Virtues contribute to people’s actions in today’s society. Society as a
whole has a common set of virtues that many people agree on. In today’s
society, these are known as laws. Virtues also mold the individual outlook on
life, and give them the moral’s to do what is right. In The Republic, Plato
divides the city into three classes: gold, silver, as well as bronze and iron
souls. Each class is designated to posses a specific virtue. He believes that
wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice combine together to form The Republic.
However, Plato’s four virtues individually do not necessarily produce a
utopian society. A combination of the four in each citizen is imperative in
producing the ideal society. In Plato’s search for the perfect “republic”,
he decides that the basis of the city will be on four virtues. The first of them
is wisdom. Plato defines wisdom, in Greek terms “Sophia”, as knowledge of
the city as a whole. Of the three classes, the gold souls posses the virtue of
wisdom. The gold souls are the only class whose knowledge goes beyond the mere
facts to the level of true wisdom. “…This class, which properly has a share
in that knowledge which alone among the various kinds of knowledge ought to be
called wisdom, has, as it seems, the fewest members by nature” (429a). The
second virtue that Plato defines is courage, which in Greek terms is “Andreia”.
Courage is the preservation of the opinion produced by law, through education
about what things are terrible, and what things are good. Courage can be found
in the silver souls. Plato uses the example that when dyers want to dye wool,
they start with the background. They need the right kind of white material, and
they have to prepare it carefully; and if they go to this trouble, you can not
bleach the color out. If they do a poor job of it, the cloth quickly becomes
washed-out and faded. Plato used the dyeing analogy to state how he wishes to
train the silver souls (429d- 430b). He states that the people will undergo a
precise training. Certain music and physical activity will only be allowed.
Plato wanted a good upbringing to make the right ideas permanent in them, so
that the bleach of pleasure, grief, fear, or death, would not wash the true
colors from their souls. “For, in my opinion, you regard the right opinion
about these same things that comes to be without education- that found in beast
and slaves- as not at all lawful and call it something other than courage”
(430b). Once they got to this point of having a clear, firm grasp of what is
really dangerous to a man, they knew their only task was to show courage. The
third virtue in The Republic, is moderation. The Greek term for moderation is
Sophrosune. Plato defines moderation as the kind of accord and harmony between
the bronze and silver souls. Moderation is the ability to control desires and to
be the master of ones self. There are two things at work in a man’s heart. One
is good, and one is bad. The bad can overwhelm the good. If the people have bad
training or keep company with the wrong people, the bad force grows powerful and
can overwhelm the good. If the good one controls them, then there is moderation;
but if the bad one controls, they are a slave to their own desires and that they
are out of control or unprincipled. “If, therefore, any city ought to be
designed stronger than pleasures, desires, and itself, then this one must be so
called” (431d). When a city as a whole is moderate, it is in harmony.
Moderation is different from wisdom or courage. It is found not just in the gold
and silver souls, but as something that runs throughout the city. “Three of
them have been spied out in our city, at least sufficiently to form some
opinion. Now what would be the remaining form thanks to which the city would
further partake in virtue? For, plainly, this is justice” (432b). The fourth
and final virtue in The Republic is justice. Justice, or in Greek terms, “Dikaiosune”,
is defined by Plato as minding one’s own business. Justice comes about when
every person in the republic is doing what he or she is set to do. The
shoemakers make only shoes, and the farmers only deal with agriculture. When
everyone minds their own business and does what he or she does the work they are
trained for, there will be no injustice. Justice is the trait that makes all the
other virtues possible. Plato says that when wisdom, courage, and moderation
have been obtained then the remaining has to be justice. He believes that each
part of the soul works in conjunction with the others to form the utopian
society that he is searching for. Each one of these virtues corresponds with a
part of Plato’s “soul”. Wisdom corresponds with the calculating and
knowledgeable part of the soul. Courage goes to the spirited and opinionated
sector of the soul. The virtue of moderation corresponds with the appetative and
ignorant part of the soul. Plato believes that when each part of the soul does
its exact job, then justice will be found. Nevertheless Plato believes that only
the four virtues stated above are necessary. Plato does not necessarily have
anything missing in his four virtues. He covers almost all the basics in
defining the virtues. Although some of the more personal aspects are missing,
Plato is on the right track. Love, sadness, happiness, and all other emotion are
all factors of a balanced life. Plato is trying to establish a utopia, but is
leaving out some key factors. Virtues are on more of a personal level, whereas
he places them in the people of The Republic. In The Republic Plato only allows
certain classes to be virtuous in one virtue. If all people in a society posses
all of the virtues that Plato states, along with love and emotion, all the
people of the society will have the same moral outlook on life. Therefore a
balanced society will be obtained and everyone would be in harmony with each
other. The four Platonic virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice are
the foundation of Plato’s Republic. He not only revolves his city around them,
but also his people. Plato tries to instill virtues onto certain classes,
without thinking about what the “republic” would be like if he gave all
people ALL the virtues. Virtue is something that individual people possess out
of their own willingness to be virtuous. Virtues are not characteristics that
can be isolated and dispensed individually. They are complimentary. In order to
have one; you must possess the others.