Notes on

The Republic
Plato
(Book I) Part One - Introduction
1. Prelude
• A discussion concerning Cephalus (Polemarchus' father)'s wealth turns to one
concerning the definition of right/wrong
• Cephalus suggests that right is truthfulness and repayment of debt
• Socrates points out that these actions can sometimes be right but sometimes wrong

2. The Conventional View of Justice Developed

• Polemarchus argues that justice is giving every man his due
• Socrates shows that by 'due' is not meant what has been borrowed but what one
deserves
• Polemarchus agrees that justice appears to be helping friends and harming enemies
• It is agreed that a friend is one who seems good and honest, since a mans preference
depends on what he thinks is true
• Socrates asserts that, if this is true, then, because men are often mistaken in there
judgements, it may be justified to help ones enemies and harm ones friends
• Polemarchus suggests that a friend is one who both seems and is good
• Hence justice is to do good to ones friends who are good and evil to ones enemies who
are evil
• Socrates argues that if men are harmed they become more unjust, therefore it is not the
function of a good (just) man to do harm to either friends or enemies
• It is concluded that it is never right to do harm to anyone therefore the idea that justice is
to give every man his due is incorrect

3. Thrasymachus and the Rejection of Conventional Morality

i. FIRST STATEMENT AND CRITICISMS
• Thrasymacus suggests that justice is whatever is in the interest of the stronger party (in
this case the ruling party)
• It is thus right to obey the leading power
• Socrates points out that the leaders, being human, sometimes make mistakes
• If it is right to obey the ruling power then it follows that it is right to sometimes act against
the interest of the stronger party (on the occasion that a mistake is made)
• Thrasymachus argues that when the leader makes a mistake he cannot be said to be
the 'stronger party' at that time, therefore the stronger party is infallible and does not
make mistakes
• Socrates argues that 'no [study/skill] enforces the interest of the controlling or stronger
party, but rather of the weaker party subjected to it' e.g. medicine aims at improving
bodily defects, a captain gives orders in the interest of his crew etc.
• Therefore no ruler [presumably so on behalf of his elite skill in the particular field] acts in
his own interest but in the interest of the weaker party who are subjects to/of his skill

 ii. SECOND STATEMENT AND FINAL REFUTATION
• Thrasymachus argues that the just man (who acts in accordance to the interests of the
stronger party) is worse off than the injust man (who acts for his own interest and profit),
he claims that injustice has greater strength
• He also argues (again) that the stronger party does act in its own interests, he gives the
example of a shepherd, who tends his flock in order to gain a meal from the sheep
afterward or sell them for profit
• Socrates claims that, in fact, the shepherd acts solely for the benefit of his ship, it is the
businessman who thinks of profit and the "prospective guest at a feast' who thinks of
food
• Socrates suggests that rulers do not want to rule but must be persuaded by a wage: "no
man will benefit from his profession unless he is paid for it" - this shows that a ruler does
not rule to benefit himself (the stronger party, he rules to benefit his subjects (the weaker
party), his own benefit is his wage
• A good man will not consent to govern for money or honours for fear of being accused of
being a mercenary or thief, therefore he must be motivated by punishment if he refuses

• Socrates then turns to Thrasymachus' statement that the unjust man is better than the
just
• It is established that the unjust man (who, according to T, is good and wise) competes
with both the just and the unjust (like and unlike) whilst the just man competes only with
the unjust (unlike)
• Socrates gives examples to show that intelligent professionals (wise men) compete only
with the unlike (those of different profession/skill)
• He concludes that the man who is wise (and therefore good) will compete with his
opposite, whilst the ignorant man (bad) will compete with opposite and like
• As previously shown, the unjust man competes with opposite and like, making him
analogous to the bad and ignorant man

