Plato Republic Education Quez

In Plato’s Republic, the concept of education is one of the most vital elements of this new city Plato is trying to create. So much of Plato’s Republic is geared towards education of its citizens because Plato firmly believes that education and wisdom is the key to and heart of the city, and without proper education of the citizens the city would not flourish. It’s with his strong views on the old traditions of Athens, and how one ought to be raised as a child to an adult, will give a clear indication of how he thought the society should be educated to create a just and thriving city. In regards to tradition, Plato believed that if the city was to be a well-educated society, it was to do away with some of its traditions that didn’t show the “bad” of society. Plato believed that human beings are corrupt by nature and he thought that if the society was brought up on good traditions and a good culture that the people would be able to regulate themselves and always be able to do good before bad. The Athenian traditions at the time were considered to Plato as bad, and he thought that if the city was to be perfect then it must do away with those forms of culture and adapt a new lifestyle, one in which is not like traditions of Athens, so the people in the city could truly meet their full potential. To gain this potential, and to facilitate the people of the new city to better society, education of the citizens is essential.
In developing the city, Plato had to come up with an idea of how the citizens and in particular how the guardians should be educated. According to Plato, a guardian -in order to be good must be in his “nature philosophical, high-spirted, swift footed and strong”. Those attributes were to be the initial characteristics of a guardian. In terms of education, Plato believed in gymnastics for the body and music for the soul. In order for a one to be properly educated in the new city, they must be given the proper education at a young age. It was