Plato On Identity, Sameness And Difference
Though literary tendencies appear in a number of works of ancient Greek literature, Plato The Republic is by far the most important classical Greek work in terms of its influence on writers in the later utopian tradition in Western literature. One could make a good argument that The Republic is the founding text of this tradition, and it is certainly true that later writers of utopias from More to Wells draw heavily upon Plato’s ideas. The Republic is a philosophical treatise concerned primarily with the question of justice and with the living of a just life. Its principal emphasis, then, is on the conduct of individuals. However, the book relies quite heavily on analogies between the individual self and the political state, suggesting repeatedly that the rule of one’s own self by each individual is a procedure quite similar to the rule of the state by political leaders. Plato’s comments on the ideal behavior of individuals thus have clear political implications, and his exploration of individual behavior leads quite naturally into a description of the ideal state.
The most important political principle of Plato’s ideal state is rule by an enlightened elite, highly trained and educated for the role and endowed with a philosophical turn of mind that presumably assures the wisdom of their policies. Plato’s commentary is principally concerned with the training and duties of this elite class, the Guardians. The Guardians themselves are divided into two major groups (Kochin 12). The larger group (sometimes referred to in the texts as “Auxiliaries”) includes civil servants and a permanent military force, skilled in the art of war and dedicated to the task of defending the state from external enemies. There are, however, also hints that the military Guardians would be charged with keeping civil order within the state as well. The most important virtue of these Guardians is courage. However, those Guardians who show a gift for rational and philosophical contemplation are eligible to become Rulers, who are charged with making the important policy decisions that the lower orders of Guardians will then carry out and enforce (Mcneil 43).
In a direct response to what he saw as the corruption and decadence informing his contemporary Athens, Plato insists that the Guardians must be freed of the desire for luxury and material gain, ruling purely in the interest of wisdom, justice, and the greater good. Guardians are thus allowed no private property. They live and eat together, holding even women in common, removing incentives to rule for selfish gain (Kaske 508). The lower classes of workers and artisans are, on the other hand, allowed a certain amount of private property. It is possible to say that all of their material needs are guaranteed by the state, though these guarantees do not extend to luxuries. For all classes, self-restraint is a central virtue, though in the lower classes control and moderation of one’s own desires are explicitly linked to the virtue of obedience, while in the upper classes such restraint is linked to wise and just rule (Pappas 39).
Much of The Republic is dedicated to a description of the system of education of the Guardians, as proper education is deemed essential to the development of the knowledge and skills needed to rule and administer the state. The educational process consists of several tiers, depending upon the talents and inclinations of individual students. Education for children of Guardians begins at an early age, with small children between the ages of three and six being taught carefully chosen myths that help to indoctrinate them in the official ideology of the state. The body is trained as well as the mind, and from ages seven to ten emphasis is placed on gymnastics and on the development of a strong, healthy body and of the physical skills needed for later military service (Benitez 41). For the next three years, reading and writing are taught, and ages thirteen to fifteen are devoted primarily to training in music and poetry. Mathematical sciences are taught between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. During this course of study up to age eighteen, instruction is carried out with as little compulsion as possible in an effort to inculcate a genuine love of knowledge and learning in the young students. On the other hand, the material being taught is carefully controlled to assure that the students do not develop ideas or opinions contrary to those of the state. From ages eighteen to twenty, however, training becomes much more rigid; these years are devoted to intense training for military service (Gerson 18).
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