Injustice In Plato's Republic

The Republic is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC. The aforementioned writing discusses the moral and philosophical implications of injustice using a Socratic form of dialogue, which is typically a series of refutes and dialogues aimed at teaching or gaining knowledge attain a greater degree of truth. The section on art and imitation in the Republic elucidates Plato’s views of art and its implications in an ideal society. Art leads to injustice in society due to its epistemological, moral, and theological ramifications if allowed in an ideal state.

In Plato’s Republic, Plato takes a definite stance in regards to the truth contained in the techne’ of art. In the Republic, Plato hypothesizes that art is thrice removed from reality

Plato refers to art as leading and feeding the emotions in an individual’s soul which overwhelms and conquers the rational part of the soul. Plato states in the Republic, “Then the imitative poet who aims at being popular is not by nature made, nor is his art intended, to please or to affect the rational principle in the soul; but he will prefer the passionate and fitful temper which is easily imitated”(Plato 56). In this passage, Plato suggests that logic and reason are supposed to control an individual’s soul in an ideal state; in contrast, art beckons and brings out the innate “evil” in an individual’s soul eventually leading individuals in a society to perform acts of injustice. For example, the writings of J.D. Salinger, whose book the Catcher and the Rye contributed to Mark David Chapman’s murder of John Lennon, Chapman, after being caught and arrested for his crime claimed, “The Catcher and the Rye coerced him into murdering John Lennon”. The aforementioned example, and a plethora of other writings such as Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Raven, and John Fowles, The Collector, has inspired serial murders and other violent crimes as a result of the imagery they produce in ignorance or damaged minds. It is due to art such as the above that lead Plato to be fearful of a society that accepts imitative art. Plato later adds, “We shall be right in refusing to admit him into a well-ordered State,

Art leads itself away from truth by being thrice removed from the truth, providing immoral guidelines and suggestions for individuals and depicting the God’s in a negative light. These implications can have a disastrous effect on society and lead to the moral injustice of an ideal state if such art is introduced into the state. In contrast, there exists art that may be allowed into the ideal state if such art teaches and positively affects the moral compass of citizens and leads to rational thought and suggestions. Lastly, art can only lead to a just society if it leads to exponential rational processes in an individual’s soul and must be kept out of the ideal state if the art imitates or attempts to only affect the emotional side of an individual’s