PLATO
Lecture 1
INTRODUCTION
• Born 427 BC ---Aristocratic Background.
• Aristocles ---Nick name Plato(Broad and strong shoulders)
• Peloponnesian War(430-404 BC) and its aftermath
• Athenian Politics
• Execution of Socrates(399 BC)
• Disenchantment with Politics
• Returned from self-exile and founded Academy 1386 BC
• Died 347 BC
IMPORTANT WORKS
The Republic (Sub-titled as Concerning Justice) The republic in Greek means justice, and should not be
used or understood in this Latin sense meaning the States or the Polity.
The Statesman
The Laws(Plato’s Second best state, “The doctrine of mixed government”)
Topics To Be Covered For CSS
• Theory Of Justice
• Theory Of Ideal State (Philosopher King )
• Theory Of Communism
• Theory Of Education
METHODOLOGY
• Socrates Maxim “Knowledge Is Virtue”
• Dialectics “Truth exists without contradictions”
• Used Socrates as a Mouthpiece(The chief Protagonist in “Republic”)
• Preached Idealism (Utopia)
• Analogy in State and Soul(State is Individual writ Large)
• Rule of Philosophy
“mankind’s troubles will never cease until either true and genuine philosophers achieve political power
or, by some dispensation of providence, rulers of states become genuine philosophers.”
PLATO’S THEORY OF JUSTICE
• The sub-title of the Republic, ‘Concerning Justice’ shows the extra ordinary importance which Plato attached to justice.
• Plato’s theory of justice is quite different from and contrary to the justice as we understand it in constitutional-legal terms,
it can be summed in following two quotes from the Republic. “Justice is having and doing what is one’s Own” and “A just
man is a man just in the right place doing his best and giving full equivalent of what he receives”.
• Justice is the integrating principle in Plato’s Ideal State. A Moral Concept: A bond which holds the Society together.
• Justice in Platonic theory of justice means ‘will to concentrate on one’s own sphere of duty and not to meddle with the
sphere of others’.
• Functional Specialization
• Non Interference in other’s domain
THEORY OF JUSTICE
EXISTING THEORIES
Plato in his masterpiece, the Republic, reviews the then prevailing theories of justice.
Traditional Theory
Helping Friends & Paying Debts.
Radical Theory of Sophists
Justice is the Interest of the stronger(Might is right).
Pragmatic Theory
Justice is the child of Fear.
TRADITIONAL THEORY
• Telling truth and paying off debts Cephalus
• Returning a knife to a friend who has now
Socrates become mad.
TRADITIONAL THEORY
Polemarchus
• Doing good to friend and harm to enemy.
• One can easily mistake a friend to be an enemy
Socrates and an enemy to be a friend.
RADICAL THEORY
• Justice is the Interest of the stronger. Thrasymachus
• An unjust is superior to a just in character and intelligence.
• Injustice brings happiness.
• Medicine an art like rest of crafts is practiced in the
interest of patient and not in the interest of doctor.
Socrates
Hence, justice is practiced in the interest of public not
necessarily the ruler or stronger.
PRAGMATIC THEORY
• Justice is the child of Fear i.e we behave justly only
because we are fearful of being caught and punished. Glaucon
• Glaucon proposes a thought experiment— “Gyges’
Ring”
PLATO’S JUSTICE
• The State is Individual Writ Large.
• It is Difficult to define justice at individual level.
• Justice can be defined for the state and then can be applied to individual level.
• Plato creates a hypothetical ideal state to define Justice.
• An Ideal state for Plato possessed four cardinal virtues of Wisdom, Courage, Discipline and Justice.
Wisdom because its rulers were persons of knowledge, courage because its warriors were brave, self
discipline because of the harmony that pervaded the societal matrix due to a common agreement as to
who ought to rule, and finally, justice of doing one’s job for which one was naturally filled without
interfering with others. Justice for Plato is a bond which holds the society together.
PLATO’S JUSTICE AS A POLITICAL VIRTUE
• Justice is obviously a very odd virtue, different in kind from wisdom, courage and self-control.
• Other virtues are worth practicing even though others do not practice them.
• It is to my advantage to be wise even if others are foolish, brave if others are poltroons, and
temperate if others are profligates.
• At the very least these virtues do not make me vulnerable and they might help me to a position of
dominance on the principle that in the kingdom of blind one-eyed man is king.
