In his text, The Republic, Plato takes on the monumental task of elucidating the theme of justice through Socrates' speech with his listeners. Adding to the challenge of this task is Socrates' fidelity to arguments made with reason and not with rhetoric. In this way he avoids, and even criticizes, the kinds of arguments and claims made by poets that serve primarily to manipulate their audiences. Perhaps to reduce the difficulty of his task, Socrates applies several strategies in discussing justice: a lie, an allegory, and a myth. My goal will therefore be to analyze each of these strategies, as well as amplify the light they shine on the topic of justice. Through this unpacking, I also hope to show a potential inconsistency in Socrates' critique of poetry and fiction as rhetorical, thus departing from the path of reason that he values ​​and claims to follow. Ultimately, however, Socrates adopts an argument of moderation, abandoning the attainability of the just city and recognizing that injustice will always exist. Socrates then identifies limitations in the nature of human beings that require this abandonment, but which also require the application of strategies that appeal to human nature, and at least move the city slightly forward in the direction of justice. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Plato's first explanatory strategy is the Noble Lie, which comes from his discussion with Glaucon regarding the appointment of guardians and rulers of the just city. Hesitantly, Socrates asks Glaucon if they could "somehow devise one of those lies which arise in case of necessity..., some noble lie to persuade, at best, even the rulers, but if not them, the rest of the city” (Bloom, 93). Such a white lie, which Socrates acknowledges would require “much persuasion,” would “be helpful in making (the city's citizens) care more for the city and for each other.” , and thus support the just city (Bloom, 93, 94). application, therefore, the strategy would require assuring all citizens that they are brothers born from the same mother earth, but that "the god, in shaping (those) who are competent to rule, he mixed gold at their birth" (Bloom, 94). Likewise, silver was mixed in the births of auxiliaries, while farmers and other craftsmen received iron and bronze. Although typically bronze generate bronze and gold gold, there is a certain degree of randomness in this process. Socrates, however, insists that each must perform a life task characteristic of his or her metallic composition, writing that each child's parents should "ascribe the right value to his nature" and direct their child towards an appropriate profession. The function of the Noble Lie is therefore to promote and maintain a social order in which those capable of guardianship are the rulers and those destined for craft do not impractically seek positions higher than their nature. As Allan Bloom writes in his Interpretive Essay, "The noble lie was intended to make both warriors and artisans love the city, to ensure that the governed would be obedient to the rulers, and, in particular, to prevent the rulers from abusing of their office" (Fiore, 367). Likewise, “The noble lie is designed to give men reasons to resist, in the name of the common good, their powerful desires” (Bloom, 368). Bloom identifies this "powerful desire" as the explanation for Socrates' application of a noble lie,writing, “the character of men's desires would make it impossible for rational teaching to be public teaching” (Bloom, 367). So Socrates sees reason in telling the lie since this will explain the character of men which makes completely rational teaching impracticable. Socrates certainly does not underestimate this "character" since he applies a second strategy, the Image of the Cave, which will also shed light on justice by further commenting on the population's inattention to rational teaching. The image of the cave, which derives from Socrates' divided line, is an allegory used to illustrate the path of the soul. As Bloom interprets, “The divided line described the progress of the soul from its lowest level of cognition, imagination, to trust, to thought, and finally to intellect, its highest level” (Bloom, 403). Likewise, the philosopher is one who progresses towards the intellect, or, in the allegory of the cave, towards the light of the sun. To be liberated, however, the philosopher must reorient his soul, and thus reject the idea that education is the result of placing "into the soul knowledge which is not in it, as if... putting sight in blind eyes" (Fiore, 197). Socrates therefore argues that "strength is in the soul of each, and that the instrument with which each learns... must be removed from what is being born together with the whole soul until it is able to bear the gaze" which is and the brightest part of what is" (Bloom, 197). The enlightenment that comes from this liberation, however, does not initiate a life of ease for the newly born philosopher according to Socrates. Instead, Socrates tells Glaucon, "the our task as founders... is to force the best natures to go to the study that we previously said was the greatest, to see the good and to climb that ascent; and... do not allow them... to remain there" (Bloom, 198). The freed person must then take responsibility for the common good, return to the cave, learn its effectiveness and then free others who are fascinated