Wisdom in the state must be said to reside in the class of rulers, for, by definition, they rule by counseling the other classes and themselves. They are the best of the Guardians, having all their lives been nurtured and educated to assume their place as rulers, and they are […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book IV: Section IISummary and Analysis Book IV: Section I
Socrates reminds us at this point that the original intent of this aspect of the creation of the ideal state was (and remains) a state where justice might flourish and the whole of the citizenry might be happy. Socrates insists that happiness does not consist in the trappings of material […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book IV: Section ISummary and Analysis Book III: Section III
At this point in the conversation, it occurs to Socrates that the three classes may at some point encroach upon one another and cause discord in the state. What if, for example, any member of a given class asks how he came to be so classified? Socrates proposes that the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book III: Section IIISummary and Analysis Book III: Section II
Analysis Plato sees no real difference in the gymnastic required of children and of professional soldiers; training in the use of arms is simply a difference of degree. The ideal citizen will remain morally and physically fit throughout life. This idea of training in both gymnastic and the academic, a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book III: Section IISummary and Analysis Book III: Section I
Thus we must expunge from the myths all those passages that relate the sufferings of the dead in Hades. We must also expunge any references to the pleasures of drunkenness or any sort of intemperate behavior. However interesting hearing about various sufferings in hell might be, such descriptions might lead […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book III: Section ISummary and Analysis Book II: Section III
Thus, Socrates says, the future Guardians of the state must be educated morally; they must be instilled with good morals. We must therefore teach them stories of the heroes and the gods, much as our fathers did for us. But some of these stories must be modified, because Homer and […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book II: Section IIISummary and Analysis Book II: Section II
People unite to form a community because of mutual needs: food, dwelling, the growing of food, and so on. And since it is a given that people are born with various talents, or abilities, it follows that they should be assigned various levels of employment in order to ensure the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book II: Section IISummary and Analysis Book II: Section I
Socrates has said that Justice is a good, a virtue, not unlike good health and forms of human knowledge that are good in and of themselves. The attainment of the good is not consequent on the rewards (money, honor, prestige) it might entail. But Glaucon’s recapitulation of Thrasymachus’ argument is […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book II: Section ISummary and Analysis Book I: Section IV
Socrates says that Thrasymachus is wrong on three counts: that the unjust man is more knowledgeable than the just, that injustice is a source of strength; and that injustice brings happiness. In his argument at this point, Socrates again employs analogies, in this case the physician and the flute-player. We […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book I: Section IVSummary and Analysis Book I: Section III
Thrasymachus says that he will provide the answer if he is provided his fee. He then says that justice is whatever is in the interest of the stronger party in a given state; justice is thus effected through power by people in power. People in power make laws; the weaker […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Book I: Section III