The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic, 2016a

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28 The Emotional Power of Tune and Rhythm See 398c-400e. Unfortunately, no text adequately explaining the details of the Greek musical modes (harmoniai) survives from the time of Plato. What scholars have been able to piece together with a reasonable degree of certainty is that musicians considered the intervals of the fourth (e.g., c – f) and the fifth (e.g., c – g) “consonant,” that these two intervals, but especially the fourth, structured their scales, determining the top, middle, and bottom notes (see 443d), and that the notes falling between the upper and lower ends of the fourth varied according to the particular mode. (It also appears that the modes make considerable use of quartertones, notes that fall between adjacent keys on a piano. If it were possible for us to go back in time and listen to this music, accustomed as we are to the conventions of Western music, we might be surprised at its strangeness.) Although descriptions of the musical modes come down to us from late antiquity, quite detailed in some respects, scholars dispute whether the terms used in the Republic and the terms used in these texts refer to the same things. And even if they do, no one knows which notes in a given mode would have been emphasized, or in what sequence they would have been played, or with what rhythm, or in what tempo. So when Socrates talks about music in “the mixo-Lydian” or “the syntono- Lydian” we just have to accept that we do not know, and may never know, what sounds he has in mind. That said, the gist of his thought is straightforward enough. The patterns of rhythm and pitch that constitute what we human beings recognize as music have a great power to affect our emotions. And different musical patterns affect the soul differently. For a simple example (simple for our ears), compare the C major scale, c – d – e – f – g – a – b – c, to what has sometimes been called the “gypsy scale,” c – d – e flat – f sharp – g – a flat – b – c. Notice how the long interval between e flat and f sharp stirs up a kind of tension or restlessness in the soul that cannot be achieved in C major. Socrates’ idea is that the harmonic modes and rhythmic meters “imitate” various sorts of people. Just as words and gestures are able to call to mind a person’s actions and thoughts, tunes and rhythms are able to call to mind a person’s emotions. (Consider how directors use music in movies nowadays. We can only speculate about how the Greek dramatists used it in their
theater productions.) And so, just as we should be concerned about the influence of verbal imitation on the guardians-in-training, we should be concerned about the effect on their souls of tunes and rhythms. They should be encouraged not only to act, outwardly, like virtuous people, but also to feel like them within. Socrates thinks two sorts of music should suffice: one that imitates a person courageously standing up to danger or misfortune, and one that imitates a temperate person who calmly persuades others or is in turn persuaded by them. How is it that music is able to stir us emotionally in so many different ways? Is Socrates right that it works through imitation? Is there resemblance between people and music? Can music encourage a person to live a life of virtue, helping them feel what it is like to live such a life? Can music have a corrupting effect on a person, causing them to have feelings in tension with living a life of virtue? Suppose someone were to object that emotions have nothing to do with being a good person. What matters instead is whether or not a person acts dutifully, duty being a matter not of following what feels right, but of commanding oneself to do what reason determines is right. How might Socrates reply? Back
Page 2 and 3: The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guid
Page 4 and 5: 19 Luxuries in the Just City 20 The
Page 6 and 7: Book IX 80 Lawless Desires 81 The R
Page 8 and 9: Book I
Page 10 and 11: Back Is it possible to persuade a
Page 12 and 13: 3 Treasure for Heaven See 329d-331b
Page 14 and 15: 5 The Craft of Justice See 332b-334
Page 16 and 17: 6 Benefiting Friends and Harming En
Page 18 and 19: 7 The Advantage of the Stronger See
Page 20 and 21: 8 The Good Shepherd See 339a-348b.
Page 22 and 23: 9 The Blushing Argument See 348b-35
Page 24 and 25: 10 Function, Virtue, and the Soul S
Page 26 and 27: Book II
Page 28 and 29: 12 The Social Contract Theory of Ju
Page 30 and 31: 14 The Challenge See 360e-362c. Soc
Page 32 and 33: 15 The Teaching of Justice See 362c
Page 34 and 35: 16 Glaucon’s Lover See 368a. Not
Page 36 and 37: 18 Making the Most of Differences S
Page 38 and 39: 20 The Good Soldier See 374a-376e.