• Against the claim that injustice is stronger than justice Socrates argues that the injust
man, if completely so, would be incapable of working with anyone to achieve anything for
he would be in competition with everyone, including the Gods
• To show that the just man is happier than the unjust Socrates explains, firstly, that the
function off a thing is that which it does best, or is best done by/with it, and, furthermore,
that a thing with a function has a particular excellence without which it could not perform
its function
• He then argues that life is a function of the mind, so that a mind with no particular
excellence leads a bad life
• The just mind is one with particular excellence and therefore the just man leads a good
and happy life and the injust man the reverse
(Book II) 4. Adeimantus and Glaucon Restate the Case for Injustice
i. GLAUCON ARGUES THAT JUSTICE IS MERELY A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE
• Glaucon describes the origin of justice as an intermediate between what is most
desirable (to do wrong and avoid punichment) and least desirable (to suffer wrong and
be unable to rectify/retaliate)
• Justice is not good in itself but in respect to the fact that it avoids punishment and
wrongness
• Glaucon argues that the just man is only so for fear of being punished - if he were able
to act injustly and was guaranteed not to be caught, he would do so. "no man is just of
his own free will, but only under compulsion"
• In extreme forms, the unjust man is described as being able to commit the worst crimes
whilst avoiding detection and appearing to be just, whilst the just man is the opposite, i.e.
has the worst reputation but does no wrong (modest)
• It is clear from this that the unjust man has a happier life as he enjoys the benefits of his
wrongdoing whilst avoiding punishment, whereas the just man is punished for wrongs he
has not done and is therefore unhappy

ii. ADEIMANTUS STRESSES THE UNWORTHY MOTIVES COMMONLY GIVEN FOR

RIGHT CONDUCT
• Adeimantus argues that justice is usually favoured, not for its own value but because it
brings a good reputation
• Adeimantus claims also that the common view holds justice and the good life as difficult
to achieve whilst injustice is easy
• Adeimantus challenges Socrates to defend justice in virtue of its inherent effects and
not its appearance and to show that it is good whilst injustice is evil (in the same way)

Part Two - Preliminaries

1. First Principles of Social Organisation
• Socrates proposes to examine justice in a community (on a larger scale) before
comparing it to justice in an individual, he does this by looking at the origins of a society
to see how justice/injustice begin
• Society originates because individuals are not self-sufficient, needs include food and
shelter so smallest state requires 4/5 men (farmer, builder, weaver, shoemaker etc)
• Better to exercise one skill so each man will provide enough product of his labour for all
• More men needed (smiths, craftsmen, shepherd, stockmen, cowherd)
• Tradesmen and merchants must gather imports, (seafareers also needed therefore men
must make not only enough for society but enough to trade = increase in number of
farmers etc.
• Market to exchange products of individual labour requires retailers to buy and sell
• Wage-earners are those who exchange their strength for money
2. Civilized Societies
• Luxuries such as delicacies, scents, embroidery and fine arts are introduced causing the
state to be enlarged once more
• Neighbouring states also enlarge, causing war over territory and requiring the addition of
an army

3. Qualities Required in the Guardians

• Keen perception
• Speed in pursuit of quarry
• Strength and courage to fight
• High-spirited; fearless and indomitable in the face of danger
• The disposition of a philosopher to ensure gentleness to citizens but aggression to
enemies

Part Three - Education: The First Stage

1. Secondary or Literary Education
i. THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
• Socrates begins with the education of the mind and character which includes fiction
(firstly) and non-fiction stories
• Most influence occurs at a young age therefore we must allow only stories we think are
suitable
• Most existing poetry/stories are unsuitable because they “misrepresent the nature of
gods and heroes”
• Some suggest that committing crime or punishing ones father unmercifully are actions of
the gods
• Others suggest that wars, plots and battles among the gods are common, thus
promoting quarrelsomeness
• God must only be represented as he really is (good) as children do not understand
allegory
• Good is beneficial and the cause of well-being, god is good so causes only good and not
evil
• “Gods beauty and goodness are perfect” so he remains in his own form (things which
are good are not likely to change form from external factors, and, since god is perfect he
would not willingly change)
• God has no use for falsehood or deceit for he is all-knowing
• Therefore stories telling of transformations of or deceit from gods must be rejected
• This enables the Guardians to “grow up godfearing and holy” to respect and honour
gods and parents and to learn the importance of love

