Plato’s Republic: Dialectic as the Science of Ideas
Commentary on an Excerpt from Plato’s *The Republic*
The proposed text of the commentary is an excerpt from the book *The Republic* by the Greek philosopher Plato (4th-5th century BC). This philosopher was a pupil of Socrates, who influenced him greatly. Plato attempted to unravel the “what” of each thing, as a result of which knowledge is to be conceived as knowledge of the universal.
The Dialectic as a Philosophical Method
The main idea of the text is the dialectic as the science of ideas. The dialectic is a philosophical method proposed by Plato to access the world of ideas. In Plato’s philosophy, it has two significant forms: the dialectic understood as a *rational method* or as an *erotic impulse*.
Dialectic as a Rational Method
As a rational method, it is a cognitive activity, as it is the exercise of reason. Its purpose is the knowledge of the intelligible world and the relationships between ideas. Being strictly rational, it is not based on perception and uses pure reason. This knowledge leads to strict, universal, and necessary knowledge. It does not accept hypotheses; it does not accept as true any premise that has not been questioned, looking for the ultimate meaning, the deeper reason for each subject matter.
Dialectic as an Erotic Impulse
As an erotic impulse, it is a more emotional and volitional activity than intellectual. It compromises the sphere of feeling, love, or desire for beauty and joy in its possession. The object is the aesthetic understanding of the intelligible world. The ultimate aim is the understanding of the aesthetics of the Idea of Beauty. In *Symposium*, Plato makes Socrates describe the different phases of this “dialectic of love”: We should start at the absolute intake of Beauty, starting with the desire for sensible beauty, beauty that is found in the bodies, moving to the understanding of the beauty of souls, the beauty of good deeds and fair laws, the beauty of science, and finally, the beauty of understanding the existence of absolute beauty or the Idea of Beauty.
Levels of Reality and Knowledge in *The Republic*
This particular piece belongs to Book VI, which presents the image of a line divided into two and then four segments. We represent the different levels of reality (sensible and intellectual knowledge) that correspond to various degrees of knowledge (or guess/imagination “*eikasia*”, belief or faith “*pistis*”, discursive reason “*dianoia*”, intuitive reason “*noesis*”).
Sensible Knowledge
Sensible knowledge is knowledge of the second order, mere opinion, which is not, therefore, true knowledge. It is distinguished by:
- *Eikasia*: The knowledge of the images, shadows, and reflections of sensible things. These things are not discernible, demonstrable, or intuited.
- *Pistis*: The knowledge of sensible things immediately noticeable, such as the things of nature and art. Such things are imperfect copies of the Ideas and are not demonstrable or intuited.
Intellectual Knowledge
Intellectual knowledge consists of:
- *Dianoia*: This gives us knowledge of mathematical objects, which are intermediate entities between the sensible and the intelligible, as they are eternal, and there is a host for each species. Knowledge of this entity is given through a sensible intuition of “*nous*” as ideas, but unlike them, sensitivity is also needed.
- *Noesis*: This gives us knowledge of the Ideas. These are apprehended directly without the aid of the senses, in an intellectual vision. This vision is accomplished through what could be called the “organ of vision of the soul,” the *nous*. But these ideas maintain a hierarchical relationship to each other, forming a unit. To know this relationship, the dialectic is needed. Therefore, the science that corresponds to this level of knowledge is the dialectic.