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

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37 Lawfulness Internalized, Legislation Minimized See 423d-427c. Drawing their sketch of the good city to a close, Socrates emphasizes the importance of maintaining the high educational ideals already discussed and of guarding against lawlessness slipping in under the guise of innovation. To this end, the rulers should also be concerned with the games children play, “the silence appropriate for younger people in the presence of their elders, the giving up of seats for them and standing up in their presence, the care of parents, hairstyles, clothing, shoes, the general appearance of the body, and everything of that sort.” Socrates takes these “seemingly insignificant conventions” very seriously, and shows himself in this regard similar to Confucius, the father of Chinese philosophy (roughly a contemporary of Socrates, their births being within a hundred years of each other); both Socrates and Confucius insist that the little details of life are morally significant, particularly for young people learning to be good, who benefit from living in a way that has been carefully and consistently ordered. But for all his concern about regulating education, Socrates warns against passing laws regulating contracts, torts, taxes, and things of that sort. He suggests that, in general, people rely too heavily on legislation to solve social problems. Instead of becoming good themselves – internally virtuous – people try to bring about goodness through laws and the external compulsion that laws entail. It is like “sick people who, because they are intemperate, are not willing to abandon their bad way of life,” but are always seeking “some new drug that will make them healthy.” Education is the only true cure for social problems. Anything else is “just cutting off a Hydra’s head.” With respect to determining the proper religious practices for the city, Socrates admits to having “no knowledge of these things,” and indicates that the god at Delphi, Apollo, should be consulted. Do the games children play affect their moral development? Do some encourage crass materialism or discourage cooperation? Do some cultivate desirable intellectual or emotional traits? Does it perhaps not matter what children play but how they play? Consider
Back the virtue of good sportsmanship and how it is acquired. What effect could hairstyle and clothing conceivably have on moral development? What tools do rulers have to effect positive social change besides legislation?
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 50 and 51: 28 The Emotional Power of Tune and
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 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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