Analysis of Platos Republic Essay - 458 Words

Philosophy is a Greek word meaning love of wisdom. Throughout Platos Republic, wisdom plays an important role. According to Plato, education is wisdom. In the passage, 518d, Plato discusses the true meaning of education vicariously through Socrates. Some literary mechanisms can be found in the passage and I will show how they fit in the text and how they contribute to the main themes of Platos Republic. In Book VII Socrates has finished listening to other opinions and is now formulating a response. The oration is an excerpt from an intellectual conversation between Socrates and Glaucon. The goal of the dialogue is to reach a viable explanation of education. Simile is used in the passage when Socrates compares the instrument†¦show more content†¦In the allegory Socrates gives an account of a man that breaks free from his bonds and makes his way out of the darkness into the outside world. His story represents a mans journey to enlightenment. To reach enlightenment a man must use education to break the bonds of ignorance and direct his sight towards true things that originate from the Form of Good. Man already has the capacity to see, he only needs guidance. Guidance is the job of the philosopher kings. After these kings have reached enlightenment it is their duty to travel back into the cave and educate some of the ignorant masses. Socrates says that wherever sight is set is what will be seen with the most clarity. If a man doesnt have his sight set on the right things, he can still be very clever but his sight is forced to serve evil ends, so that the sharper it sees, the more evil it accomplishes. (519a). Platos Republic is a blueprint for his ideal society. In his republic education is something only attainable to the philosopher-kings. It is beneficial for the philosopher-kings to be very well educated so they will make good decisions while they are ruling the republic. The reason that no one else should receive such an elaborate education (in Platos opinion) is because the rest of the people in the city only need to do what they are specialized in. This seems to be divergent from what Socrates previously said, ...the power to learn is present in everyonesShow MoreRelatedA Critical Analysis Of Citizen Life In Platos The Republic1552 Words   |  7 PagesThis philosophical study will compare the two paradigmatic regimes of the aristocracy and tyranny and also provide a critical analysis of citizen life in Plato’s The Republic. The similarities between Socrates’ definition of the Philosopher King of the aristocracy and the tyrant are that a single ruler governs ove r the republic. In some ways, the empowerment of a single individual provides a catalyst for an aristocratic engagement of the nobleman to support this form of governance. 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