(Book III) ii. MORAL EDUCATION

• Existing poetry is also unsuitable in the sense that it encourages moral weakness
• Negative accounts of the afterlife produce a nervous, weak spirit which fears death
• The good man is most self-sufficient and does not fear nor lament loss of life or property
• Accounts of deceit encourage lying and similar behaviour
• The Guardians must be encouraged to exercise self-control so stories of greed must be
rejected
• This ensures that the Guardians are courageous and high-spirited

iii. FORMAL REQUIREMENTS

• Socrates proposes next to give an account of the presentation of literature
• Fiction falls into three classes: representation (tragedy, comedy etc), narrative (lyric
poetry) and a mixture of both (epic poetry).
• The Guardians should not be introduced to other roles/characters/skills not encouraged
to pursue any (since it is optimal for each person to exercise only one skill).
• Therefore the form of literature should be purely narrative (representation involves
imitation of multiple characters which, it was established, is contrary to the optimum)
• Furthermore literature should only be allowed to represent/describe the good man/life

iiii. MUSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Socrates moves on to discuss music and song
• Song consists of three elements: words, mode and rhythm
• Content and form of words equate to those above
• Socrates concludes that, as the mode and rhythm suit the words of songs, only two
modes are required “one stern, one pleasant, which will best represent sound courage
and moderation in good fortune or in bad”
• There is no need for instruments with a wide harmonic range e.g. flutes, harps etc.
• Rhythms must suit a life of courage and discipline
• Beauty and ugliness/good and bad characters, results from good/bad music respectively
therefore music (and other art/craftsmen), like literature must be limited to only represent
the good
• This will ensure that the Guardians are able to distinguish between beauty and ugliness
of character, thus enabling him to recognise his friends from his enemies
• Socrates mentions that whilst the Guardian may be attracted to beauty and fall in love
with it he may not express or engage in physical pleasure (sex) as this demonstrates a
lack of self-control and discipline

2. Physical Education
• Physical excellence does not produce a good mind and character but excellence of the
latter will produce the former
• Drunkenness is forbidden
• Luxurious food and excessive exercise produce disease
• Simplicity produces health of body i.e. simple food and training
• A good doctor must have knowledge of medical science and also a great deal of
experience with disease and illness
• Only those who give useful contributions to society should be cured/treated
• Anyone whose illness interrupts their ability to work should be left to die since treatment
will only prolong an unhappy life and produce unhealthy children
• A good judge should be an old man who has acquired a knowledge (but no personal
experience) of evil in later life
• Excessive exercise produces an uncivilized character whilst insufficient exercise
produces a weak character
• A balance must therefore be provided between education of the intellect and of the body

Part Four - Guardians and Auxiliaries

1. The Three Classes and Their Mutual Relations
• The best (most likely to devote their lives to the interest of the community) of the elder
Guardians must govern, the others be governed
• The best Guardians are found by being submitted to various tests throughout their lives
and surviving them unscathed
• Auxiliaries are those who are educated to become Guardians but are not chosen, they
assist the Rulers
• Socrates fashions a story to tell the members of his community, essentially they are all
brothers, but the Rulers contain gold, the Auxiliaries silver and the workers bronze and
iron.
• In this way there is a shared kinship yet a distinct separation of classes which must
remain distinct in all cases; if a bronze child is born to gold parents it must be demoted to
its proper class and vice versa
• “The state will be ruined when it has Guardians of silver or bronze”

2. The Rulersʼ and Auxiliariesʼ Way of Life

• The Guardians must live in such a way that will not prevent them from being efficient yet
not tempt them to prey upon their community
• They must have no private property (beyond essentials)
• They shall live and eat communally with no excess nor deficit food (provided by citizens
as wage)
• They will have no currency and are forbidden to handle gold or silver in any form
(Book IV) • Adeimantus objects that Socrates is not allowing the Guardians to be happy
• Socrates replies that the purpose of state is not to secure the happiness of a particular
class but of the community as a whole in order to find justice most easily
• Giving happiness to each individual is detrimental to the whole as it prevents them from
performing their proper jobs
• In perfecting themselves in their own particular job, they find the happiness in its nature

