Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Government & Politics Education Keeping the Republic Together Education Keeping the Republic Together Education: Keeping the Republic Together Our world today puts huge amounts of emphasis on education, specifically in order to get a better job, make more money or take enjoyment in what we do. We see a similar importance placed on education in Socrates’ make believe city, as described in Plato’s Republic. However, Socrates has made it clear that this education is not for personal betterment or gain, but rather for the common good. Socrates has created his Republic with education of its citizens at the core. This education is put in place to serve many functions, such as development of preferred character traits for the warrior class, creation of equality between the sexes and as a means of indication as to what jobs would suit which individuals. Socrates, a philosopher himself, has also put great importance on the education of the rulers as philosophers, making education a necessity among all constituents of his imagined city. Education is first discussed in the Republic with respect to the warrior class, which is entrusted with the defense of the city. “ [. . .] Surely they must be gentle to their own people and harsh to their enemy” and so it is necessary for Socrates to incorporate this goal into his plan for education (Plato 375b). Because “philosophy, spirit, speed and strength must all, then, be combined in the nature of anyone who is to be a fine and good guardian of our city”, an education composed of “[. . .] physical training for bodies and music and poetry for the soul” is deemed best (476c, 476e). These warriors must be physically capable of defending the city they are taught to love, while being exposed to simple stories that encourage them to be good and just towards their fellow city dwellers. It is clear that this education is a necessary step in creating what Socrates sees as the perfect republic. This education must also be consistent from an early age, so Socrates abolishes the institution of families, in hopes of giving each child an equal and identical base education. In addition to using education as a method of molding the warrior class, Socrates wishes it to be a means by which men and women’s positions and levels in society are equalized. “[. . .] If we use the women for the same things as the men, they must also be taught the same things [. . .] Now, we gave the men music and poetry and physical training [. . .] Then we must give these two crafts, as well as those having to do with warfare, to the women also to use in the same way as the men use them” (451e, 452a). Because Socrates believes that nature is defined by capacities, men and women aren’t to be separated biologically but rather by their capabilities as members of the working and warrior classes. To ensure that each man and women’s capacities are truly recognized they must be educated in the same fashion so as not to create an intelligence and job potential rift between the sexes. In this way education has brought men and women to an equal playing field, despite their apparent biological differences. A third goal of Socrates’ education policy is to create fair and just rulers, who extend themselves solely for the good of the city and not for personal gain. Socrates is convinced that because philosophers are the only people who do not wish to rule (they have better things to do with their time), they are best suited for the job. Their lack of ambition in regards to personal power allows them to govern in a way that is beneficial to the city, not themselves. “As youths and children, they should put their minds to youthful education and philosophy and take care of their bodies at a time when they are growing into manhood, so as to acquire a helper for philosophy” (498b). This education is necessary in order to produce a ruler who “by consorting with what is ordered and divine [. . .] becomes as divine and ordered as a human being can”(500c). It is clearly presented throughout all of Plato’s Republic, that education is central to the ideas of Socrates and his imaginary polis. From the formation of the warrior class to the making of just and fair rulers, education helps to create a city in which each person does what they are good at and executes it for the common good. Thrasymachus, a key player in Socrates’ debates and a known sophist, is completely at odds with Socrates’ idea of becoming educated in order to participate in city life to the best of ones capabilities. Thrasymachus views education as a means of gathering personal power. Knowledge is power and justice is the advantage of the stronger or more powerful; therefore one can get ahead in life by becoming better educated than those who surround him. This idea however has no place in Socrates’ ideal city, where private property, nuclear families and classes based on wealth have been abolished. Education is key to the survival of this communized polis, ordering it naturally and keeping its citizens content and governed justly. Bibliography: Sources Cited Plato. Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Revis. C.D.C. Reeve Indianapolis: Hackkett, 1992. Word Count: 866
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