1. Plato - The Republic - slide 1 Plato’s Republic FWritten ca. 385 B.C.; one of Plato’s middle dialogues. FThe title is a bad translation of the Greek politeia, “political or public business.”

2. Plato - The Republic - slide 2 Plato’s Republic F1. Plato’s theory of the “origin of a city” (Griffith trans. 369b) GWhat kind of theory is this? Anthropological? Historical? Rational?

3. Plato - The Republic - slide 3 Plato’s Republic GAre two principles which are the basis for the social character of humans 1. No person is self-sufficient; all have basic needs (369b). 2. Each person is born with a specific aptitude for some type of work (370a-b). –For Plato, talents or aptitudes are natural.

4. Plato - The Republic - slide 4 Plato’s Republic GSummary formula of Plato’s theory of the origin of society needs + aptitudes + specialization + exchange of goods & services = fulfillment of needs of all & happiness

5. Plato - The Republic - slide 5 Plato’s Republic GTransition to the next topic: the life of humans should go beyond a “city of pigs” (372d). Humans desire luxuries Leads to expansion Leads to war Need for an army

6. Plato - The Republic - slide 6 Plato’s Republic F2. The class structure of the Republic G(1) The military - “guardians” Their education (376c-412b) - brief glance G(2) The rulers The best of the guardians, older, wiser, and concerned with the well- being of the whole society (412c).

7. Plato - The Republic - slide 7 Plato’s Republic G(3) Workers (“farmers and [other] skilled workers” 415a) GHow is the authority of the rulers to be established? The teaching of a myth - the myth of gold, silver, iron & brass (415a) GA class, not a caste system (415b)

8. Plato - The Republic - slide 8 Plato’s Republic F3. The virtues of the state G(1) Wisdom (428b-429a) the virtue of the rulers good judgment general knowledge vs specialized (tacitly suggested in the discussion about carpentry & farming, 428b-c)

9. Plato - The Republic - slide 9 Plato’s Republic very few have it (429a) ultimately, wisdom is knowledge of the Ideas G(2) Courage (429a) the virtue of the military knowledge of what is and what is not to be feared (429b, 430b)

10. Plato - The Republic - slide 10 Plato’s Republic G(3) “Self-discipline” (Griffith trans. 430d); often called moderation or temperance (s  phrosun  ) the virtue of the workers “mastery of pleasures and desires” (430e) “a kind of order” (430e) - the proper order of the superior & inferior –on the level of the individual & of the state

11. Plato - The Republic - slide 11 Plato’s Republic Plato’s attitude toward the workers –Cf. George Orwell’s 1984.

12. Plato - The Republic - slide 12 Plato’s Republic G(4) Justice (432b-d) Each person ought to do that task for society which fits his or her natural aptitudes... and not trying to do other people’s jobs for them Connection with Plato’s theory of the origins of the state (433a, reference is to 369b)

13. Plato - The Republic - slide 13 Plato’s Republic Justice in the individual -- the proper & natural order within the soul of its parts (444b-d)

14. Plato - The Republic - slide 14 Plato’s Republic Cf. Plato’s notion of justice to the modern Western notion –Plato  emphasis is on duty of citizens to the community & state. äFocus is on the common good –modern  emphasis is on fairness in the distribution of rights & legal processes äFocus is on the individual

15. Plato - The Republic - slide 15 Plato’s Republic F4. The three parts of the soul The “rational element” (Griffith trans. 439d) The “spirited element” (441a) The “desiring element” (439d)

16. Plato - The Republic - slide 16 Plato’s Republic GFor Plato, just as it is important for the well-being of the state that each class does its job, so also it is important for the well-being of the individual that each part of the soul does it job. What does this mean?

17. Plato - The Republic - slide 17 Plato’s Republic GOverview of topics 2, 3, & 4 A series of parallelisms classesvirtuesparts of the soul rulerswisdomrational militarycouragespirited workersself-discipline desiring

18. Plato - The Republic - slide 18 Plato’s Republic F5. The status of women in the Republic GWomen in ancient Athenian Greece Their place was in the household –Only roles outside of the household - priestesses, mourners at funerals, participants in religious festivals Strict division of occupations by sex

19. Plato - The Republic - slide 19 Plato’s Republic Uneducated; most were illiterate Dowries GPlato Occupations should not be based on sex (451d, e, 452a-b, 454d-e, 455d- e) Hint that woman can be rulers (455d-e, 456a)

20. Plato - The Republic - slide 20 Plato’s Republic Woman guardians receive the same education as men (456b-c) In the Laws - abolishment of dowries But there are occasional misogynistic passages in the Republic (431b-c, 557c, 563b) äTo the essay by Julia Annas on The Republic & feminism