3. Final Provisions for Unity

• There are two things that can corrupt the workers: wealth and poverty, the Guardians
must prevent these
• The state fights only to protect itself and not for money so can easily make alliances by
tempting one enemy with the other enemies wealth
• The state may grow as far as is compatible with unity but no further
• The Guardians must maintain the system of education and upbringing in order for the
state to improve over generations
• Legislation need not cover minor matters such as manners etc. for these will be learned
intuitively through correct education

Part Five - Justice in State and Individual

1. Justice in the State
• Socrates proposes to look for wisdom, courage, self discipline and justice
• Wisdom is found in the Rulers; their knowledge is exercised on behalf of the city as a
whole rather than for a particular interest
• Courage is found in the Auxiliaries who protect the city and ensure that the education
system (which teaches what is to be feared) is upheld
• Self-discipline is found in all three classes, or rather is present in the harmony which
exists between them
• Left over is the quality which allows the other three to exist together, therefore justice
must be the “minding ones own business” - each man has one job and doesnʼt interfere
with anyone elseʼs
• Injustice is the opposite of this - interference between classes i.e. bronze/silver Rulers

2. The Elements in Mental Conflict

• A state is just when its three natural elements do their jobs
• There must be three elements within the personality of an individual in order for three to
be present in a state, for the state is only a magnification of individuals
• Desire (workers) - the element of irrational appetite, driven by pleasure and satisfaction
• Reason (Rulers) - the element of prevention which suppresses/controls our desires
• Self-consciousness (Auxiliaries) - the ʻspiritʼ of the mind, natural auxiliary to reason
(performs commands of reason)

3. Justice in the Individual

• The individual is wise/brave/self disciplined/just in the same way as the state
• The just man ensures that the three elements of himself perform their function and do
not interfere with each other
• Injustice occurs when the elements trespass on each others functions or rebel

4. Conclusion
• There is one form of goodness but infinite forms of wickedness (4 main)
• As many types of character as forms of political constitution (5)
(Book V) • Monarchy/aristocracy (as described) = good and true
• All other social organisations = bad and defective
Part Six - Women and the Family
1. The Status of Women
• Women are not restricted to only bearing and rearing children for they have the same
natural capabilities as men, where it is relevant
• Women are therefore able to participate in the same occupations as men, though women
will always be weaker
• They have the same chance as men at becoming Guardians so long as they are
educated accordingly
• They will have the same duties as men only lighter

2. Marriage and the Family

• Women and children should be held in common to men (no separate households, no
child should know its parent and vice versa)
• Marriages should be arranged to give the best possible chance of optimum offspring
• Only the children of the better Guardians will be brought up, collectively by nurses living
elsewhere
• Children of inferior Guardians or defective children will be disposed of
• Men may only beget children between ages 25 and 55, women 20 and 40 (their prime),
any conception outside these ages is considered a sin and crime and the child disposed
of
• The same is true of any conception not authorised by the Rulers
• Men and women over their prime may fornicate as they please (though not with
descendants or forebears) provided they prevent conception or dispose of and births

(Promotion, Demotion and Infanticide)

• Cohesion and unity is the greatest social good
• Citizens share common interest (treat each other as relations and show due honour and
respect, share possessions communally) thus sharing collectively successes and
misfortunes
• This communal lifestyle prevents many problems; quarrels (mainly caused by money/
family etc), rebellion, faction, poverty, wealth etc
• Complete peace
• This lifestyle is therefore the best possible

3. The Rules of War

• Children will be taken to war to learn, when they are old enough, they will be at risk but
this risk is worth taking for the better success it will bring
• Precautions will be taken to ensure their safety - they will not be taken on obviously
dangerous campaigns, they will be looked after by trustworthy officers, they will be
taught to ride horses as young as possible to enable them to flee if necessary
• Any child who shows signs of cowardice will be demoted to a lower class, any who is
captured will be abandoned
• Any who is brave will be awarded with honour and kisses, given the best seat at
ceremonies and the best food and drink, upon death he shall be buried and worshipped
as a Guardian Spirit
• Of enemies, there shall be no stripping of corpses or refusal to bury
• Greek/Greek fighting is ʻcivil strifeʼ, Greek/barbarian foreign fighting is ʻwarʼ
• ʻCivil strifeʼ does not allow mutilation or devastation of land or burning of Greek
dwellings; only hostile minority are enemy, not whole state

