Plato’s Republic: Book III

One thing that becomes profoundly evident in Book III of Plato’s Republic is that he is not an advocate of such modern concepts as free speech or academic freedom as far as education is concerned. His primary concern is the education of the guardians, the ruling/protector class of the state, and the qualities these individuals should embody. And in pursuing this, he ultimately argues for a very strict form of indoctrination, so much so, that the entire city feels its onus. To begin, he argues that the guardians must be brought up to honor the gods, their parents, and friends. They must not fear death or the underworld; they must be more afraid of slavery than they are of death.

According to Socrates, education should consist primarily of two parts: music (which includes things like storytelling and poetry), and gymnastics (physical education). He starts with music, putting forward almost draconian restrictions on it. For example, he believes we should quell such speech as “abhorred Styx” and “the people of the infernal pit,” replacing them with their opposites. Similarly, we must do away with wailing and lamentations of reputable men as portrayed by the poets. A good man will not think that death is a terrible thing for a good man. Nor is it such a terrible thing to suffer the loss of a son, or brother, or wealth. The poets should portray demigods (children of gods with mortals-Hercules, Theseus, etc…) and gods appropriately; they will be paragons of morality and will not give themselves to emotional excesses like laughter.

Further, truth should be prized most highly. The gods, for example, never lie. Rulers may lie, but only for the benefit of the state, in the same way a physician can use lies (I presume painful medicines and treatments) to ultimately benefit the patient. Normal citizens, on the other hand, may not lie; if they do, it should be considered a great sin. Further, self-control should be prized as a virtue. Hence, citizens should be obedient to their rulers and seek to rule over their own bodily appetites. Likewise, heroic endurance against nearly insurmountable odds should be applauded. Men should not accept bribes, and neither should gods (that last should have interesting implications for religious sacrifices, though Plato does not go into detail regarding that here). The demigod, Achilles, should not be portrayed as greedy and arrogant. Neither should it be said that the demigods, Theseus and Pirithous, raped anyone.

Regarding men, the poets say injustice, if concealed, sometimes pays off and leads to happiness, and sometimes justice leads to wretchedness. Socrates won’t allow such speech in his city. However, he points out that he is back at the original question of the discussion, the central theme of The Republic: what is justice and why should men pursue it. Hence, he can proceed no further regarding men until he has resolved that original question; but once this is done, all the above falls into place.

Having completed a discussion of the substance of the tales told in poetry and how they should be altered to his state, Socrates turns now to diction. According to him, there are three kinds of poetry: Tragedy and comedy, dithyramb, and epic. Tragedy and Comedy use an imitative form of diction; that is, the narrator of the poem does his or her best to assimilate the character of the persona he speaks for. In dithyramb, the narrator simply narrates much like a modern day story, although in Greek times it was often put to verse. The epic poem uses both forms of diction, switching back and forth throughout.

Part of education is determining what it is appropriate for youth to imitate, so they will grow up already habituated to a moral character. In other words, if the guardians are to imitate, from childhood up, they should imitate only those things that are appropriate to craftsmen of civic liberty: bravery, soberness, piety, freedom, etc… Hence, young male guardians will not be allowed to imitate women, defy heaven, boast loudly, etc… Accordingly, the right man will use both narrative and imitation, but a much smaller measure of imitation as he shall imitate only those men and actions that are worthy of him. The base man will use a great deal of imitation.

Of course, Socrates will only allow the right man into his city. The base men imitators, if they should enter, are treated well, then sent away.

Socrates proceeds to give a similar treatment to songs and tunes. He even goes so far as to remove some musical instruments from his city. The ultimate result is that they have purged the luxurious city, leaving them with something closer to Socrates original vision in Book II. Analyzing song further, Socrates says seemliness and unseemliness are attendant upon the good rhythm and the bad rhythm. Rhythm follows diction which follows disposition of the soul. Good speech, good accord, good grace, and good rhythm come from a good disposition and indicate a truly good character ruled by reason. The commonly acclaimed goodness of the heart is a weakness of the head.

