Educação e justiça na República de Platão

Abstract

The study analyzes the dialogue The Republic and tries to show the conception of justice developed in it, explaining its relations with the educational proposal of Plato. Some of the Greek pedagogical models of the 5th century BC are approached, as well as their underlying notions of justice. The analysis of the main arguments regarding the concept of justice of Socrates' interlocutors leads to the exposition of Plato's own theory. To discover what justice is, the philosopher imaginatively builds what would be the just and ideal city and from its harmonious functioning he analogically deduces how justice works in the human soul. As the idea of justice is closely related to the idea of good, the philosopher also investigate the nature of the latter. Plato proposes a very detailed pedagogy that is inextricably conected to the proper functioning of the just city. The distinction between the notions of opinion and knowledge is fundamental for the construction of this model and this division is the result of an unprecedented conception inaugurated by the philosopher in the Greek political-educational debate: the intelligible plan. It is only through an introspective asceticism obtained through an arduous and long program of studies that the individual becomes capable of governing the perfect city. In the end, we intend to have demonstrated how the Platonic educational proposal is based on the intelligible knowledge of the good, obtained by the individual through progressive steps, and how the ideas of integral formation of man and political organization of the city – the paideia and the politeia – are related in its philosophy.