• Justice holds out no such promise, Justice has to be widely practiced fot the just to survive and
the worst position of all would be to be the only just man left.
CLASSES IN IDEAL CITY OR KALLIPOLIS
1. Philosophers, a ruling Class which is the representative of REASON.
2. Auxiliaries, a class of warriors which is the representative of SPIRIT.
3. Artisans, a working class which is the representative of APPETITE.
FUNCTIONAL SPECIALIZATION
• Plato’s functional specialization is a direct corollary of this theory of Justice.
• Plato asserts that functional specialization demands from every class to specialize itself in the
station of life allotted to it and not to meddle with the duties of others. True Justice to Plato,
therefore, consists in the principle of non-interference
INDIVIDUAL JUSTICE
• Elements of a human soul
• Rational
• Spirit
• Appetite or Desire
Justice as the fourth virtue balancing and harmonizing the other three qualities.
Individuals in whom the rational faculty was predominant would constitute the ruling
class and those in whom spirit was the predominant quality were the auxiliaries or
warriors. Lastly, individuals whose souls were appetitive exhibited a fondness for material
things were the artisans, the producing class.
CITY-SOUL ANALOGY
Just City Just Soul
Ruling Class Reason
Warrior Class Courage
Appetite or Desire
Working Class
UNJUST MEN AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY
• Plato sees a very close connection between instability of character and political instability. An
unstable character is one where the naturally ruling part is not in control, and an unstable state is
one where men who are not naturally in control of themselves control public affairs. In both
cases, an inherent instability will cause unhappiness sooner or later; much better to get things
properly organized at the outset.
• Plato’s Republic is largely an attempt to show how just men can be produced and how
advantageous it would be if they were to rule a polis.
CRITICISMS
• Legally not enforceable; based on self-control and self abnegation.
• Ignores the cons of Functional Specialization;
• Inter and Intra Class Conflict;
• Not applicable to modern states;
• Class division is not realistic;
• Class consciousness and discord in society;
• Totalitarianism;
• Philosophers incapable to govern;
• Majority has no say in governance;
THEORY OF EDUCATION
• Plato has a belief in the dictum that Virtue is knowledge.
• Greatest treatises on education to be ever written--- [Link]
• Education as an instrument of moral reform for the realization of Justice and the new Social
Order.
• For Plato education serves two-fold purpose; it enables the individual to realize himself and then
adjusts him harmoniously and usefully to the Society.
A STATE CONTROLLED EDUCATION SYSTEM
• Plato recommended a state controlled compulsory and comprehensive scheme of education
meant for both men and women.
• Impressed by the result of state controlled education system in Sparta
• Plato’s system of education had both the Athenian and the Spartan influence; It drew from
Athens the values of creativity, excellence and individual achievement and integrated it with the
state controlled system of Sparta.
• The elementary education was to be imparted to all the three classes
PROGRESSIVE AND SYSTEMATIC SCHEME OF EDUCATION
• Progressive Scheme of Education
• Aimed at Physical, moral, mental and intellectual development of human personality.
• A strict grading policy; consisted of different levels and stages starting from 6 to 50 years.
• Entrusted with the responsibility of producing the Ruling Class.
• Comprehensive plan to meet the educational requirements of all classes.
• Inculcates sense of political responsibility in individuals.
• Education for both genders.
• Censorship of literature.
MERITOCRATIC SYSTEM
• Plato’s Education system serves both to undergird and sustain the idea of political order and to
provide a ladder; those who have the capacity can climb the social ladder and contingencies and
limitations of political life.
• These two purposes, according to Plato, are not Contradictory. Rather they support and sustain
each other.
• Plato’s promise that there will be no wastage of talent makes it a reasonable inference that
nobody will in principle be excluded, and certainly not women. However, Plato’s scheme of
education was undemocratically devised in so far as it ignored the producing class completely.
Elementary Education Age 6-20
Till 20 Years Training in Gymnastics, Music and other Arts.
Test
20-30 Years Mathematics and Dialectics
Test
Advanced study of Dialectics and Mathematics along
30-35 Years
with practical apprenticeship
Test
35-50 Years Practical Training.
Test
Philosopher Ruler
CRITICISMS
• Censorship of literature.
• State-Controlled system.
• Education as a political tool.
• Discord and Class conflict.
• Shall produce Ideal Philosophers instead of Ideal men of Action.
