Plato's Republic

1. In Plato’s Republic, Plato offers many various definitions of society and the soul but when looking at book four, and seeing his view of the state as a whole, Plato defines the state and society as best run when unified and fit to each man’s talents. In order to understand Plato’s argument on how a society can run most efficiently, a person must examine Plato’s theory of the whole. Plato defines the soul as three different parts. The first part being, the appetitive, the second being, the spirited, and the final being the rational. Each part weighs differently on the soul and effects our decisions and nature.
The first part of the soul is the appetitive. The appetitive as Platos describes is the part of our soul, which longs for and desires for things. Its our wants and needs, the part of the soul which lusts for certain things. The appetitive can desire for two different things, the necessary needs in life and the unnecessary. The necessary being food, water, and the unnecessary being things such as sexual desires and other pleasures in excess. The second part of the soul is called the rational. This part of the soul is the decision making part. The rational part of the soul gives balance and control to the appetitive and weighs the outcomes of fulfilling one’s appetitive. Which then leads us to the spirited part of our soul. The spirited part combined with the rational give control to our desires and needs aka the appetitive.
When viewing society and comparing society to the parts of the soul, there are many similarities. Plato described society to consist of many different roles, and each role fitted to the right person. Plato viewed the state to consist of the people, workers, soldiers, and rulers. Each different role plays a different part in society, and every man should be placed under a role in which he is most suited and fit for. Plato explains specific traits for each of the types of people in society.

Plato describes workers as people most...