(Originally written September 24, 2006 in Book 10)
The Republic
Plato
Chapter 12: Happiness and Unhappiness
The happiness/unhappiness of a person correlates to the community they live in
1. Plato's aristocracy - best/happiness
2. Timocracy
3. Oligarchy
4. Democracy
5. Tyranny/Dictatorship - worst/unhappiness
The worst person is the unhappiest/
A person who has a dictatorial mind will be ruled by lust and his whims. He will be fickle and unhappy.
Fear abides in a dictatorship. The dictators fear their subjects plotting to kill them.
There are three types of pleasures, desires and motivations (corresponding to the three parts of the mind)
1. Intellectual part - philosophical
2. Passionate part - ambitious
3. Desire part
Three types of people:
1. Philosophical
2. Competitive
3. Avaricious
Each type of person would claim that their type is the best. The philosopher would hold the other two types as necessary, but no the best.
A philosophical person will experience the other types of pleasure, but an avaricious or competitive pleasure will not seem to him as good as an intellectual one. An avaricious person has no need of intellectual pleasures so they don't seek them.
The philosophical person has experience, intelligence and rationality. This puts them in the best positions to be happy.
There is genuine pleasure and illusionary pleasure. Illusionary pleasure is merely the relief of pain (intermediate)
Pleasure / Illusionary Pleasure / Pain
Genuine pleasures are pleasures of the mind. They are rational pleasure and thus, more real. Since reality is found in the real, not sensory perception (which is betwixt reality and non-reality).
Plato claims that he has proved morality is intrinsically rewarding.
Plato's tripartite mind can be analyzed by relating each part of the mind to an animal:
1. Reason/Rationality - Human
2. Passion - a lion
3. Desire - a mutable monster
"Morality feeds the human being, tames the lion and subdues the monster; immorality - especially if it goes undiscovered - makes one a monster" (Pojman, 227).
Chapter 13 - Poetry and Unreality
Plato attacks poetry and art for being representations of the visible world, which is mere representation of reality.
Poetry appeals to the lower parts of the mind. It ignores the rational part. It invokes emotions and hampers reason.
Poetry does not work to establish a moral inner constitution and can subvert one if one already exists.
"Until or unless it can be proven that feelings foster philosophy, rather than hinder it, we must be extremely wary of them" (Pojman, 235).
Well, I sort of cheated on chapters 12 and 13; but, I'm tired of reading that book.
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