The Republic

The Republic is Plato's most important piece of work. The Republic is separated into books that detail topics such as; function of literature and music, equality of women, eugenics and communal housing. In Book's II and III the function of literature and music is discussed. Socrates is the narrator of this dialogue. The goal of The Republic is to answer the question what is justice?

In Book II, Socrates lists necessities of the state; food, dwelling and clothing. He then lists workman for the state which includes a builder, weaver, shoemaker however; in order to have a luxurious state occupations are extended, adding a carpenter, a smith, merchants, retailers, and soldiers. As luxuries accumulate, jobs and people accumulate, creating a need for more jobs which leads to overpopulation for the land; people begin to fight over land and war arises. Socrates continues by explaining the need for a "guardian" of the state. As book II ends Socrates is discussing education of music and gymnastic; he continues in book III.

Socrates explains that guardians of the state need to be gentle and moderate and exist in harmony. This happens with music, the soul and gymnastic, the body. When the soul and body are in harmony a temperate and courageous guardian exists. Socrates wishes to create a lie for future generations; not to harm but to help. He wants the future to understand and "believe" that their purpose was manufactured and each is composed of a metal such as gold, silver, bronze and iron. Each metal signifying a different role but all existing together. He believes this lie will help the future generations care more for their city and one another.

I enjoyed reading Apology and Crito more than The Republic. I think Socrates is much harder to follow and his reasoning's are more philosophical in the Republic. Although it was hard to follow, I was able to interpret most of the dialogue and make sense of Books II and III.