Page 40 and 41: 22 Gods Causing Bad Things See 377d
Page 42 and 43: 23 Gods in Disguise or Speaking Fal
Page 44 and 45: 24 Fear and Grief See 386a-388e. So
Page 46 and 47: Back Can a distinction be made bet
Page 48 and 49: 27 Narrative Style and Personal Int
Page 52 and 53: 29 Love of the Fine and Beautiful S
Page 54 and 55: sexually attractive the lovers may
Page 56 and 57: 31 Doctors and Judges See 405a-410a
Page 58 and 59: 32 Harmony in the Soul See 410a-412
Page 60 and 61: 33 Rulers See 412b-414b. It has bee
Page 62 and 63: 35 Private Property, Private Intere
Page 64 and 65: 36 The City as a Whole See 419a-423
Page 66 and 67: 37 Lawfulness Internalized, Legisla
Page 68 and 69: 38 Wisdom in the City See 427d-429a
Page 70 and 71: 40 Temperance in the City See 430d-
Page 72 and 73: Back families you may be fortunate
Page 74 and 75: pleasures of the body, with sensual
Page 76 and 77: 43 The Spirited Part of the Soul Se
Page 78 and 79: Back sufficient to prove that Socra
Page 80 and 81: Back appetitive part can be educate
Page 82 and 83: Book V
Page 84 and 85: 47 The Natures of Men and Women See
Page 86 and 87: Back Consider school sports teams.
Page 88 and 89: Back
Page 90 and 91: 50 The Waging of War See 466c-471e.
Page 92 and 93: 51 Philosophers and Knowledge of th
Page 94 and 95: Back imagined on the other? If so,
Page 96 and 97: 52 The Virtues of the Philosopher S
Page 98 and 99: Back Is the kind of understanding
Page 100 and 101:
Back Do the people who would make
Page 102 and 103:
Back provided to ordinary students?
Page 104 and 105:
57 The Form of the Good See 504a-50
Page 106 and 107:
58 Every Soul Pursues the Good See
Page 108 and 109:
60 Degrees of Clarity (the Line) Se
Page 110 and 111:
Book VII
Page 112 and 113:
Back lead them out of the cave? Wh
Page 114 and 115:
63 The Craft of Education See 518b-
Page 116 and 117:
65 Numbers as Summoners See 521c-52
Page 118 and 119:
66 Further Mathematical Studies See
Page 120 and 121:
68 Selecting Students for Philosoph
Page 122 and 123:
70 Completing the Education of the
Page 124 and 125:
Book VIII
Page 126 and 127:
Back authority, or would it be harm
Page 128 and 129:
(chivalry and bushido respectively)
Page 130 and 131:
75 The Oligarchic City See 550c-552
Page 132 and 133:
76 The Oligarchic Soul See 553a-555
Page 134 and 135:
77 The Democratic City See 555b-558
Page 136 and 137:
78 The Democratic Soul See 558c-562
Page 138 and 139:
79 The Tyrannical City See 562a-569
Page 140 and 141:
Book IX
Page 142 and 143:
81 The Right Way to Fall Asleep See
Page 144 and 145:
Back Imagine a person who is obses
Page 146 and 147:
Back What about the democratic cit
Page 148 and 149:
85 The Third Proof: True Pleasures
Page 150 and 151:
Back Socrates likens the people wh
Page 152 and 153:
87 An Emblem of the Soul See 588b-5
Page 154 and 155:
88 Will the Just Person Take Part i
Page 156 and 157:
89 Return to Poetry See 595a. In Bo
Page 158 and 159:
truth are highly entertaining. Cons
Page 160 and 161:
92 A Call to Poetry’s Defenders S
Page 162 and 163:
94 The Soul Without Barnacles See 6
Page 164 and 165:
96 Suffering, Philosophy, and the C
Page 166 and 167:
INDEX Numbers are to the 96 section
Page 168 and 169:
Definition, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17, 29, 38,
Page 170 and 171:
43, 74, 90, 96 Homosexuality, 16 Ho
Page 172 and 173:
Painters and painting, 19, 29, 56,
Page 174 and 175:
79, 82, 83 Suffering, 6, 12, 14, 22
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The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic, 2016a

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