Part Seven - The Philosopher Ruler

1. The Ideal and the Actual
• The only way the ideal state can become reality is if philosophers become kings, or kings
philosophers
• Political power and philosophy must be held in the same hands - one may not be
practiced without the other

2. Definition of the Philosopher

i. THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE TWO ORDERS OF REALITY
• To love something means to love every part of it
• “A philosopherʼs passion is for wisdom of every kind without distinction”
• Knowledge and opinion are two separate faculties (powers which enable us to perform
functions)
• “Knowledge is related to what is, and knows what is as it is”
• Since ignorance is “what is not”, opinion must be neither “what is” nor “what is not”;
neither knowledge nor ignorance but intermediate
• A philosopher is someone who loves the truth

(Book VI) ii. THE QUALITIES OF CHARACTER REQUIRED IN THE PHILOSOPHER

• Guardians must be able to protect laws and customs of society
• A philosopher will not tolerate untruth
• Focussed on the mind he will be self-controlled
• Understanding the insignificance of human life he will not fear death
• Philosophers are therefore the best qualified to rule the state

3. The Prejudice Against Philosophy

• Adeimantus claims that philosophers are useless members of society and often vicious
• Socrates uses the illustration of a crew onboard a ship who are fighting each other to
become captain though none truly understand that the art of navigation involves careful
study of sea, sky, season, stars, winds, etc and thus regard the true navigator as a
useless star-gazer
• This illustration shows the attitude of contemporary society towards the philosopher
• Socrates argues that it is not the fault of the philosopher that he is considered useless
but the fault of those who fail to make use of him
• The philosophic nature may be corrupted by bad education or common/public
disapproval or punishment of their views
• Sophists teach nothing but the conventional views held by the majority of people

4. The Philosopher Ruler Not Impossible

• Currently no state exists which allows the philosopher to flourish
• Ideally, philosophical training should be started, in moderation, at a young age, whilst the
body is being trained.
• When the mind begins to mature it should be studied more intensely and finally, when a
man is old and retired he should devote himself entirely to philosophy
• The concept of a philosopher ruler is difficult to bring about, but not impossible
• Either philosophers gain political power or a politician becomes a philosopher
• The public would be persuaded of the benefits of philosophic rule

5. The Good as Ultimate Object of Knowledge

i. THE FORM OF THE GOOD
• Guardians must be philosophers - a person of such character is rare
• The highest form of knowledge is that of the form of the good
• That the good is pleasure or knowledge itself is a contradiction
• The good is “the end of all endeavour”
• Guardians must have knowledge of the form of the good

ii. THE SIMILE OF THE SUN

• In order to see, light is required (there is no third party required for any other sense)
• The sun provides light and is therefore the cause of sight, but not sight itself
• The good is analogous to the sun; it provides truth and reality to enable understanding
and therefore knowledge

6. The Divided Line

• Visible is split into (D) images and (C) objects
• Intelligible is split into (B) which assumes first principles and reaches a conclusion and
(A) which moves from assumptions to principles and conclusions containing no
assumptions (forms)
• A = intelligence, B = reason, C = belief, D = illusion

(Book VII) 7. The Simile of the Cave

• Prisoners in a cave facing back wall such that they can only see shadows of people
passing by the cave entrance
• Having been there since children they would believe that the shadows were real and
voices heard belonged to shadows
• If one was released and learned truth he would be reluctant to believe but would
gradually accept the truth if he was forced to
• On returning to the cave he would be unable to see in the darkness and the other
prisoners would say that his journey had spoiled his sight and would not wish to take it
themselves
• The upward ascent out of the cave can be likened to the upward progress of the mind
into the intelligible region
• The form of the good is the final thing to be perceived in the intelligible region, and to act
rationally one must be able to perceive it
• The best minds should be made to attain this highest form of knowledge and to teach
others how to by descending back to the cave and learning to see again in the dark
• Men in power should be those who do not love power, otherwise there will be rivalry
• The positions of Guardians should therefore be filled by philosophers, who know the
principles of good government and have better rewards and lives than politicians

