POL200Y5 Chapter Notes -Advantageous, Noble Lie, Narrative Poetry
22 Apr 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lecture 4: republic books iii continued and iv. Introduction of the rule of philosophy: the selection of rulers from the guardian class. The poets mustn"t attempt to persuade our young people that gods bring about evil or that heroes are no better than humans. These things are both impious and untrue, for it is impossible for the gods to produce bad things. (391d-e). Since he has the right distastes, he"ll praise fine things, be pleased by them, receive them into his soul, and, being nurtured by them, become fine and good. Children aren"t educated by giving rational arguments, we tell them stories and try to teach in ways to activate their imagination. Socrates points out that we cant expose children to vicious characters (liars, cheats) he is trying to censor and take control of the artistic production in the city. Imitative poetry: the poet hides himself and inhabits his characters, this as a corrosive affect on the spectators.
