platos republic Flashcards
What does Plato want to do in the Republic?
He want’s to define justice
What is specialisation?
Requires each person to fulfil the societal role to which nature fitted them into
What are the 3 parts of the soul?
Rational, spirited, appetitive
What does the rational part of the soul do?
Seeks truth + philosophy
What does the spirited part of the soul do?
Desires honour + is resp. for feelings of anger
What does appetitive part of the soul do?
Desires for anything - mostly money
What are the realms divided into?
Visible + intelligible
What’s the visible world?
The universe around us
What’s the intelligible world?
The forms: abstract
Absolute goodness + beauty etc
Who can grasp the forms?
Only minds trained to grasp the forms - philosophers
What’s the most important form?
The form of good
What’s the aim of education?
Put right desires into the soul so it desires to move past visible world + to intelligible world to the Form of Good
What did Plato believe about poets?
Appeal to the basest part of the soul, imitating unjust inclinations
Why did Plato forbid homosexual intercourse?
Cannot be good or beautiful + leads to no fulfilment - doesn’t lead to procreation
What was the mating festival
Held among Guardians, where rulers decide which couples should mate in order to breed ‘good’ citizens
Who were the guardian class?
A group of warriors + philosophers
Who did Plato separate the guardian class from?
Guardian class separated from producers
Who were the 3 classes?
Guardians, producers (auxiliaries) + wokers
What was the guardian class responsible for?
Responsible for ruling the city - chosen among ranks of auxiliaries
What did Plato intend to give to the guardians?
Give the guardians supreme power
Where are men + women in spheres?
Women in private spheres
Men in public spheres
What did women do in their spheres?
Looked after children
What did men do in their spheres?
They went to war, manual labour + acted politically
How did Plato view the body?
Merely temporary
What did Plato say human beings are defined by?
Their soul: responsible for cognitive + physical movements + survives them
How is the soul divided to match society’s functional groups?
Rational = Guardian (philosopher kings)
Spirited = Warriors
Appetitive = Workers
What did Plato say about women + war?
If women’s aggressive part of the soul inspires courage, they may be able to defend their city
What are women considered?
Objects of reproduction
What was exposure?
The elimination of inapt children
Why might Plato place women on the same level as men?
Because he believes humans are defined more by their soul
What happened to children produced at mating festivals?
They were taken from their parents so no one knows which children descend from which adults
What happens if a child is produced from sex at an undesignated time?
The child will be killed
What do guardians do/not receive?
No wages + can hold no wealth or property
How do the Guardian class live?
Together in housing provided by the city
What does Brown say about what Plato believed?
“Plato believed the abolition of family would improve cohesion of society as a whole”
What does Plato attempt to argue for?
An ‘ideal state’
How does Plato discuss eros?
Only brief + in passing
Seems reluctant to engage w the concept
Can cause political corruption/influence
What should citizens of Plato’s ideal state not be allowed?
Not allowed to indulge in sexual pleasure bc it’s a form of madness/insanity + lack of discipline
Permitted only for procreation
Who does Plato permit non-procreative eros for?
Older couples past fertility
Possibly bc they’re less likely to be corrupted by eros
Why did Plato want to eliminate familial relationships?
Bc it can lead to favouritism; ppl feel a connection to their own offspring + will be likely to try and help them succeed just bc they’re related (NEPOTISM)
Why did Plato want parenthood to be anonymous?
People view any children of the right age to be their biological child + children treat any adult of a certain age to be their parents as if they were
What was the example of red in terms of the Forms?
Anything red is red bc it participates in the Form of Red
What makes philosophers different to lovers of sights + sounds?
Philosophers apprehend (catch) Forms
