Book 1
1. Plato begins the Republic with the line 'I went down to the
Piraeus'. Assuming
Plato is a skillful dramatist and that there is purpose to every
detail,
what is the significance of this opening?
2. According to Plato's Socrates, what is justice?
Df 1: Is it telling the truth and returning what you receive?
Df 2: Is it giving each his due?
Df 3: Is it the advantage of the stronger?
3. What is the value of justice? Why should we go to the trouble of
being
just?
4. Describe the disagreement between Socrates and Thrasymachus about
what
justice is. Then look at 343b, where Thrasymachus says 'injustice the
opposite;
for the unjust is lord over the truly simple [good-natured] and just'.
What does he mean by "truly just" here? Does he really disagree with
Socrates
about what justice is?
5. What is the result of Book 1, and Plato's point in writing it?
Republic Books 2-10
6. In a famous and important passage, Glaucon describes the Myth of
Gyges,
359d ff.. Socrates, in response, argues that it is better to be just
and
appear unjust then to be unjust and appear just. What is his reason,
and
do you agree?
7. In Book II Socrates and Adeimantos discuss the origins of the city,
and
consider an economic account: a city arises to satisfy basic economic
needs.
Does Socrates ultimately agree that the purpose of government is to
help
citizens satisfy needs and accumulate wealth? (Consult Book IV as well)
8. In Book III Plato's Socrates discusses what scholars refer to as the
"noble
lie"-- what is it and why does he think we need it?
9. Is the ideal city Socrates lays out really ideal? What are its
features? Who is in charge?
10. How does Plato think we obtain the just city? Is justice obtained
primarily
through the enactment and enforcement of laws?
11. What are the reasons Plato's Socrates gives for rejecting a
democratic form of government,
and are his reasons convincing? (One passage to consider is 488a, in Bk
VI, where Socrates compares ruling a city to running a ship.)
12. What are the four virtues and their relation (427c-434d)?
13. One of the most radical features of the just city that Socrates
sketches
is the relationship between the sexes and the upbringing of children.
What
is Socrates' plan and what are his reasons for suggesting it?
14. At times Plato implies that people are what they are by nature; at
other
times he implies that they can be shaped by education, that they are
malleable. Does
Plato tend to side more with the view that humans have an intrinsic
'nature' or with the view that they are malleable and subject to
socialization?
15. Plato's Socrates believes we can have knowledge, rather than mere
opinion,
about the best polity. Do you agree?
16. Why should the philosopher "return to the cave" to govern
the city, rather then just live alone and lead a contemplative life, in
Plato's view?
17. Why do you think Plato bothered to write the Republic, and
why write it as a dialogue rather than as an exposition? Who is his
audience
and what is he trying to achieve?