The Noble Lie In Plato's Republic

I will begin by describing the “noble lie” written in Book 3 of Plato’s Republic, not specifically the myth of the metals, but a more general idea. I will argue this lie is justifiable, even in modern, more liberal contexts than Ancient Greece. Once the noble lie is correctly defined, it is clear how one could use it in building the “Just City.” In establishing the lie it is important to differentiate the terms “myth” and “falsehood” with fiction. We must look at the noble lie as a lie not intended to deceive the people of the city, but shape it into what the just city ought to be. The Just City is the means in which Socrates brings up the form of justice, and even Socrates, though at first embarrassed by the proposition of the lie, admits
And surely they are false on the whole, though they have some truth in them.” Plato uses the method of myth in order to convey many truths while the stories themselves are literally false. “A given statement may be false (in intention or fact) on the literal level but true (in intention or fact) on the figurative level; or it may be false in a specific case but true in general.” This distinction between fact and fictional discourse is important in outlining a general way of thinking about ethics and morality as a whole. The same is the case in the noble lie, while it is a lie in the sense that the myth of the metals is, in fact, false, the general picture of what it represents is more important. The “necessary falsehood,” as Plato puts it, is intentionally not true, but it is designed to “propagate an idea which the argument presents as true, namely that each member of the ideal state should be placed in the class for which he or she is naturally suited.” It wouldn't be too hard to picture this in our culture. Although we do not have classes, the common belief in western culture is that everyone ought to do what they are best suited
The practice of philosophy and intellectual enquiry is not suited for the youth or anyone else who has not had primary education. This is because the young do not have the skills yet to analyze situations and come up with results. If the early education of the youth is built around questioning, “inevitably [that education] undermines parental and political authority, and the act of founding a city, or beginning anew, inevitably involves a sense of throwing off old ‘false’ parents, and discovering, or reinventing new and superior lines of descent.” In Book 7, Socrates compares the premature teaching of philosophy to telling an adopted child that he was adopted too early. If he is told at too young an age, before he is ready, he is less likely to honor his adoptive parents. This necessitates the correct primary education, to prepare the children for inquiry and mature