FREE ESSAY ON PLATO'S REPUBLIC

PLATO'S REPUBLIC

Jessica Antolini
September 29, 1999
Phil. 1050 - Plato Paper
Prof. Michael Shaw 
Virtue: conformity to a standard of right (Merriam- Webster, 812) . Virtues contribute to
people's actions in today's society. Society as a whole has a common set of virtues that
many people agree on. In today's society, these are known as laws. Virtues also mold the
individual outlook on life, and give them the moral's to do what is right. In The
Republic, Plato divides the city into three classes: gold, silver, as well as bronze and
iron souls. Each class is designated to posses a specific virtue. He believes that
wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice combine together to form The Republic. However,
Plato's four virtues individually do not necessarily produce a utopian society. A
combination of the four in each citizen is imperative in producing the ideal society.
In Plato's search for the perfect "republic", he decides that the basis of the city will
be on four virtues. The first of them is wisdom. Plato defines wisdom, in Greek terms
"Sophia", as knowledge of the city as a whole. Of the three classes, the gold souls
posses the virtue of wisdom. The gold souls are the only class whose knowledge goes
beyond the mere facts to the level of true wisdom. "...This class, which properly has a
share in that knowledge which alone among the various kinds of knowledge ought to be
called wisdom, has, as it seems, the fewest members by nature" (429a). 
The second virtue that Plato defines is courage, which in Greek terms is "Andreia".
Courage is the preservation of the opinion produced by law, through education about what
things are terrible, and what things are good. Courage can be found in the silver souls.
Plato uses the example that when dyers want to dye wool, they start with the background.
They need the right kind of white material, and they have to prepare it carefully; and if
they go to this trouble, you can not bleach the color out. If they do a poor job of it,
the cloth quickly becomes washed-out and faded. Plato used the dyeing analogy to state
how he wishes to train the silver souls (429d- 430b). He states that the people will
undergo a precise training. Certain music and physical activity will only be allowed.
Plato wanted a good upbringing to make the right ideas permanent in them, so that the
bleach of pleasure, grief, fear, or death, would not wash the true colors from their
souls. "For, in my opinion, you regard the right opinion about these same things that
comes to be without education- that found in beast and slaves- as not at all lawful and
call it something other than courage" (430b). Once they got to this point of having a
clear, firm grasp of what is really dangerous to a man, they knew their only task was to
show courage.
The third virtue in The Republic, is moderation. The Greek term for moderation is
Sophrosune. Plato defines moderation as the kind of accord and harmony between the bronze
and silver souls. Moderation is the ability to control desires and to be the master of
ones self. There are two things at work in a man's heart. One is good, and one is bad.
The bad can overwhelm the good. If the people have bad training or keep company with the
wrong people, the bad force grows powerful and can overwhelm the good. If the good one
controls them, then there is moderation; but if the bad one controls, they are a slave to
their own desires and that they are out of control or unprincipled. "If, therefore, any
city ought to be designed stronger than pleasures, desires, and itself, then this one
must be so called" (431d). When a city as a whole is moderate, it is in harmony.
Moderation is different from wisdom or courage. It is found not just in the gold and
silver souls, but as something that runs throughout the city. 
"Three of them have been spied out in our city, at least sufficiently to form some
opinion. Now what would be the remaining form thanks to which the city would further
partake in virtue? For, plainly, this is justice" (432b). The fourth and final virtue in
The Republic is justice. Justice, or in Greek terms, "Dikaiosune", is defined by Plato as
minding one's own business. Justice comes about when every person in the republic is
doing what he or she is set to do. The shoemakers make only shoes, and the farmers only
deal with agriculture. When everyone minds their own business and does what he or she
does the work they are trained for, there will be no injustice. Justice is the trait that
makes all the other virtues possible. 
Plato says that when wisdom, courage, and moderation have been obtained then the
remaining has to be justice. He believes that each part of the soul works in conjunction
with the others to form the utopian society that he is searching for. Each one of these
virtues corresponds with a part of Plato's "soul". Wisdom corresponds with the
calculating and knowledgeable part of the soul. Courage goes to the spirited and
opinionated sector of the soul. The virtue of moderation corresponds with the appetative
and ignorant part of the soul. Plato believes that when each part of the soul does its
exact job, then justice will be found. Nevertheless Plato believes that only the four
virtues stated above are necessary. 
Plato does not necessarily have anything missing in his four virtues. He covers almost
all the basics in defining the virtues. Although some of the more personal aspects are
missing, Plato is on the right track. Love, sadness, happiness, and all other emotion are
all factors of a balanced life. Plato is trying to establish a utopia, but is leaving out
some key factors. Virtues are on more of a personal level, whereas he places them in the
people of The Republic. In The Republic Plato only allows certain classes to be virtuous
in one virtue. If all people in a society posses all of the virtues that Plato states,
along with love and emotion, all the people of the society will have the same moral
outlook on life. Therefore a balanced society will be obtained and everyone would be in
harmony with each other.
The four Platonic virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice are the foundation
of Plato's Republic. He not only revolves his city around them, but also his people.
Plato tries to instill virtues onto certain classes, without thinking about what the
"republic" would be like if he gave all people ALL the virtues. Virtue is something that
individual people possess out of their own willingness to be virtuous. Virtues are not
characteristics that can be isolated and dispensed individually. They are complimentary.
In order to have one; you must possess the others.
Bibliography
Plato.The Republic.