Republic Book 9 and 10 Flashcards
Socrates imagines and describes three creatures, fused into one body in order to show the soul and its pats. the three creatures are:
a man, a lion, and a monster
explain what injustice would be in this creature. observe ing what effect injustice creates, can you say that injustice is profitable to the whole creature?
Injustice in this creature might be making the lion and all about it strong, but starve the man inside and make him weak so as to be dragged wherever either of the others leads him, and not make either of them friends of each other and intimates, but leave all the creatures to bite and fight and eat each other. No, it is not profitable to the whole creature. pg. 461
what happens when justice rules over the whole creature?
The man would make an ally of the lion’s nature, and care for all the creatures alike, making them friendly to each other and to himself, and so he will nourish the whole. pg. 462 He would be in charge of the entire creature, making sure everyone gets along.
Match the parts of the creature with the parts of the soul.
Man- reasonable
Lion- spirited part
Monster- desiring or passionate part
What example does Socrates use to critique all art and poetry?
To critique all art, he gives the example of a painter, who will paint a carpenter, though understanding nothing of the art. He could deceive children and fools if he showed them his painting of a carpenter from a distance, and he could make them think it was a real carpenter. pg. 470
As for poetry, Socrates says the poetic workman dabs on certain colorous by using the words and phrases of the various arts, but all he knows himself is how to imitate; so that others as ignorant as himself, taking their view from words, think he is speaking magnificently when he talks in metre and rhythm and pitch about something. pg. 474
Does Socrates believe that the soul is mortal, or immortal? What argument does he give for his position?
Immortal; They use injustice and say that its own badness and its own evil cannot kill and destroy a soul, rather only that which it is appointed. So, the soul is not destroyed by any evil at all, and it is clear that the soul must of necessity be always in existence. If always in existence, then immortal. pg. 487
How is the just and unjust man treated in the afterlife?
Socrates says the just man would gain prizes from mankind and be held in high esteem, as one who earnestly desires to be just, and by practicing virtue to become as like to God as it is possible for man to be. He also says the unjust man would be laughed at for fools, flogged, and spurned in their misery by strangers and their fellow citizens alike. pg. 490-491
Socrates relates the “myth of Er,” an account of the afterlife. Who is Er, and what happens to him?
Er is the son of Armenios, a Pamphylian by nation. He met his end in battle once upon a time, but the dead were taken up after ten days, their bodies already decayed while Er was found whole. On the twelfth day of his death he came to life again and, and he told the people what he saw in the other world. In this world his soul went with many others to the Judges, who told him he must become a messenger to mankind of things there.
pg. 492
According to Er, do souls have to pay recompense, atone for, and
be cleansed of their sins, in the afterlife? What Catholic teaching does
this resemble?
Yes. This resembles the Catholic teaching that in the afterlife we may be sent to purgatory to be cleansed of our sins before we may reach Heaven.
