Question

Read the excerpt from Book IV of Plato’s Republic in Chapter 8: Question: Why do we need to control our appetites or desires at all times, according to Plato? Do you agree? What are the political ramifications of comparing the rule of reason over appetites to the rule of the guardians over the general population?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Basically, Plato theorised the “tripartite of the soul” which meant that the soul is comprised of three separate parts. These three parts are the logical part, the spirited part and the appetitive part.

Plato goes on to theorise that in a just soul, the logical aspect and the spirited aspect are generally in alignment with the view that the appetitive part needs to be mastered through control. In other words, Plato believed that base desires of greed, material and physical appetite would need to be controlled as one would control the feral parts of the mind in order to achieve a higher state of mind.

This is an agreeable statement because this is evident in the society even today. The delinquents of society who are the murderers and thieves are ones who give in to their base desires of anger, aggression, hatred etc.

The political ramifications are similar to that of every other issue in that different people might want different things. For some people, material pleasures and a protection and indulgence of the physical world are a right. While for other individuals who might have and aligned spirited and logical side, the material world is fleeting and hence should not be the central focus of desires. Since this is not a theory that is to be generalised, it becomes a matter of preference whether or not such an ideology is to be adopted.

The guardian class that is first described in chapter 2 of the book is one that looks to maintain an order in a society that is ruled by virtue and wisdom. As agreeable and wise as it may sound, the rule over the general population might be one that at least makes basic desires accessible. This would be simply because not everyone would value a higher state of mind as much as they would value luxury. Excessive indulgences might then be a matter of personal desire.