Equality Of Women In Plato's The Republic

Throughout Plato’s “The Republic” book V Plato advocates for equality of women time and again. Although in a modern day his motives cannot be viewed as a quest for equality, this ideology brought about an idea of change for ancient Athenians where women were viewed below men. Traditionally the women of ancient Greece stayed in their homes, cooked and cleaned, raised the children, and cared for their husbands but, in Plato’s eyes women and women are viewed as equals in most cases. In Plato’s eyes a women is not much different than a man. (453 b5) His thoughts on a perfect society; Calliopsis or good city, places women out of the houses and into the battle field alongside their male counterparts. On Plato’s theory, women are equal in virtue …show more content…
Justice in the individual of society involves the correct power relationship, which is the relation of the soul. Each soul is broken up into three categories similar to the three different classes, which correlates to one another. The appetive part of the soul is for those who lust for things such as food, sex, and money. These people are the auxillery or the producers in society, holding the lowest level of knowledge/virtue. Those whom spiritedness fills their soul hold a lust for honour; otherwise known as the guardians. Lastly the rational part of the soul represents the lust after truth, which is found in the soul of the Philosopher Kings/Queens. These individuals are on a constant journey to find the truth in every aspect in life, thus holding the most knowledge in society. () If you have a soul; which all of mankind does, you are capable of knowledge, or escaping the cave. Continuing with the cave analogy in mind, as the escaped prisoner gases at the real world, has and realizes that the shadows he’s previously seen are only imitations of the forms. Plato’s theory of forms describes two levels of reality; the visible world and the intelligible world. The intelligible world consists of absolute, eternal entities that never change, such as; goodness, beauty, or sourness. All objects in the visible realm are caused by the intelligible realm, for example an apple in the visible realm is made of redness and sweetness from the intelligible realm. (517b-c5) As the prisoner looks back into the sky and has noticed the sun, he has realized that the sun represents the good, and the former prisoner have reached the stage of understanding; access to the intellect world, thus a philosopher king/queen. The more knowledgeable an individual obtains the more virtuous their life will become, virtue is knowledge. If someone is living a virtuous life, they are also in hand living a