Analysis of Plato's myth of Er

¶ … Plato's Myth of Er

The Myth of Er is a story written in the form of a Socratic dialogue at the end of the last of the ten books in Plato's Republic and at first sight it seems to be an argument for a moral behavior. Morality is shown to bring its own reward to the people who step into the other world, whereas wrongdoers have to suffer the consequences of their actions ("for every wrong which they had done to any one they suffered tenfold") (Plato 2000).

However, the way the story develops, enriches the meanings and opens the way for many interpretations. The path towards a good life is not easy to follow and the audience of the story must be made of careful listeners.

Plato implies that it is of utmost importance to understand the reason why the only things that matter are the qualities of the soul, the way it handles its fate, whether it is the fate of a tyrant or of a simple citizen. Thus the circumstances in which a man is born can be turned against him or in his favour, according to the way he relates to the world around him. In this process, the life experience plays an important role, and it is being proved that a difficult and sad past can bring man wisdom and determine him to take better decisions than those who haven't experienced the hardships of life yet. The episode in which the souls coming from above make bad choices for their future is relevant in this respect. So experience seems to play an important role when it comes to happiness, but the author shows us that there is another way to avoid bad decisions in life, and that is knowledge.

This is the role of Er, who comes back from the dead, and is chosen to break the rules of the universe in order to bring the information to mortals, so that they, being illuminated by knowledge, get salvation, if they "are obedient to the word spoken" (Plato, 2000).

Plato's myth addresses the citizens of his time, as an advice to obey the spoken word, meaning the rules of the society, which will keep them safe from punishment and provide them happiness. "Er" who returns from the underworld may signify the wise man, the privileged one who has seen with his mind the depth of human nature and of human fate (he can be the ruler in a just political system, or, more likely, the philosopher who addresses the public) and is eager to guide the people to the truth, towards a happy existence.

So, not only experience, which may be given or not to people, but especially knowledge, which is easier to obtain, can bring happiness. We willingly choose to be unjust because of our ignorance of what makes for a just or unjust man. Knowledge then becomes the cure for our souls (Brown, Eric, "Plato's Ethics and Politics in the Republic")

This idea seems to be similar to the philosophy of the western society, which sees man as the master of his own happiness.("Myth of Er." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia). Man becomes what he chooses to become, his fate lies in his own hands and he also has to suffer the consequences of his deeds.

This is illustrated in the image of the souls coming from underground and carrying the burdens of their bad deeds on their backs ("; these also bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs." Plato, 2000). It may mean not only that we always pay later in life for our unjust actions, but our consciousness can become a burden, our hell who will not allow us to be happy. The image is quite close to a contemporary understanding, for it carries a Christian connotation, which is an element of importance in the present democratic values.("Virtue is free, and as a man honours or dishonours her he will have more or less of her") (Plato, 2000). Since every soul is responsible for choosing his own life, every person must take full responsibility for being just or unjust.

However, we can see that virtue alone is not enough, we need knowledge as well, we need to justify our actions with reasons ("but his virtue was a matter of habit only, and he had no philosophy") (Plato, 2000). The winner is not the good, but the wise.

The symbols of the river of Unmindfulness and the plain of Forgetfulness through which the souls must pass in their travel towards a new life can signify that the ignorant and those don't learn from their own past, or from the past of their country (history) will be caught in the "Spindle of necessity "(the needs and difficulties of this life) and will make mistakes, not knowing who they are, or what potential lies in them to overcome their fate in order to lay above it.

We could say that Plato uses a noble lie, a moral tale to convince his fellow citizens to be honest, obey the rules, and accept their fate as a normal consequence of their actions. Or to find a good excuse for all the sufferings of this world and consolation to those who find their life unjust in comparison to other people, who are evil but have a happy and untroubled existence. However the longing of the human nature for justice, purity, harmony, along the centuries, no matter what the characteristics of the age or the culture may be, demonstrates an honest search for answers from the author's part as well.