Plato’s Philosophy: Historical Context, Key Concepts, and Political Thought
Historical Context
Plato was born in Athens, Greece, in 427 BC and died in 348 BC. At age 20, he met Socrates, who became his mentor. Following the rule of the Thirty Tyrants, Thrasybulus organized a revolt, restoring democracy in Athens. However, the injustices, including the condemnation of Socrates, convinced Plato that no existing government could achieve true justice. This led him to believe that philosophy could offer a cure for political ills and that a government led by philosophers would be the most just and harmonious.
Philosophical Context
Plato’s philosophy was influenced by several contemporary currents. Key influences include the Pythagoreans (body-soul dualism, immortality of the soul, harmony, and numbers), Parmenides (the way of opinion vs. the way of truth, reality vs. appearance, the nature of being), Heraclitus (the flux of physical reality), and Socrates (moral intellectualism, education, dialectics, absolute truth). However, Plato rejected the Sophists (relativism, skepticism, empiricism, political opportunism) and natural philosophers who focused solely on the physical world, which he believed could not provide true knowledge.
The Simile of the Line
With the simile of the line, Plato connects epistemology and ontology, conveying four key ideas:
Degrees of Reality (Ontology)
- Images
- Natural beings and artificial things
- Mathematical objects
- Forms
Levels of Knowledge (Epistemology)
- Imagination
- Belief
- Thought
- Intelligence
3. Correspondence: There is a correspondence between levels of reality and knowledge; the more real the object, the truer our knowledge of it.
4. Ascent to the Forms: In its ascent to the Forms, the soul must travel through all grades of being.
Body-Soul Connection
Plato held a dualistic conception of human beings, composed of body and soul (anthropological dualism). The union of soul and body is considered accidental. The soul is immaterial, immortal, and takes precedence over the body. It exists between the sensible and intelligible worlds, tending towards the intelligible. It pre-exists and can return through purification via knowledge (anamnesis or recollection).
The soul is divided into three parts or functions:
- Appetite: Source of material desires; it should develop moderation or temperance.
- Irascible: Source of passions and emotions; it should develop courage.
- Rational: Unique to humans, the seat of intelligence; it should develop wisdom or prudence.
Based on the dominant soul function, individuals are divided into three classes:
- Class of Producers (artisans, farmers, etc.): They produce necessities, retain private property, and have access to wealth. The appetitive function dominates, and they develop moderation and temperance.
- Warriors: They defend the city, receiving education in gymnastics and music. The irascible function dominates, and their virtue is courage. They are deprived of family but receive honors.
- Rulers-Philosophers: The upper class, ruling based on the Forms (justice, right, etc.). The rational function dominates, and their virtue is wisdom or prudence. They are selected from the guardians and receive advanced education (mathematics, philosophy, dialectic).
The body is material and mortal, a prison for the soul, dragging it towards sensible knowledge.
Ignoble and Noble Arts
Ignoble arts do not elevate the soul to truth. Gymnastics trains the body but is perishable; it is necessary for warriors. Music relies on the senses, so it does not reveal truth directly but can help guide us towards it. Similarly, other arts (painting, sculpture) do not show us ultimate truth.
Noble arts lead the soul to the intelligible world. Mathematics is essential, as all arts and knowledge involve number and calculation. It is also necessary for military tactics. Plane geometry is needed for setting up camps and positions, and volumetric geometry for further understanding. Astronomy aids in recognizing months and years, useful in navigation and strategy. It should be studied beyond visible celestial objects, focusing on the perfect movements (circles) accessible only to reason. Harmony is useful for studying beauty and goodness, but should extend beyond audible sound to the numerical relationships underlying it. Finally, the most important art is dialectic, the art of stating ideas scientifically, rigorously, and irrefutably.