Structure of Plato's Republic

Three interpretations, or summaries, of Plato's Republic follow. They are not, by any measure, an exhaustive representation, but represent accepted contemporary English language views on the work.

Contents

Bertrand Russell

In his History of Western Philosophy (1945), Bertrand Russell sees three parts in Plato's Republic:[1]

  1. Book I-V: the Utopia part, portraying the ideal community, starting from an attempt to define justice;
  2. Book VI-VII: since philosophers are seen as the ideal rulers of such community, this part of the text concentrates on defining what a philosopher is;
  3. Book VIII-X: discusses several practical forms of government, their pros and cons.

The core of the second part is discussed in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and articles related to Plato's theory of (ideal) forms. The third part, concentrating also on education, is also strongly related to Plato's dialogue The Laws.

Cornford, Hildebrandt and Voegelin subdivisions

Francis Cornford, Kurt Hildebrandt and Eric Voegelin contributed to an establishment of subdivisions marked by special formulae in Greek:

Prologue 
I.1. 327a—328b. Descent to the Piraeus
I.2—I.5. 328b—331d. Cephalus. Justice of the Older Generation
I.6—1.9. 331e—336a. Polemarchus. Justice of the Middle Generation
I.10—1.24. 336b—354c. Thrasymachus. Justice of the Sophist
Introduction 
II.1—II.10. 357a—369b. The Question: Is Justice Better than Injustice?
Part I: Genesis and Order of the Polis 
II.11—II.16. 369b—376e. Genesis of the Polis
II.1—III.18. 376e—412b. Education of the Guardians
III.19—IV.5. 412b—427c. Constitution of the Polis
IV.6—IV.I9. 427c—445e. Justice in the Polis
Part II: Embodiment of the Idea
V.1—V.16. 449a—471c. Somatic Unit of Polis and Hellenes
V.17—VI.14. 471c—502c. Rule of the Philosophers
VI.19—VII.5. 502c—521c. The Idea of the Agathon
VII.6—VII.18. 521c—541b. Education of the Philosophers
Part III: Decline of the Polis
VIII.1—VIII.5. 543a—550c. Timocracy
VIII.6—VIII.9. 550c—555b. Oligarchy
VIII.10—VIII.13. 555b—562a. Democracy
VIII.I4—IX-3. 562a—576b. Tyranny
Conclusion 
IX.4—IX.13. 576b—592b Answer: Justice is Better than Injustice
Epilogue 
X.1—X.8. 595a—608b. Rejection of Mimetic Art
X.9—X.11. 608c—612a. Immortality of the Soul
X.12. 612a—613e. Rewards of Justice in Life
X.13—X.16. 613e—631d. Judgment of the Dead

The paradigm of the city - the idea of the Good, of the Agathon - has for Plato a manifold of historical embodiments. The embodiment must be undertaken by those who have seen the Agathon and are ordered through the vision. Hence, in the centre piece of the Republic, Part II, 2-3, Plato deals with the rule of the philosopher and the vision of the Agathon in the famous allegory of the cave, with which Plato clarifies his theory of forms.

That center piece is preceded and followed by the discussion of the means that will secure a well-ordered polis. Part II, 1 deals with marriage, the community of people and goods for the guardians, and the restraints on warfare among the Hellenes. It has been incorrectly described as a communistic utopia, a word that is not even extant in classical Greek. Part II, 4 deals with the philosophical education of the rulers who will preserve the order.

The central Part II, the Embodiment of the Idea, is preceded by the building of economic and social of order for a polis in Part I; and is followed by an analysis in Part III, of the decline through which the right order will have to pass. The three parts form the main body of the dialogue, with their discussion of paradigm , its embodiment, its genesis, and its decline.

That main body is framed by an Introduction and a Conclusion. The discussion of right order was occasioned by a question whether justice is better than injustice, or whether unjust man will not fare better than the just man. The introductory question is balanced by the concluding answer that justice is preferable to injustice.

The main body of the dialogue, together with its Introduction and Conclusion, finally, is framed by the Prologue of Book I and the Epilogue of Book X. The prologue is a short dialogue in itself and it portrays the common opinions doxai about justice. The Epilogue is not grounded in reason but in faith. It describes the new arts and the immortality of the soul.

Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss sees a four-part structure of the dialogue: he looks at the entire dialogue as a drama played out between particular characters, each with particular points of view and levels of comprehension:

  1. Book I: Socrates is compelled by force to Cephalus's home. Three definitions of justice are presented, and all three are found lacking.
  2. Books II-V: Socrates is challenged by Glaucon and Adeimantus to prove why a perfectly just person, who is seen by the entire world as unjust, would be happier than the perfectly unjust person, who hides his injustice from view and is seen by the entire world as just. This stark challenge is the engine and drive of the dialogue; it is only with this 'charge' that we begin to witness how Socrates actually conducted himself with the young men of Athens he was convicted of corrupting. Because a definition of justice is assumed by Glaucon and Adeimantus, Socrates makes a detour; he forces the group to try to uncover justice, and then to answer the question posed to him about the intrinsic value of the just life.
  3. Books V-VI: The 'Just City in Speech' is now built from the earlier books, and three waves or critiques of the city are encountered. According to Leo Strauss and his student Allan Bloom they are: communism, communism of wives and children, and the rule of philosophers. The 'Just City in Speech’ stands or falls by these complications.
  4. Books VII-X: Socrates has 'escaped' his capturers, for he has convinced them, at least for the moment, that the just man is the happy man. He then spends much time reinforcing their prejudices. He displays a rationale for political decay, and he ends the dialogue recounting a myth, The Myth of Er, or everyman, which acts as a consolation for non-philosophers who fear death.

References

  1. ^ Russell, Bertrand, History of Western Philosophy, begin of Book I, part 2, ch. 14.