Amelia Staten
Professor Robert Ross
POLS-2300-001
18 Sept. 2014
What is the "noble lie" and what purpose does it serve?
In a political sense, the phrase “noble lie” is defined as an untruth or a myth. A noble lie is typically told by someone of power in order to keep a sense of harmony amongst a group. In The Republic, Plato coins the phrase “noble lie” in a fictional tale on which Socrates is telling of the origins of the social classes and where they came from. The noble lie, coined by Plato, told through Socrates, describes the social classes and their relevance to society and have a great importance to politics. The tale Socrates tells can be split into two different parts. The first part is Socrates telling that the members of his cities should be told that they are not mortal, or born from human beings. Rather, he tells them that they were born of the earth and that the earth is their mother. The second part of this “noble lie” is that when people are born, they are born with metal in their souls. Depending on the citizen, some are born with silver, some with gold, and some with bronze in their souls. The type of metal they are born with is what determines …show more content…
Many of us would very quickly and obviously say no and say lying is bad, but providing an example, what if President Obama learned of a forthcoming terrorist attack and there was nothing the citizens of the United States could do to stop it? If he told citizens of this attack that was going to happen, ceaseless chaos and panic would erupt from the people and cause absolutely no progress to occur. Well guess what? Our nations’ leaders deal with this very situation on a daily basis. What if a member of the press asked the president at a conference if there was going to be a terrorist attack on Friday and he knew there was going to be. Should he lie and say no to make the public feel
Professor Robert Ross
POLS-2300-001
18 Sept. 2014
What is the "noble lie" and what purpose does it serve?
In a political sense, the phrase “noble lie” is defined as an untruth or a myth. A noble lie is typically told by someone of power in order to keep a sense of harmony amongst a group. In The Republic, Plato coins the phrase “noble lie” in a fictional tale on which Socrates is telling of the origins of the social classes and where they came from. The noble lie, coined by Plato, told through Socrates, describes the social classes and their relevance to society and have a great importance to politics. The tale Socrates tells can be split into two different parts. The first part is Socrates telling that the members of his cities should be told that they are not mortal, or born from human beings. Rather, he tells them that they were born of the earth and that the earth is their mother. The second part of this “noble lie” is that when people are born, they are born with metal in their souls. Depending on the citizen, some are born with silver, some with gold, and some with bronze in their souls. The type of metal they are born with is what determines …show more content…
Many of us would very quickly and obviously say no and say lying is bad, but providing an example, what if President Obama learned of a forthcoming terrorist attack and there was nothing the citizens of the United States could do to stop it? If he told citizens of this attack that was going to happen, ceaseless chaos and panic would erupt from the people and cause absolutely no progress to occur. Well guess what? Our nations’ leaders deal with this very situation on a daily basis. What if a member of the press asked the president at a conference if there was going to be a terrorist attack on Friday and he knew there was going to be. Should he lie and say no to make the public feel