(Originally written September 16, 2006 in Book 10)
Plato's Republic Ch. 6 continued
Today was absolute shit. The most exciting thing is I have to work from 10pm - 8 am. Hooray!
The guardians are fewer in number than any other group of people and are responsible for the community's wisdom.
The bravery or lack thereof, of the guardians and workers would have no effect on the community. The bravery/courage of the community will be supplied by the auxiliaries.
The soldiers will be selected for their character and then through proper and rigorous education the soldiers can be instilled with a courage that will never falter.
Self-discipline is a self-mastery, a control over one's pleasures and desires. It is the better portion of a man controlling his own worse parts.
Rationality is reserved for "those few people who have been endowed with excellence by their nature and their eduction" (Pojman, 163). Rationality allows the privileged a chance to escape most of the pains, pleasures and desires which harm self-discipline.
The workers will suffer from the largest quantity of pleasures, pains and desires. The desires of the masses (workers) will be checked by the intelligence of the guardians.
Self-discipline spreads over all three classes.
Self-discipline is the harmony of society bringing its best and worst elements into a perfect unity.
Morality is everyone in the community performing their specific duty and not overstepping their bounds.
Plato claims there are three parts of the mind, or that man has a tripartite mind. Each part has distinctive desires, aims, objectives and pleasures:
1) instinctive desire
2) the desire for one's overall good
3) the desire for good results based on one's self-image
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