by the images and from the rhetoric of the poets. When Glaucon receives Socrates' description of the Image of the Cave, however, and the subsequent appeal to the freed philosopher to return to the cave to help others, Glaucon protests, perhaps demonstrating his own "powerful desire ", he would thus prefer to remain in the enlightened world of good, or in the sun in the allegory of the cave, but Socrates insists otherwise. Socrates therefore argues that Glaucon must return to the cave in the name of the common good, and thus resist the lure of tyrannical government. Perhaps not convinced of the effectiveness of his argument to Glaucon, Socrates also presents him with the Myth of Er, the story of a soldier who died in war, but returned to life twelve days later with a precious memory of the rebirth process. The story arises from a discussion between Glaucon and Socrates about the immortality of the soul and the importance of the soul in philosophical discourse. As Bloom interprets, "This discussion therefore has two purposes: to cause the unphilosophical man to worry about justice for fear of what will happen to him in another world, and to turn the philosophical men to the study of the soul" (Bloom, 435) . ). So there is also an intent here to instill fear in Glaucon, as well as others in Socrates' audience, of the path of injustice. The reference to this fear is then reinforced in the myth of Er, which Socrates describes for Glaucon. For individuals like Glaucon, the myth of Er presents two messages. The first message emphasizes avoiding injustice with faithful consistency and prudence, for those who commit injustices will ultimately receive judgment and punishment. As Socrates argues, "For all the unjust deeds they had done to any and all men to whom they had done injustice, they hadpaid the punishment for each in turn, ten times more for each" (Bloom, 298). Socrates' second message underlines the importance of education given and provided by a philosopher. Each must therefore seek the "knowledge to distinguish the good life from the bad one, and thus choose everywhere and always the best among those possible" (Bloom, 301). Thus, when the fate of the soul is realized, "he will always know how to choose life between these extremes and escape the excesses in both directions in this life, as far as possible, and in all the next life. For in this way the human being becomes happier" (Bloom, 301). Socrates' second message is therefore not only to promote philosophical education, but also to promote moderation in individuals as a result of such education. The question then arises: What was Socrates' application of the Noble Lie, the Image of the Cave and the Myth of Er, the most reasonable approach to clarifying justice seems to tolerate poetry and rhetoric only if its pursuit is virtuous? , and indeed Socrates' quest in the Republic is virtuous. The Noble Lie, however, is still a lie. And finally, the Athenians do not actually live in a cave. the Myth of Er tries to convince its audience of the importance of living a righteous life by instilling fear, instead of applying reason, for example, it tries to persuade citizens to be obedient to the city and their brothers by claiming that everyone has mixed up with their birth a combination of metals corresponding to different levels of the hierarchy. that will exist in the right city. This lie is comparable to the opinions spread by the poets, therefore, and which are allegorized in the Image of the Cave. As Bloom interprets, "These opinions are not accurate reflections of nature but are adapted to suit the needs of the city. They are designed to make a man love his city" (Bloom, 404). The same could be said of the Noble Lie. In The Cave Image, in turn, "Socrates formulates his explanation of the good in such a way as to appeal to Glaucon's interest and passion," rather than avoiding emotional language and appealing to passion. Finally, the myth of Er still evokes fear as a means of persuading Glaucon of the importance of the path of justice. In one passage of his description of the myth, Socrates writes of "fierce men, of a completely fiery appearance, who stood by and observed the sound, who seized some and carried them away, who bound Ardiaeus and others hand, foot and head , threw them to the ground and tore off their skin" (Bloom, 299). From these arguments it seems that Socrates does not fully listen to his own request for reason. Bloom, however, offers an explanation for Socrates' application of these somewhat less reasonable strategies. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Socrates' justification for such strategies, as interpreted by Bloom, speaks to the limits of human nature. As Bloom notes, “Early in the dialogue, Glaucon and Adeimantus set the most stringent standards for political justice.” Socrates therefore "leads them first to the realization of their desires, and then further, towards a fulfillment that does not depend on the transformation of human nature". That is, “the commitment to the perfectly just city places unreasonable and despotic demands on common men, and abuses and abuses the best men” (Bloom, 410). Socrates then observes these shortcomings and sees the need to apply strategies so that his explanations about justice and the just city can be received more affectively. In the end, however, even with such strategies, reach the city, 303).