Socrates explains a city that is much more luxurious. Now that it is luxurious though, it will need
an army to defend it .The army will be composed of guardians, professional soldiers, who must
be educated in a very specific way. Socrates then explains how poetry can greatly affect how they
are educated and explains the ideal poetry. This poetry must present the gods only as good forces
doing good things. The gods must not constantly change form, as is common in Homer’s poetry.
Finally, the gods must not lie or deceive others, another common occurrence in Homer’s poetry
(story of Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Ares).

BOOK III
Continuing on the ideal form of poetry, Socrates explains that the underworld should not
be portrayed as a bad place. In the current times, the underworld seems like a place to be avoided,
which causes people to fear death. However, if they want effective guardians, there can be no fear
of death. Additionally, heroes and gods shouldn’t be portrayed as lamenting and mourning; this
will help in developing courage in the guardians. Poetry should not make people laugh violently.
It should also convey that the guardians ought to tell the truth, but that it is also okay to lie only
when necessary. Poetry should promote the idea of self-discipline and obedience. It should not
include stories that contribute to extreme greed for wealth or materials. Finally, it should not
include stories that contribute to excessive pride or self-confidence. Socrates then explains how
this poetry ought to be told. The two different ways a story can be told are narrative and imitative
narrative. It is bad to imitate things because then you may eventually take on the form of that
thing; therefore, only narrative poetry is acceptable. When actually telling the story, only certain
modes and rhythms are allowed (they must fit the content of the poetry; for example, a mode
could be heroic for a heroic poem). If these rules are followed and good art is created, then people
are more likely to form good character, and people are more likely to follow their reason. The
second component of the education of the guardians is physical training. This physical training
should adequately prepare them for war. As children, they should be led into war on horseback,
so that they can experience war but flee quickly if needed. They also need a careful diet and
habits that allow them to avoid doctors as much as possible. The physical education really needs
to focus on creating a soul that is in good condition, as opposed to just a body that is in good
condition. A good soul can lead to a good body, but a good body does not necessarily lead to a
good soul. Socrates continues by explaining how these guardians will be chosen. He says that
they need to be older, strong, wise, and be willing to do only what is advantageous for the city.
He shall not do what is advantageous for himself, but what is advantageous for the city. These
guardians then must tell a noble lie as to why they are in the high position they are in. This lie
basically says that each person is made up of different precious metals; those made up of gold
will be the rulers, guardians will be silver, and skilled workers will be bronze. Stepping away
from the noble lie, Socrates explains that the guardians must not have private property, they must
have little privacy, and they will receive what they need through taxation of the other classes.

BOOK IV
Adiemantus points out that these conditions will not lead to very happy guardians.
However, Socrates points out that the point is to make the city as a whole as happy as it can be,
not any particular class. He explains this through painting a statue; even if the artist wants to
make the eye look absolutely beautiful and paint it purple, it would not look good on the statue as
a whole. In order for the city to be as happy as possible, there should neither too much poverty
nor too much wealth. Also, the city should not become so big that it is no longer unified and
stable. In order to create unity, the wives and children will be shared by virtually everyone. In
addition to this idea, Socrates says that education and other aspects of the city should essentially
stay the same; it should be very difficult to change them. Regarding religion, the city will just
follow basic Greek customs. Now that the city has essentially been founded, Socrates moves on
to discuss justice. He describes four different virtues in a city/soul: wisdom, courage, moderation,
and justice. Wisdom is associated with the rulers in the city and the knowledge that they have to
rule well. Courage is associated with the auxiliary and them knowing what to fear and what not to
fear. Moderation is associated with people following the city’s structure regarding who should
rule and who shouldn’t. Finally, justice consists of each person in the city doing what they are
naturally suited to do. These four virtues correspond to virtues in an individual, namely
rational/reason, courage/spirited, and desire/appetitive parts of the soul. When a person is just, the
three parts of the soul are functioning as they should.

