Republic (Book V) by Plato
This post is part of my journey through the classic texts of Western civilization.
We ended Book IV with Socrates having answered what justice is and moving onto whether or not justice is worth pursuing. However, yet again we encounter a detour, with Socrates' companions beseeching him to expound a bit more on the familial life of the guardians.
First the question is raised as to whether the role of women ought to be the same as that of men. Many a reader would be forgiven in thinking that Socrates would give a resounding negative to this question; I myself expected so. He does begin by offering the argument that one might provide for the negative: men and women have different natures, and since every person should do according to his nature, men and women should have different roles.
To my surprise, though, Socrates himself argues for the positive. The crucial point has to do with how Socrates is categorizing different natures—at the very least which categorizations actually matter. For Socrates, the significant assigning of differing natures correlates with differing skills. There is a carpenter nature, a musical nature, etc. Both a man and a woman could have the carpenter nature, whilst two men might not both have the carpenter nature even though they are both men.
We could go back and forth all day on the semantic game on how to define "nature" properly in this context. Bypassing all of that, the ultimate question is whether or not men and women have creational differences that would cause their roles to be different. The answer is an obvious yes. We could point to the biological differences between men and women. We could point to history where we see all societies (at least the ones that don't fail) living according to these differences with women being mothers and having a more domestic focus whereas the men have a more outward focus. We could point to Scripture where Paul in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 prohibits women from teaching or exercising authority over men, and it is creational differences between man and woman he states as the reasoning.
Interestingly, Socrates does state the following:
"take the male and the female sex; if either is found to be better as regards any art or other practice, we shall say that this ought to be assigned to it. But if we find that they differ only in one thing, that the male begets and the female bears the child, we shall not take that difference as having proved any more clearly that a woman difers from a man for what we are speaking of..."
It is puzzling how Plato can say the first sentence, and then in the very next sentence simply disregard one of the most significant differences between man and woman.
Plato goes on to outline what is a quite restrictive breeding program for the guardians. Spouses and children are to all be held in common for the sake of unity among the guardians as they will all consider each other family. The unity among the guardians would in turn would be good for the city, as the guardians would rule unselfishly and with a common mind. Additionally, as humans take the best animals/livestock and breed them together, the same should should be done with the guardians. The "best" children are to be taken into the fold and raised, while "inferior" or defective children are to be "put away" (killed). Guardians should also manage the population of the city as a whole, ensuring that the number of people not grow too big.
The Philosopher King
But what man would wish to succumb himself to such a way of life? While the rest of the citizens enjoy the simple pleasures of life, marriage, private property and possessions, who would prefer to instead give up those things as Plato prescribes for the guardians? The answer is that kings must also be philosophers—philosopher kings.
"The philosophers must become kings in our cities... or those who are now called kings and potentates must learn to seek wisdom like true and genuine philosophers, and so political power and intellectual wisdom will be joined in one."
The key to what makes one a true philosopher lies in Plato's theory of Forms/Ideas. There are many imitation philosophers who enjoy the sights and sounds of this world, but they do not comprehend or know the true forms. A pseudo-philosopher may observe a beautiful woman, but the true philosopher knows the Form of beauty. For even the most beautiful woman in the world is plain compared to Beauty itself; only the Form of Beauty is completely beautiful. It is the true philosopher who knows and has access to the Forms, and thereby has true knowledge.
Only the true philosopher will do for the king of the just city, for only the true philosopher king can know true goodness, truth, and beauty.