Part Eight - Education of the Philosopher

1. Preliminary
• The mind must be drawn from the world of change to reality
• Physical education is concerned with the world of change
• Education in literature and music only compliments the physical education
• Mathematics leads naturally to thought and draws men to reality
• “we are called to use our reason when our senses receive opposite impressions (e.g. an
object both hard and soft)… when they do not there is nothing to awaken thought”

2. The Five Mathematical Studies

i. ARITHMETIC
• Units can be seen both as a single unit or unlimited plurality (one apple = one anything =
any number of anything)
• This must also be true for number as a whole
• Counting and calculation involves number and therefore directs the mind towards the
truth
• Useful in war for counting and organising troops
• Arithmetic should be studied for the sake of knowledge not for its commercial use
• Those good at arithmetic are quick at learning other studies

ii. PLANE GEOMETRY

• Useful in war for pitching camp, positioning, deploying and manoeuvring army in battle
• “The objects of geometrical knowledge are eternal”
• Therefore its study sufficiently draws the mind upwards towards the form of the good

iii. SOLID GEOMETRY

• An difficult and undeveloped subject lacking apparent use and expert teachers
• Solid geometry is a necessary subject for it naturally occurs between the study of plane
surfaces and the study of the motions of solid objects
• Solid geometry should therefore be encouraged and developed by the sate
 iiii. ASTRONOMY
• Should be concerned with the invisible orbits and velocities of the stars and planets
rather than their visible splendour, in order to direct the mind away from the obvious and
towards the truth

iiiii. HARMONICS
• As astronomy is the finding of numerical relationships between the visible, so harmonics
is of the audible
• All studies are directed towards discovering goodness and truth not usefulness

3. Dialectic
• Mathematical study is a preliminary to dialectic - the ability to argue logically
• Only the power of dialectic can reveal certainty - it determines what each thing is in itself
• Enables questions to be asked and answered with the highest degree of understanding

4. Selection and Curriculum

• The people to study in this way should be the steadiest, bravest and best-looking with
moral integrity, toughness and a natural aptitude for education (intellectual eagerness,
good memory, determination and fondness of hard work)
• Education should begin in childhood but should not be made compulsory (education in
the form of play)
• After undergoing appropriate physical training, those who appear best suited to learn will
be enrolled on a full-time learning program which will bring together the disconnected
lessons they studied in childhood
• After the age of thirty, those who show the greatest perseverance will be introduced to
dialectic
• Five years should be spent on exclusive, continuous and intense study of philosophy
• Next they should be returned to the ʻCaveʼ for a further fifteen years to gain practical
experience where they will be submitted to various tests of temptation
• Those who successfully complete the tests and challenges will be made Rulers

• The ʻideal stateʼ can therefore be formed when political power is held by true
philosophers
• The next step would be to remove all children over the age of ten from their parents and
use them as the beginning of the state, raising them as previously described

(Book VIII) Part Nine - Imperfect Societies

1. Recapitulation
• Women and children should be held in common
• Both sexes should share education and occupations
• Those who are best at philosophy and war should govern
• Rulers should have no private quarters or property
• Guardians devote themselves to caring for the state in return for their keep
• State and individuals within it can be described as good
• Other states (four) are wrong and detrimental
• Number of types of character correspond to number of states
• Which is happiest?

