The Psychology of Property Relations in Plato's Republic
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F44555601%3A13410%2F25%3A43899492" target="_blank" >RIV/44555601:13410/25:43899492 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://www.petiteplaisance.it/libri/491-550/523/ind523.html" target="_blank" >https://www.petiteplaisance.it/libri/491-550/523/ind523.html</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The Psychology of Property Relations in Plato's Republic
Original language description
The chapter examines Plato?s economic proposals for regulating the life of the guardians in the Republic. It argues that the strict property constraints and radical household reorganisation introduced in Books III and V should be interpreted as a coherent legislative measure. This measure is grounded in Platonic psychology, as developed in Books IV and IX. Consequently, the chapter focuses on the psychological motivations behind Plato's economic regulations for the guardian class.Book IX provides a thorough examination of the soul's tripartite structure and its internal dynamics. Plato highlights the dangers posed by the unchecked growth and domination of the appetitive (epithymetic) part of the soul, identifying greed as a defining characteristic of its desires. Profit becomes the general object of such desire, while money functions as its universal sign. Gold thus operates on two levels: it signifies the money-loving character of the greedy individual, but in the case of the guardians it represents a purely spiritual 'gold' denoting mental excellence that is free from acquisitiveness.This mindset is reinforced by prohibitions against private property and contact with physical gold, as well as by the dissolution of the traditional household. The communal, non-monogamous organisation of family life weakens possessive attachments to people and possessions, thereby mitigating greed. Abolishing the household as a centre of acquisition and consumption fosters a collectivist ethos that supports civic unity and reduces the risk of discord. Thus, the chapter elucidates the psychological basis linking Plato's economic measures to his broader political aims.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60302 - Ethics (except ethics related to specific subfields)
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Book/collection name
Oikos Nomos: Politics and Economics in Ancient Thought
ISBN
978-88-7588-391-1
Number of pages of the result
20
Pages from-to
63-83
Number of pages of the book
248
Publisher name
Petite Plaisance
Place of publication
Piatoia
UT code for WoS chapter
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