Plato’s banishment of the poets

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Plato discusses The Republic as a blueprint for a utopian society built uon the innate goodness of man. Therefore, he sets strict guidelines for which this society must run, cultivating children’s education as the primary stepping stone which filters pout the unnecessary and priming them with the necessities to become a rational; citizen. One major stance, Plato repeatedly mentions, is the unnecessary idea of poetry being exposed to children in the first place even before being inculcated in a child’s curriculum. I believe Plato is correct in assuming that poetry is an influence only for ill, through his reasoning, Plato details the efforts of this art form and the repercussions that extend from it within The Republic. He bases poetry as an ill because it is not a form with real value, but an improper one at the bottom of the hierarchal of forms that promotes ill. Next, Plato theorizes that poetry is an imitation of the truth, and is immoral. Lastly, poetry has a detrimental effect to the soul, in a society where the purpose is to purify it, so that it may serve the state.

To begin with, Plato’s moral objection via education is the pursuit of the good, and art, specifically poetry produces ignorance. Considering Plato states that poetry is third removed from the truth, down the chain of forms (i.e. beauty – concept of beauty – entities of beauty – imitations of beauty) involves increasing possibilities of inaccuracies due to human error of perception. Plato’s epistemology that the universe is perfect in forms, and humans are not, therefore humans are prone to mistakes due not fully knowing the ideal (Plato, R, 461). Humans are limited to only scratching the surface to attain perfection in an impermanent world. Plato also menti...

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...e just because a bias is created, another reason why Plato wishes to ban poets and censor poetry.

In conclusion, I believe Plato is correct in assuming that poetry only influences for ill. Plato’s metaphysics state that humans live in a lower form of reality relative to the Universe of the Forms and so humans are limited within this tangible world to do human-like acts, which are not perfect but can try to be. Respondents would not be able to differ what is real (in the Republic) and what is not, because they would believe poets to be the knower of all things. There would be no other reason that poets would write such eloquently that they would shake the core of the hearts of people. This is the problem, for the Republic to run according Plato’s strategy; poets must not be allowed for they deter reason by emotionally over influencing this utopian society.

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