2. Timarchy
• Civil strife within the ruling class of the state causes change
• Iron and bronze classes want private property and profit, silver and gold want excellence
and order
• Land and houses are distributed for private ownership and Guardians devote themselves
to war and subjugating the population, instead of protecting them
• There will still be respect for authority and due attention given to physical and military
training
• There will also be “a fear of admitting intelligent people to office”, preferring those who
rather war than peace
• A love of money will also emerge causing ambition and competitive spirit

3. The Timarchic Character

• Self-willed, incapable of expression due to poor education, harsh to slaves but polite to
freemen, ambitious, athletic, energetic
• Created by being brought up surrounded by conflicting views concerning ambition and
determination, his father being easy-going and his mother and servants critical of this -
he will attempt to compromise between the two extremes of lifestyle thus becoming
competitive, ambitious and arrogant

4. Oligarchy
• Private wealth accumulates, destroying timarchy
• Wealth becomes valued more than goodness, the wealthy gain control and the status of
the good/poor men diminishes
• Legislation is introduced which states a minimum amount of property that is required by
men to qualify for office
• Creates rivalry between rich and poor
• Unwilling to wage war due to expenses and lack of trained soldiers
• Existence of men in society without function
• Emergence of thieves and other criminals

5. The Oligarchic Character

• Sees his father (timarchic) wrecked by political disaster and put to death/exiled/outlawed
• Suffers the loss of his fathers wealth and is forced to work hard to gain his own fortune
• He therefore begins to value money above all else
• He is economical, hard working, miserly, and dishonest with a disregard for the law
6. Democracy
• Democracy originates when the poor men fight the rich who, being concerned with only
wealth, have neglected their physical training and lose
• The poor will kill, exile or outlaw the rich and give equal rights to those remaining,
appointing office will be done by majority vote
• There will be freedom to do as one likes so every man will act as to please him self
causing variety of individual character

7. The Democratic Character

• The oligarchic father will restrain his desires to only those that bring profit rather than
expense
• If his son experiences “unnecessary” pleasures he will be attracted more to this than to
profit, giving way to democratic tendencies
• He believes that all pleasures are equal and therefore believes in liberty and equality

8. Tyranny
• Excessive desire for and pursuit of liberty in democracy leads to tyranny
• Respect for fathers is lost as children assert independence and freedom
• Any form of restraint is detested causing disregard for all laws
• Conflict between rich and poor leads to election of single leader
• He is kind, frees debtors, distributes land and makes promises
• After disposing of enemies he fears he will no longer be needed so provokes war
• Increases taxes to pay for war and ensure people work hard to earn money rather than
plotting against him
• Becoming unpopular, he must dispose of those who oppose or disobey him in order to
stay in power

(Book IX) 9. The Tyrannical Character

• Some unnecessary desires (given equal worth by the democratic man) are lawless and
violent
• The tyrannical man has no restraint on these desires but pursues them through fraud,
deceit, robbery and violence

10. The Types of Character and Their Degrees of Happiness

i. ORDER OF HAPPINESS IS ORDER OF APPEARANCE
• The relations between the individual characters correspond to those between the states
• The aristocrat and the tyrant are opposite extremes
• The tyrant is the worst and the aristocrat the best
• Tyrannical state is one of slavery and therefore contains the least amount of freedom
• Is also poor and unsatisfied, haunted by fear, anguish, pain and complaint
• The unhappiest society
• The tyrannical man, when forced to live among enemies, is unable to satisfy his desires,
is “haunted by fear” and “torn by suffering and misery”
• His power makes him “envious, untrustworthy, unjust, friendless and godless”
• The unhappiest character
• The happiest man is the most just and best, who rules himself (the philosopher kings)

ii. THE JUST LIFE IS BEST

• The three elements of the mind, desire, spirit and reason, can be understood as
motivated by profit/gain, ambition/honour and truth/knowledge respectively
• The best pleasure is that which contains experience, intelligence and reason
• The philosopher has experience of the pleasures of gain from his early years, he also
has experience of knowledge and honour and is equipped with both intelligence and
reason
• The best pleasure is therefore that which is motivated to bring knowledge
• The second-best pleasure is that concerned with honour, and the lowest pleasure is gain

