I just finished Book V of the Republic and I am on the edge of the threshold of the famous cave analogy of Plato’s. . . .
Plato at the end of Book V of the Republic makes an intriguing proposition, where the darkness of ignorance is met half way by opinion before resolving on the road to the house of knowledge.
This analogy comes from section 478(c), p. 154 of Book V of the Grube / Reeve paperback translation of Plato’s Republic. Opinions, explains Socrates, involve the differences among the “many.” Knowledge involves the understanding of what unifies it, the fundamental principle at work.
In Platonic philosophy, these abiding truths are the forms, but the concept applies regardless of how one frames it. It’s a powerful and useful distinction between the opinion among instances versus knowledge about what abides.
One can sense the immense longing behind this entire Book of the Republic, the longing for Greek city-states to not be mercilessly at war without boundaries, the longing for cities themselves not to be torn by the competition for private property.
Today, our concept of international human rights addresses the need for boundaries of what happens during conflict, a fundamental plea for mercy or basic respect for the living. Likewise, though only mentioned expressly in one concise paragraph, there is no escaping the conflicts of private property. Plato does seek to control this conflict in his ideal city, including by restricting ownership by the ideal leadership, and also by endorsing forms of collectivism, including the collective raising of children, so everyone in the ideal city consider each other: brother and sister, mother and father, son and daughter, cousin beside cousin. The value of private property as a fundamental tool of liberty and safety, compared to collectivism, cannot be ignored. This is another reason I enjoy this book for the abiding questions, the provocative longings, the brilliant explorations. . . .
Plato’s solution of philosopher-kings, from section 473(d)-(e), p. 148 of the Grube / Reeve paperback translation, is first mentioned here in Book V. The above discussion frames this concept. In the spirit of keeping this blog post shortish, one can parse the concept as follows: the combination of a thoughtful philosopher with hands-on ability to lead like a king.
For now, let’s leave it there.
Cheers,
G. H. Mosson
Maryland, USA