Plato's Educational System and Class Divisions in The Republic

Introduction: Unity Versus Division in Plato's Ideal State

Unlike the democratic society of ancient Athens, Plato's philosophical conception of the self and state is based upon divisions of education, politics, and social stratum, rather than unity. It should be noted that even democratic Athenian conceptions of the larger body politic were divided — Greeks versus Barbarians, women versus slaves — and that not all individuals received an equal education from tutors and public schools. However, the division of the self within the human person, and the importance of categorization, are reflected in Plato's discussion of the formulation of an ideal society within The Republic to an extent not found even in Athenian society of his day (250–276).

Plato wrote from a society where human categorization was paramount to conceptualizing the world from a philosophical point of view. The nature of philosophy, for him, was establishing division rather than intellectually conferring sameness upon all humans. Even the ages of Gold, Silver, and Bronze were of common parlance. Thus, in Plato's own rigid ideal of a society, individuals from birth were classed in terms of their utility — like gold, silver, iron, and brass.

The Metals Metaphor and Social Classification

Plato argues that human beings' functionality within the state structure was not unlike these metals. One would not use gold to construct a yoke for oxen, nor use brass as the setting for a diamond ring. Why, then, would one expect a peasant to govern? Why educate a peasant like a king, if that person does not possess the internal attributes of a governor?

The divisions in Plato's society, unlike the stark divisions of feudal Europe, are not based on birth or birth order. Rather, they are based on a judgment of who is most temperamentally fit to govern, as determined by the rulers of society. Someone who is a good farmer will not necessarily make a good governor. Thus, those who are most philosophically apt should be educated to govern; those best at farming should be taught to farm; those best suited to fighting should guard the rulers as an elite unit — the so-called Guardian class; and those most skilled at a trade, such as shoeing horses, should do precisely that.

Who Governs? The Role of Philosopher-Kings

In defense of Plato's conception of society, one could argue it is an excellent antidote to the Peter Principle — the theory that every individual is eventually promoted to his or her level of greatest incompetence. Just because someone is a great teacher does not mean he or she will be an able administrator, just as a wonderful barista does not necessarily make a great manager. The question arises, however: if this is not a democracy, and individuals have no free choice in determining where they fit best or what education they should receive, who decides who will fulfill which functions in this ideal society? Plato answers, infamously, with the figure of the philosopher-king.

But who chooses these philosopher-kings? Do they become a self-administering class, ruling over all of society and selecting the fittest young men to join their ranks — in effect, a self-perpetuating oligarchy? It is true that one can transcend one's birth and parentage if one shows appropriate qualities of leadership, but only the ruling elite may decide who is thus fit.

Plato believes that rulers must, by definition, keep the interests of the state above their own personal interests. This is his true definition of kingship. Perhaps this ideal was born of witnessing the ugliness of democracy, where individuals fought amongst themselves, where the most persuasive man of the moment would win by advocating his own self-interest and allowing the majority to be persuaded about what the mass will of the state should be. However, Plato's idealistic view of the philosopher-king's selfless nature is troubling at best.

Conclusion: Mistrust of Free Will in Plato's Educational Vision

Despite his stress that all individuals could lead in his ideal world if they show the correct values, Plato's education — distilled of all but what the philosopher-kings deem to be the correct stories and systems of values — belies the innate selfless moral or intellectual compass he claims must reside in such children. Ultimately, a deep mistrust of human free will is evidenced in this vision of a so-called ideal educational environment, despite some of its outwardly attractive trappings of oligarchic equality.