Plato’s Republic Book 5

Instructions
Write a 850 to 1,100 word, double-spaced, typed essay addressing the following questions.
In Book V (451c-457b, Hackett 125-131), Socrates argues that women and men should share
equally in the duties of the guardians. He then proposes a law to the effect that “all these women
are to belong in common to all the men, that none are to live privately with any man, and that the
children, too, are to be possessed in common, so that no parent will know his own offspring or
any child his parent” (Plato 131-132, 457d). Men and women guardians will, of course, have to
mate in order to produce children, but they will not form nuclear families (mother, father,
children).
In the pages following this proclamation (461d-465b, Hackett 136-140), Socrates presents a
step-by-step argument defending this arrangement. Summarize this argument, and explain how it supports what I have called the organic unity of Socrates’ Good City.
(Note that the very first paragraph of this passage [in the Hackett edition], roughly 461d, is a
summary of the foregoing description of the “family” and should not be included in your
explanation.) Most of the steps in this argument appear on page 136 (462a-c), while the
conclusion appears on page 138 (464a-b). The remainder of the passage, pages 139-140 (464c465b), provide additional support for parts of the argument.
Important Notes:
You should explain only the part of the text at 461e through 465b. The earlier passages
mentioned above merely provide background information.