• Ignores the producing class completely.
• Revolutionary and unduly expensive system of Education.
• Overly generalized system that does not consider Individuals aspirations.
THEORY OF COMMUNISM
• Platonic theory of Communism is two-fold; Communism of Property and Communism of
Family.
• Communism of Property is a logical corollary of Theory of Justice.
• Communism of Family is a logical corollary of Communism of Property.
• While education was designed to create proper environment for nurturing and development of
human soul, the communism tried to eliminate all the negativities that obstructed the proper
growth of the individual.
RATIONALE FOR COMMUNISM
• Plato’s Justice entails that Guardian Class(Rulers and auxiliaries) must do away with property, for
property represents the elements of appetite. To prevent the guardians from competing with the
producers. ‘private property’ is outlawed for them.
• Further, to do away with property demands the communism of families. To prevent them from
competing with each other they are mandated to hold their property, spouses, and children in common.
The premise for abolition of property and family by Plato is the fact that they encouraged nepotism,
favoritism, particularism, factionalism and other corrupt practices.
• According to Prof. Dunning ‘property and family appears to be the chief sources of dissension in every
community. Anxiety for one’s children is a form of self-seeking more insidious than desire for property’.
COMMUNISM AND POLITICAL STABILITY
• Cause of political instability and changes of regime is disunity in the ruling group,
and the ideal recipe for political stability is unity above and disunity below.
• If all the material wealth in a society is possessed by the ruled class, then they can quarrel
about it to their hearts content.(Disunity Below)
• The same is true of honor. Provided that competition for honor is confined to a military caste
who are kept from the highest positions in the state, then the military are unlikely to compete
with their rulers, who are above such things.(Disunity Below)
• Communism prevents rulers from competing with each other.(Unity Above)
• Guardian class lives together in Barracks.
• Guardians follow Greek Rule ‘Friends have everything in Common.
• Plato’s criticism of conventional marriage; led to women’s subordination.
• Relieved women of child caring responsibilities; State shall take care of children once they were
born.
• Policy of Eugenics(selective breeding).
COMPARISON WITH MODERN COMMUNISM
SIMILARITIES
• Both ignore individual at the expense of society.
• Both are totalitarian and disregard liberty.
• Both ignore human nature and human instincts.
• Both try to eliminate economic competition.
• Both promote political unity and social harmony.
COMPARISON WITH MODERN COMMUNISM
DIFFERENCES
• Both serve different political ends; Plato’s basis is material temptation whereas Modern
Communism concerns social stratification.
• Plato prevents concentration of economic and political power in same hands; modern
communism vows for political power in the hands of producing class.
• Modern communism only abolishes Private property whereas Plato’s communism involved
abolition of family in addition to property.
• Plato’s communism is limited to two upper classes only.
CRITICISMS
• Abolition of property for guardians is unfair.
• Communism of family against human nature.
• No evidence of unity due to abolition of family.
• Communism of wives can create serious disorder and discord.
• Common children would be neglected, for every body’s child is nobody’s responsibility.
• State-Controlled mating is illogical and unprecedented.
• Institution of marriage will be abolished.
• Unrealistic, utopian and too imaginary.
PHILOSOPHER-RULER
• The true Philosopher-Ruler is a reluctant ruler. His heart is set on the Good, and he accepts the burdens
of rulership because the Good can only survive and prosper in a city which is ruled by just men.
• The Philosopher King himself gets nothing out of Ruling except for the satisfaction of doing it well.
• The absence of a system of checks.
• If there is no body of men to keep Guardians in control there should at least be the
constraining force of law. The sympathetic critics of Plato turn to his work ‘The Laws’ with
relief because there rulership is hemmed in by law and the prime duty of rulers is to keep
the laws unchanged and to obey them.
CHALLENGE TO PHILOSOPHER’S RULE
COUP D’ÉTAT.
• Much more likely to come from the Auxiliary class than from the working class
• Group of slightly disappointed superior men.
• The Auxiliary class has a kind of group solidarity which the ruled class lacks.
• More in numbers than full fledge guardians.
• What would the Auxiliary class actually spend its time doing?
• Auxiliaries might also be reconciled to their position in Plato’s scheme of things by respect
which comes from seniority and the state religion(Myth of Metals).
POLITICAL DEGENERATION
Democracy
Timocracy
Oligarchy
Aristocracy Tyranny