At this point, Socrates broadens his plans for education to include the rest of the populace. Accordingly, they must be forced to incorporate the above principles in their respective crafts, lest the guardians, as they move about the city, are corrupted by their environment.

According to Socrates, music is the greatest teacher because it is based on harmony and beauty to which the soul has a great affinity. We only learn to read when we are able to recognize the letters in all things. Analagously, we only become true musicians (educators) when we recognize the forms of soberness, courage, liberality, and high-mindedness and all their kind, as well as their opposites, too, in all their combinations and instances (this is, of course, a reference to Plato’s well-known Theory of Forms).

According to Socrates, those with the most beautiful disposition and the most beautiful body are the fairest and most lovable individuals. He gives preference to the disposition of the soul, of course; that is, a beautiful soul is preferable to a beautiful body, but the body counts, too. This leads to a brief discussion of love. According to him, the right love is a sober and harmonious love of the orderly and the beautiful (i.e. the disposition of the soul), not the sexual love symbolized by Aphrodite. The ideal love between lovers must be non-physical (Plato goes into much more detail on the topic of love in The Symposium). Lovers may kiss as a father would a son, but proceed no farther. The end and consummation of culture is the love of the beautiful. A sound body does not give a sound soul, rather a sound soul leads to the best body possible. It is this sound soul that is the goal and result of the education he has just described.

Having dealt with education of the guardians through poetry, tales, and fables (that is, music), Socrates turns next to the physical education of the guardians (that is, gymnastics) starting first with diet. He says they should not consume any intoxicants and should always dine as they would if they were in the midst of a military campaign and eat roast, which is easily procured. He would disallow sweetmeats. Like music, simplicity in gymnastics and diet begets health. He argues it is shameful to require medicine because of lack of self-discipline. He points to Herodicus, who blended gymnastics and medicine, and succeeded only in lingering out his death. If he deviated even slightly from his regimen, he suffered greatly and in the end was rewarded with a doting old age. He points out that a carpenter does not have leisure for a long, drawn-out cure, but the wealthy do. In such a case, the excessive care of the body becomes an obstacle to living. According to Socrates, Asclepius, the god/demigod who gave medicine to the Greeks, did not treat those who were so sick they were of no use to themselves or the state. In Socrates’ state, those who are too sick are left to die.

As far as the soul is concerned, gymnastics has an effect opposite to that of music. Music results in a softening of the soul, gymnastics, in a harshening. The most beautiful souls are those which strike the right tension between these two effects by pursuing both music and gymnastics. If one is too devoted to music, one becomes too soft, if too devoted to gymnastics, one becomes too harsh.

Socrates moves on to rulers and the ruled. He argues that the rulers should be the eldest, while the ruled should be the younger. The rulers should be the best of the guardians (the most regardful of the state), always seeking to do what is best for the state. They must be tested over and over from birth until they are proven worthy and ready.

Finally, Socrates puts forth a fable regarding the origins of the rulers, suggesting that such be taught to indoctrinate the citizens that the rulers who rule have the right to do so. According to him, all the rulers’ prior experiences should be considered a dream until they are ready to rule. They shall be considered born of the earth with souls fashioned of divine gold. Their helpers will have souls fashioned of silver, and those down throughout the hierarchy of the city will have souls fashioned of other, less noble metals. It is worth pointing out, that the classes are not determined simply by birth (see the brief note regarding the constant testing of the rulers above), but rather by their “inner nature,” the disposition of their souls. Every once in a while a copper child may be born to gold parents and vice versa. If such a thing should happen, the child will be moved to whatever station is appropriate. Hence, there is some kind of mobility between classes.

The book ends with Socrates raising the question of possible tyranny of the guardians, saying it is something they must do their utmost to prevent. To that end, the guardians must live Spartan lives without possessing private property save that which is indispensable, they must eat together in a mess hall, and must be prohibited from taking up other trades. Similarly, they must be told that to even touch physical gold or silver will pollute their souls. All this is done, to prevent them from evolving into savage masters of the rest of the state, although I’m inclined to think it may have the opposite effect Socrates intends. Of course, Socrates is cognizant of such an argument, but does not address it in this book, instead leaving it for the beginning of Book IV.