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THE CITY AND SOUL ANALOGY IN PLATO'S REPUBLIC: An Introduction To Political Thought

By Natacha Maurin - History and Modern Languages student @ St Catharine's College

 

Plato’s Republic inspects both moral and political themes, achieved through his use of the city and soul analogy, used to discover the true meaning of justice. Historians such as Schofield and Annas have inquired into the relationship which links these two themes. Some hold the view that the city and the soul are causal: the souls of the city’s citizens cause the city to become such as it is, others such as Ferrari separate it as an analogy. The most common use of this concept is analogical, the analogy