BOOK V
Socrates spends this book discussing the role of women and children in the city. Women
should be given the opportunity to perform the same jobs as men. They do still differ by nature
and, therefore, will be naturally inclined to do some things differently, though. However, when it
comes to protecting and ruling the city, these natural differences are irrelevant. This is not only
feasible, but also it is the best option since you will be looking across all humans to find the
absolute best person to rule the city. Socrates then elaborates on the idea that all wives and
children should be shared among the city. To do this, there will be ceremonies where everyone
has sex with other members of the city. The best men will have sex with the best women and the
most women in order to increase the chances of creating more people in the city similar to them.
This will be chosen by a rigged lottery system that the members of the city don’t know about. The
children will be taken away from the parents and reared together. This way no one will no who
their children are, but this also means that some people may end up having sex with their
biological family members. This idea will percolate unity throughout the city. Glaucon then
forcedly asks Socrates if this city is actually feasible and realistic. Socrates responds by saying
that it is still a feasible metaphor for the soul even if the city does not actually come to exist.
However, if the city were to actually come into existence, it would have to be ruled by
philosopher kings. Philosophers love and pursue all wisdom and are obsessed with the sight of
truth. Philosophers are the only ones who are actually able to see the “forms” behind appearances.
Socrates claims that if you don’t know about the forms, then your thoughts are simply opinions
and not the truth. Opinions are based off of appearances, while knowledge is based off of forms.

BOOK VI
Socrates explains why the rulers of the city should be philosopher kings. First, they are
better able to know the truth, and they, therefore, have the relevant knowledge with which to rule.
They also have the necessary virtues to rule. They love what is rather than what becomes, they
don’t approve of falsehood, they have moderation, they have courage, they are able to learn
quickly, they have a good memory, and they have a pleasant nature. Adiemantus claims that
philosophers are actually useless and bad people. Socrates refutes this with an example of a ship.
The captain may seem old and feeble, but he is the one that truly knows how to steer the ship.
The sailors will try to appoint another sailor that seems more fit, but he in reality is not. Socrates
also proves another point with doctors. He says that like doctors, who do not beg patients to let
them cure them, neither does a philosopher beg people to let him rule them. Going back to
Adiemantus’ claim that philosophers are bad, Socrates says that there are many people who have
the potential to become philosophers, but their education corrupts and ruins them. They must
receive a proper education in order to become a proper philosopher. Then there are people
(sophists) who falsely claim to be philosophers, which must be avoided in education. In addition,
to avoid becoming corrupt he should avoid politics and lead a quiet private life. Philosophy has to
also become a respected presence in already existing cities. Especially since those with
philosophical natures need to have been raised their entire lives around the god education
surrounding philosophy. Therefore, in order to bring philosophy into a city, the city just needs to
be wiped clean and started again from scratch. These ideas truly are the best way for a city to
exist and are not entirely impossible to bring about. Socrates then explains how the philosophers
ought to be educated. First and foremost, the must study the form of the good. It is difficult to say
what the good is, and it is neither pleasure nor knowledge. He explains what the good is through
an analogy of the sun. The sun illuminates objects so that we can see them, just as the good
illuminates objects of knowledge so that the human soul can see them. The sun also gives things
their ability to be, just as the good provides the objects of knowledge with their ability to be. To
explain the form of good even further, he uses the line analogy (see lecture notes).

BOOK VII
This book first describes the allegory of the cave (see lecture notes). He then continues to
explain the education that philosophers ought to receive if they are to truly understand the forms.
Like guardians, they will need to be educated in poetry and physical education. In addition to this,
however, they must receive a solid education in math, specifically arithmetic, plane geometry,
and solid geometry. They will then study astronomy and harmonics. Finally, they will study
dialectic, which is the best way to understand forms and the good. It is through discussion that
this will happen. In order to receive this kind of education, they will early on need to exhibit the
qualities of a philosopher. After learning dialectic, the philosopher will practice politics for
fifteen years. In order to bring philosophers into an already existing city and have them rule, it
would be necessary to expel everyone over the age of ten, for it is too late for them to begin the
education of a philosopher.

