Requirements of a City; Socrates’ Discussion of The City In Speech
In The Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors attempt to find out what justice is through the formation of a city in speech; however issues arise when elements that the interlocutors appeal to cloud their judgement. These issues consist of the ability to purge one’s own desires. By addressing such issues, Socrates is educating Glaucon and Adeimantus through the discussion of the education of the guardians, this becomes key to the interpretation of what a just city entails. The significance of addressing this issue is the discussion of the ways which a city can thrive, and to do so, it must address all unnecessary factors and allocate proper resources to those that matter. Socrates’ suggestions for educating the guardians, educating his interlocutors on their desires, enforcement of the noble lie and the methods taken up to protect the city from its protectors is what allows a city to be just. I will prove this by giving a brief explanation of the relevance of the city in speech and why this came about. I will then provide an explanation as to how issues in the city arose. These issues will be addressed by providing examples from the meta-analysis that arises when Socrates is discussing the education of the guardians of which mirrors the education of the interlocutors. I will also address the characteristics that are mandatory for a ruler to have in order for the city to be deemed as just. Lastly, this paper will touch upon the enforcement of the noble lie so that the city can run as it should.
The formation of the city in speech came about during a discussion that addresses what justice seems to be. Socrates’ believed that in order to be able to efficiently discuss what justice entails, he and his interlocutors must build a city in speech (369a). Socrates’ task is to respond to the challenge posed by Glaucon and Adeimantus and prove that it is good to be just even if justice is without social existence. If justice is not with the relationships of other people then what can it be? (369b). To efficiently respond to this question, Socrates reposes the direction of the discussion by building a just city. Therefore, the conversation will demonstrate what it takes for a city to function efficiently. Socrates builds a city in speech for two reasons. The first reason being that people are just, cities are just, forms of government are just and the basic structure of society is just (369a). Secondly, cities are bigger than people and it makes more sense for Socrates to look at an isolated city’s regime with no international relations (369a). The formation of this metaphorical city proves its significance through a process of elimination, as to what is needed for a city to be deemed as just. If one can find justice in a city then one would be able to find justice from the city (369a). Looking for justice in a city would be an easier task than looking for justice in an individual. This statement can be supported through the notion that cities are very large; therefore, the justice found in the city can be generalizable to an individual. Justice within a city can be generalized to that of an individual due to the fact that individuals make up the city. This analysis is crucial to determining what justice is and can then be used to identify what a just city must entail. However, a problem arises with this city when Glaucon objects.
Prior to having been educated on the notion of purging one’s own desires, objections as to what a city requires to function can be made. Drawing from Glaucon’s objection, it can be argued that the city in speech they are building is equivalent to a city fit for pigs and that it is inhuman (372d-372e). This reasoning would come from the logic that an isolated city is not realistic and would be fit for animals. Glaucon makes this objection because he believes that humans need luxuries hence, a bigger city is required (372e-373a). It will be later proved that this is not a necessity; however, in order to acquire these luxuries, they must “…cut off a piece of our [their] neighbours’ land, if we [they] are going to have sufficient for pasture and tillage, and they [their neighbours] in turn from ours [theirs], if they let themselves go to the unlimited acquisition of money, overstepping the boundary of necessity?” (373d). This would then require the city to go to war and to do this, the city would require a whole army (374a). This is already proving that an abundance of luxuries in a city could cause conflict. This proves that in order for a city to be just, they must not indulge in too many luxuries and disturb the peace of their neighbours. Otherwise, this will turn into a war, what will be required for this war? The city would need an army to be raised and educated properly (374d). The discussion of educating the guardians is crucial to allowing the city to function efficiently. The sidetrack that now needs to be addressed is rearing the children to become appropriate guardians of the city through education. This is precisely when the meta-analysis begins, the one in which Socrates’ talks about the education of the guardians which mirrors Socrates’ education of Glaucon and Adeimantus. The education of the guardians is proposed through a schematic outline that is divided into two large areas. The first area is the education in music, this encompasses anything human beings make or any form of culture (376e). Education in music has three areas; speech, style and melody (376e). In order for a city to function and be deemed as just, it is decided that soldiers “…must be gentle to their own and cruel to enemies. If not, they’ll not wait for others to destroy them, but they’ll do it themselves beforehand” (375c). This requires the soldiers to act on the basis of knowledge. This would logically make sense to have educated soldiers because the safety rests in their hands. A city that functions properly is not one that engages in self-sabotage. In order for this issue to be addressed and for the city to function properly, Glaucon’s objections must be reformed from appealing to what most people think and Adeimantus must be reformed from appealing to poets.
Socrates’ needs to educate Adeimantus on the ‘mythical’ education of the guardians by pushing him to let go of his attachments to poets. Socrates’ discusses that soldiers need to be devoted to the makers of the city and not the city’s imitators (494c). Socrates’ suggests that soldiers should imitate their own virtues and not those that will worsen them (494c). Poets often imitate the city and relay questionable stories. In order for a city to be deemed as just, soldiers need to be devoted to the city rather than falling through with the mistakes highlighted in the stories told by poets. Socrates’ brings up the point of a regime of censorship and reminds Adeimantus that poets are telling children horrible stories about gods and heroes (377e). This method of censorship is what will shelter the future city’s generation and allow them to grow up surrounded by age appropriate tales. The question is then proposed to Adeimantus; would you want to expose children to stories of Zeus killing people or sexually assaulting women he finds attractive? (377b). In the stories that the poets were telling, greek gods were presented to be very nasty (378a). Socrates states how children should not be exposed to these kids of stories (377b). This argument is seen to be effective on Adeimantus (397b). This discussion proves that both men decided that children should be educated with a form of censorship and Adeimantus was educated to whom he appeals to. This method is crucial to the classification of a just and properly functioning city because children cannot grow up hearing such vial stories. Granted, children will be exposed to unpleasantries throughout their lives; however, they must not grow up believing that because the God’s have done it, then it is acceptable for them to do it. The objection of appealing to those who share uncensored stories can therefore be rebutted. The poets related horrific stories of the Gods and for a city to be just, it cannot be educating the future guardians in that way.
