Cultural influence of Plato's Republic

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Plato's Republic has been influential in literature and art.

Similarities in literature[edit]

Aristophanes[edit]

Around the same time that the Republic was being composed, the playwright Aristophanes produced the play Assemblywomen. The state formed by the women in this play bears many similarities to the ideal government described by Plato. It is not discernible which was released first; most likely Aristophanes had heard an early form of the Republic before it was completed and used it as the basis for Assemblywomen. Certainly, the similarities have long been commented upon.[1][2]

Utopias[edit]

Thomas More, when writing his Utopia, invented the technique of using the portrayal of a "utopia" as the carrier of his thoughts about the ideal society. In Thomas More's Utopia, the island Utopia is also similar to Plato's Republic in some aspects, among them common property and the lack of privacy.[3][4][5][6]

Dystopias[edit]

The form of government described in the Republic has been adapted in several modern dystopic novels and stories. The separation of people by professional class, assignment of profession and purpose by the state, and the absence of traditional family units, replaced by state-organized breeding, was included by authors in descriptions of totalitarian dystopic governments. Government which bears resemblance to Plato's Republic is found in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World[7] and Lois Lowry's The Giver.

The Orwellian dystopia depicted in the novel 1984 had many characteristics in common with Plato's description of the allegory of the Cave as Winston Smith strives to liberate himself from it.[8]

Heinlein[edit]

Another satiric presentation of Platonic style government would be Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. His citizen can be compared to a Platonic Guardian, without the communal breeding and property, but still having a militaristic base. Although there are significant differences in the specifics of the system, Heinlein and Plato both describe systems of limited franchise, with a political class that has supposedly earned their power and wisely governs the whole. Republic is specifically attacked in Starship Troopers. Indeed, the arachnids can be seen as much closer to a Republic society than the humans.[9]

Other[edit]

Although not directly referenced at any point the Mega City One of 2000AD's Judge Dredd storyline has broad similarities to the Platonic Republic – mainly in that it is governed by a Guardian Class (the Judges) raised from infancy to govern in the interests of the polity and bound by far stricter rules than apply to the common citizen.

The comic book Morning Glories takes place at a violent and secretive boarding school which is built on the grounds above Plato's Cave.

The experience of Jack in Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel "Room" contains many similarities to the experience of the people in Plato's Cave.

Artistic creations based on Plato's Republic[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ober, Josiah (1998). Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics of Popular Rule. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08981-7.
  2. ^ Mary P. Nichols (1987). Socrates and the Political Community: An Ancient Debate. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-88706-395-0.
  3. ^ Imterpreting Thomas More's Utopia By John Charles Olin Fordham Univ Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8232-1233-5
  4. ^ "The Function of the Ideal in Plato's 'Republic' and St. Thomas More's 'Utopia' " by K. Corrigan Moreana 1990, vol. 27, no.104, pp. 27-49
  5. ^ "Thomas More: On the Margins of Modernity " by J. H. Hexter The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 1 (Nov., 1961), pp. 20-37 JSTOR "We find it in Plato's Republic, and in Utopia More acknowledges his debt to that book."
  6. ^ "More on Utopia" by Brendan Bradshaw The Historical Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 1-27 JSTOR "claims that Utopia not merely emulated Plato's Republic but excelled it."
  7. ^ Franck, Matthew. "Aldous Huxley’s City in Speech: Brave New World and the Republic of Plato" Paper presented at the annual meeting of The Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois, Apr 15, 2004 abstract
  8. ^ "From Plato to Orwell: Utopian Rhetoric in a Dystopian World." by Deatherage, Scott. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association (73rd, Boston, MA, November 5–8, 1987). ERIC
  9. ^ Donald McQuarie "Utopia and Transcendence: An Analysis of Their Decline in Contemporary Science Fiction" The Journal of Popular Culture xiv (2), 242–250. (1980) Blackwell Synergy
  10. ^ Adlington, Robert. Louis Andriessen: De Staat. Ashgate, 2004. ISBN 0-7546-0925-1 [1] - In 1992 a CD-recording by the Schoenberg Ensemble, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw appeared [2] - In 1977 Andriessen had been awarded several prizes for this composition [3]
  11. ^ The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real By William Irwin. Open Court Publishing, 2002/ ISBN 0-8126-9501-1 "written for those fans of the film who are already philosophers."
  12. ^ "The Cave" by Mumford & Sons. Sigh No More."The lyrics may be viewed here"
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