BOOK VIII
Socrates explains the four unjust types of regimes and the types of individuals that are
associated with each one. Socrates says that he will explain the process of decay caused by the
inevitable mistakes of rulers, lack of unity, and rulers who are not meant to be rulers. The first
deviant from an aristocracy would be a timocracy. This type of government emphasizes pursuit of
honor rather than wisdom and justice. This will cause the city to become militaristic. A timocracy
is brought about when an individual hears his mother complain about the father’s lack of interest
in honor and success. At this point, the timocratic individual is teetering between reason and
spirit. Out of timocracy arises the oligarchy. Oligarchies are brought about when people pursue
wealth, causing a growing gap between the rich and the poor. This will lead to drones and a high
crime rate. This form of government comes about when an individual sees his father lose his
possessions and beings to greedily pursue wealth. The oligarchic soul is teetering between the
spirited and appetitive virtues. Out of oligarchy arises democracy. When the rich become too rich
and the poor become too poor, the rich become too soft and are easily defeated when the poor
revolt against them. This causes freedom and people will begin to hold office without the
necessary knowledge. Everyone is treated equally and people begin to pursue and desire whatever
they wish. The appetitive part is now ruling the soul. This comes about when an individual’s
education allows him to transition from desiring money to desiring bodily and material goods.
Finally, out of democracy arises tyranny. This comes about when the desire for freedom and
doing what one wants becomes far too extreme. It has come to the point where any limitation on
one’s freedom seems unfair. The tyrant at first presents himself as a champion who appears to be
for the people. However, in order to gain his position he must use deceit, kill people, exile people,
and cancel debts of the poor to gain their support. He then tries to eliminate the rich and the
brave, essentially anyone who could overthrow him. He is forced to choose to live with the
worthless people (the poor people) so that he does not risk being overthrown. He uses
mercenaries as guards since he cannot trust his citizens, and he has a very large army and spends
all of the cities money. Furthermore, he will not resist killing anyone who stands in his way, even
if they are his own family members.

BOOK IX
 Socrates then discusses the nature of the tyrannical individual. He first points out that
there are both necessary and unnecessary desires. If the rational part of the soul is functioning
correctly, then the individual will be able to control their unnecessary desires (appetitive part of
the soul). The tyrannical soul emerges from democracy when the desires become too extreme and
they lust for everything. The tyrant will not let anyone stop him in getting what he wants. In the
end, some of these tyrannical individuals will actually manage to become tyrants of a city. They
only associate themselves with people who flatter them and are altogether incapable of
friendship. The tyrannical individual is the unhappiest type of individual. The tyrannical city is
enslaved and so is the tyrannical soul. He will be least likely to do what he wants, he will be poor
and unsatisfiable, and he will be fearful and always lamenting. In the end, this proves that the just
person is the happiest person. In order to prove this point further, Socrates first distinguishes three
different types of people: those who pursue wisdom, those who pursue honor, and those who
pursue profit. The person with wisdom should be trusted the most when asked which type of life
is the most pleasant since he is able to consider all three types of living. As a final point for
proving that just people are happier, Socrates analyzes what pleasure is. He says that relief from
pain may be pleasant and that bodily pleasures are merely a relief from pain but not true pleasure.
True pleasure comes from understanding, since understanding implies pursuing objects that are
permanent, as opposed to money or honor. If the rational part of the soul is indeed ruling, then
people will be able to find their true pleasures. People who live justly actually live a life that is
729 times happier than the life lived unjustly.

BOOK X
Socrates returns to the subject of imitative poetry, which should most definitely be
excluded. He then moves on to the topic of imitation as a whole. Socrates explains this through a
couch; there is the form of the couch, the particular couch, and the painting of the couch. Poets
and painters produce these imitations without knowledge of the actual truth—they produce
imitations of imitations. If poets actually had knowledge, then they wouldn’t be poets; they would
be someone who is actually doing great things. The poet’s knowledge is inferior to the maker of
the products they are imitating, whose knowledge (as stated previously) is inferior to the
knowledge of the user of that product. Socrates then looks into how this imitation can affect its
audiences. It is like an optical illusion; the imitation causes the different parts of the soul to be at
war with each other, which is an outright form of injustice. It even has the power to corrupt
decent people. As stated earlier, only poetry that praises the gods and good humans should be
allowed—not imitative poetry. Glaucon then raises the question of whether or not the soul is
immortal. Socrates says that when things are destroyed, they are destroyed by their own evil.
Therefore, the body can be destroyed by its evil. The evils that would possibly destroy the soul
are ignorance, injustice, and other vices. However, these evils do not have the power to destroy
the soul and, therefore, the soul is immortal. Socrates then moves back to the advantages of being
just. He says that the gods love the just and hate the unjust, and good things will come to the
people whom the gods love. He then tells the Myth of Er, which demonstrates reward and
punishment in the afterlife. First, the souls of the dead are each determined whether they were
just or unjust. Certain people get rewarded or punished more than others, which is described by
Socrates through different multiples. The souls are then each randomly given a number, which
determines the order in which they will choose their souls. The first person typically chooses the
tyrannical soul because he does not read the fine print. There are more than enough souls to be
chosen from, so it is not as if the final person is stuck with the only remaining soul. Socrates ends
the book by wishing Glaucon and the others to do well in life and in the afterlife.