the republic book 7

Question 1

what is the allegory of the cave?

Answer 1

meant to illustrate the effects of education on the human soul; education moves the philosopher through the stages on the divided line which brings him to the form of the good

Question 2

where have the group of ppl lived in since birth?

Answer 2

a deep cave; cannot look to side or behind them, only straight ahead

Question 3

what is behind them?

Answer 3

a fire and behind the fire is a partial wall and on top of the wall are statues; the statues cast shadows across the wall the prisoners are facing and bc these are the only things they see, they think they are the most real things in the world

Question 4

what do the prisoners looking at the statues shadows represent?

Answer 4

the lowest stage on the line - imagination

Question 5

what does the prisoner who is freed from his bonds realize?

Answer 5

he sees things are more real than the shadows he always used to see; grasps how fire and statues create the shadows which creates more real things

Question 6

what does the stage in the cave where the prisoner grasps fire and statues to be real things represent?

Answer 6

represents belief

Question 7

what does the prisoner who is now dragged out of his cave into the real world now see?

Answer 7

he only sees shadows at first bc of how dazzled the lights are there, then sees reflections, then sees real objects like trees, houses, etc.

Question 8

what stage is the prisoner who is now out of the cave represent?

Answer 8

he is in the cognitive stage of thought; he has got his first glimpse of the most real things, the Forms

Question 9

what does the prisoner understand when his eyes fully adjust to the brightness?

Answer 9

he looks up at the heavens and sees the sun; realizes the sun allows him to see everything so it represents the form of the good

Question 10

what is the goal of education?

Answer 10

to drag every man as far out of the cave as possible; it should turn the soul toward right desires, not put knowledge in the soul

Question 11

what is the goal of the city?

Answer 11

to educate those with the right natures so that they can turn their minds sharply toward the form of the good

Question 12

once ppl are educated with the right natures then what?

Answer 12

they must go back to the cave and return to the shadows to rule there so they can help other prisoners

Question 13

how many ways of thinking does plato think we have?

Answer 13

4: imagining, belief, thinking, and perfect intelligence

Question 14

how does the form of the good illuminate all understanding once its grasped?

Answer 14

since all the forms are connected, you work your way up to it through though until you actually grasp the form of good

Question 15

why does plato think the stages in the cave represent stages of life?

Answer 15

he thinks we must pass the lower stages to get to the higher stages; everyone starts at the lowest level (in the cave/imagination) and education is the struggle to get out of the cave and the reason some ppl are producers and some warriors is bc they didn’t all make it out of the cave

Question 16

what does Socrates friend, glaucos, worry ab at the end of the section?

Answer 16

since philosopher-kings obviously made it out of the cave, it seems unfair that they are forced to go back in

Question 17

what does Socrates respond after glaucos suggests his worries for the philosopher-kings?

Answer 17

1. ) our goal is to not make just one group happy, but the whole city happy as possible
2. ) philosopher-kings owe the city gratitude and service anyways bc the city itself is the one who gave them the education in the first place
3. ) philosopher-kings will actually want to rule bc they know the city would be less if they didn’t rule and they dont want that to happen bc since they love the forms, they will want to imitate it by having order and harmony in the city

Question 18

what must the general public study to make the guardians turn their souls toward ultimate truth and seek out the form of good?

Answer 18

must study mathematics and philosophical dialectic; they turn the soul from the realm of becoming (visible realm) to the realm of what is (intelligent realm)

Question 19

what does socrates say ab dialect?

Answer 19

he knows there is great danger in it and should never be taught to the wrong sort of people and young people bc ppl who are not prepared for dialect will treat it as a game of contradiction and just argue for the sake of arguing

Question 20

how does socrates say he chooses and trains the philosopher kings?

Answer 20

1. ) chooses kids with right natures; stable, courageous, love hard work, have good memory, are interested in subjects and learn them easily then teach them math subjects as it will help prepare them for dialect; the learning will be turned into play so they learn their lessons better since its not compulsory
2. ) must focus on physical training for 2 or 3 yrs and nothing else bc theyre exhausted
3. ) whoever performs best will be put on a list and they will proceed; if not on list, will become auxiliaries

Question 21

how old will they be when they finally grasp the form of the good?

Answer 21

50

Question 22

what happens when the philosopher-kings die?

Answer 22

given the highest honors and worshipped as demi gods in the city

Question 23

what does socrates suggest they do to actually form a city like this?

Answer 23

go into an already existing city, banish anyone over 10 yrs old and then raise the kids in how he explained earlier