iii. THE PHILOSOPHERS PLEASURES ARE MOST REAL

• Pleasure and pain are opposites and there exists a neutral state between which is
neither
• This is true of knowledge/ignorance (of the mind) and hunger/nourishment (of the body)
• That which is real provides best replenishment from negative states
• Reality is that which is unchanging and eternally true (excellences of the mind)
• Those who experience only negative and neutral states wrongly believe the neutral
states to be pleasure. So their lives contain pain and phantom pleasures
• The best life therefore, will be motivated by knowledge, which will guide gain and honour
to their truest pleasures
• If another element (most markedly that furthest from reason) is in control false pleasures
will be pursued (the tyrant)
• The philosopher therefore leads the most pleasurable life and the tyrant the least
pleasurable

iiii. THE TYRANT IS 729x MORE UNHAPPY THAN THE PHILOSOPHER KING
• The tyrant is 3x unhappier than the oligarch
• The oligarch is 3x unhappier than the philosopher (aristocrat)
• The tyrants phantom pleasure is therefore 3x3 (9)
• Cube this (9x9x9)
• The difference in pleasure between the tyrant and the philosopher king is 729

11. Conclusion
• Injustice is therefore wrong
• “whether you look to pleasure or profit or reputation, to praise justice is to tell the truth”
• Imagine a many-headed beast and a lion within a man; to be injust is to serve the many-
headed beast and become less human, to be just is to control the lion and beast within
and remain strong and pure
• Goodness brings its own rewards
Part Ten - Theory of Art
(Book X) 1. Art and Illusion
• Dramatic representation in poetry harms the mind
• There are many particulars but only one form
• A craftsman makes a particular based on the form
• An artist creates a representation of a particular object
• So the representation is “at third remove” from reality
• Artists are able to reproduce everything because of their lack of understanding of their
subjects; if he really understood them he would devote himself to the true objects and
not to their representations
• Therefore representation has no serious value as it contains neither knowledge nor
correct opinion about how good or bad its subject is

2. The Appeal of Art and Poetry

• Reason and appearance often contradict each other
• Reason is the higher power, that which contradicts reason is inferior
• The inferior is easier and simpler to represent
• The poet will find it easier to represent that which has a lower degree of truth
• Representative art and poetry therefore appeals to the lesser element within us, which is
not directed towards the truth

3. The Effects of Poetry and Drama

• The poet represents the desires that we pride ourselves on restraining (grief, greed, etc)
• Sympathy for others leads to sympathy for ourselves and less restraint is given to these
desires
• Eventually desire will conquer reason
• If poetry can be shown to have high value and truth it will be admitted into the state,
otherwise it must be banned

Part Eleven - The Immortality of the Soul and the Rewards of Goodness
1. The Soul Immortal
• That which harms/destroys is evil, preserves/benefits is good
• Most things are subjected to their own particular good/evil e.g. body - disease, iron - rust
• The aim of evil is first to flaw a thing and then to destroy it completely
• Anything whose evil cannot destroy it is indestructible
• Injustice/wickedness is the evil of the soul
• The souls evil, whilst admittedly tainting the soul, cannot destroy it, for the aim of
wickedness is to kill others not itself
• If the soul cannot be destroyed by the evil adapted to destroy it, neither can it be
destroyed by other evils, therefore it is immortal
2. The Rewards of Goodness in this Life
• The justice or injustice of a mans character cannot be hidden from the gods
• The gods will hate the injust man and love the just
• The just man will be blessed in heaven, regardless of any apparent misfortune, the
opposite fate awaits the injust man
• Among men, the just man will have greater opportunity; he will hold authoritative
positions, marry whom he wishes etc
• The injust man, though he may get away with his injustice while he is young, will be
humiliated in old age and held in contempt

3. The Myth of Er
• Er was a brave soldier who was killed in battle but came alive again on the twelfth day to
tell of what he witnessed in the other world
• Each man who has sinned suffers ten times the amount of suffering he inflicted and
those who have done good are rewarded tenfold
• After retribution each soul chooses his next life, which is why it is important to pursue
true knowledge so that, faced with this choice we can chose the better life over the
worse
• The souls then drink from the Forgetful River before being sent back to earth for their
birth