The next portion of the discussion is between Socrates and Glaucon and is dedicated to the education of song, rhythm and gymnastics. Socrates succeeds to purge the city in speech of luxuries imported by Glaucon. This was crucial to deeming a city just because it eliminates the need to take land from their neighbours. Socrates got Glaucon to agree that in terms of music, there will not be any flute music (399E). In terms of diet, Socrates gets Glaucon to agree on getting rid of all relishes and spicy pickles that he had imported into the city (404c). Once the diet is purged of all the unnecessary flavours, all the dietary doctors are no longer necessary for their city (405b). The elimination of all these unnecessary things lead to a more peaceful and just city, it also eliminates the possibility of greed. Once having gotten rid of luxuries, it does not fully rid the possibility of war, need of education or soldiers but it does transform their significance. It is presupposed that now, the city is going to have spirited, powerful men who are not going to resemble guard dogs but will resemble wolves (409a-409b). However, a city cannot survive being safeguarded by wolves that attack the people they are supposed to be protecting. Therefore, the discussion as to what a just city entails is not complete. For a city to be just and function properly, it cannot have its protectors to be uneducated and just driven by their spiritedness. They must be educated on how to properly use their spiritedness, thus, eliminating the possibility of them turning on those they are supposed to protect and reinforcing the importance of education.
The question has now changed, how can the city then protect itself from its protectors? (412a). In the city in speech, there are armed and powerful men in charge and are relied on to protect the city. However, how is one supposed to restrain them and keep them in line to remain guard dogs and not become wolves that eat the people they are supposed to keep safe? (410e). Socrates’ and Glaucon discuss the ruler’s mandatory characteristics. If the ruler’s characteristics are made known, this can allow for a city to be just because it will be under the rule of someone deemed capable of their position. By setting out these regulations, it will discourage anyone from assuming power that does not have the best interest of the city. This will preserve the city’s virtues and lead it to justice. The ruler should be older because they have experience, the ones with more virtue, those who are skilled, prudent, stronger, powerful, caring and full of love (412c-414b). Socrates’ proposes that the ruler’s need to be skillful guardians of a dogma which is a translation of opinion (412E-413C). The guardians must then guard the opinions of what is best for the city. For the city to protect itself and function as one should, it needs to have a ruler that will guard the opinion that is in the best interest of the people ruled over.
The final part of the discussion of what a just city must entail ties into the emergence of the noble lie. The noble lie is broken down into four parts. The first part is that the people of the city are born out of the land from which they came from (415a). The second part of the noble lie is that people are born into different castes according to the metal that is mixed in their soul (415b-415c). The third part is that in order for people to discover their rightful caste, they must go through the testing process which would be through the acquisition of knowledge (415d-416c). The final part of the noble lie is that there is a prophecy, in which if anyone from a lower caste gets the position of rulership, the city will end (416a). The point of discussing this noble lie is so that the rulers of the city understand that dogma is of great importance (415c). The public good is what the ruler will pursue. The point to this myth is that it will keep the rulers as guard dogs rather than having them transgress into wolves (416c-416d). The noble lie will keep the strong in check thus, holding the city from falling apart. All the points mentioned draw back to the necessity of education and the meta-analysis that occurs with Socrates’ interlocutors. Socrates believes that there are important components to finalize this discussion. Firstly, in order to keep the powerful in check, they must be educated properly. Second, it is believed that the powerful must have appropriate housing (416d). Thirdly, the rulers cannot have private property beyond their necessities (416d). Lastly, the powerful must eat common public meals and they should not have any gold, nor silver (416e-417a). This will keep the powerful from turning into wolves. These final points are necessary in keeping a city just because it will defer greedy people from assuming positions of power. Positions of power will then be fulfilled by people who genuinely value dogma because their position in power will not be satisfying any of their desires. Glaucon’s objections are then refused and in support of my thesis, Socrates’ arguments have proven to be a success because Glaucon agrees to all these conditions (416c).
Through the formation of a city in speech, it is proven what a city needs in order for it to function as efficiently as possible. It is through the discussion of the proper education of the guardians which mirrors that of the education of Socrates’ interlocutors that it can be argued what a city requires and does not require to be just. By refuting the objections made by Glaucon and Adeimantus’, it recognized what is needed for the city to function. It is proven that in order for a city to function as best as one should, the guardians of the city must be properly educated, there must be a form of censorship with regards to what is taught to the children, there must be an education of song, rhythm and gymnastics, the ruler’s must have mandatory characteristics, the noble lie must be enforced and ruler’s must have no material advantages. The city in speech is significant to providing the explanation as to what a real city would require to be deemed as just. Through the examination of objections, the case was made that luxuries can be overlooked and replaced with more mandatory things.
Word Count: 2491
Bibliography
Plato. Republic. Translated by A. Bloom. In The Republic of Plato. United States: Basic Books, 2016
Photo number 1 taken from YouTube screenshot; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTT636fOtvM
Photo number 2; https://greatbooksguy.com/2017/09/24/platos-republic-book-ii-part-i-glaucon-and-adeimantus/
Photo number 3 link; https://brewminate.com/philosophers-and-kings-platos-republic/
