I have decided to launch a discussion on my text "The Drama of the Human Condition. Notes on the Causes and Origins of Evil in Plato's Republic", since the text is the basis of my interview "Il dramma della condizione umana nell'opera di Platone. (La idea del mal en Platón)", which will be broadcast on Friday, 2nd June at 3 p.m. CET on YouTube at the address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enba6HUJS84 I should like very much to thank Professor Tayron Achury and all the members of Ethos Filósofico for their invitation. This text has been published in the Revue Roumaine de Philosophie 63(1), pp.19-35 in June 2019. In my analysis, I deal with some causes and origins of evil and of moral degeneration in the human dimension. My analysis focuses on Plato's Republic. The origins and causes of the presence of injustice and of vice lie in the very structure of the human soul. The division of the soul into parts which are at least reciprocally independent of each other implies that there is the possibility that they are in conflict with each other. This is the origin of injustice and the root of every form of evil. The correct equilibrium among the parts of the soul, which, in my opinion, are to be interpreted as authentic potencies, can be achieved only by developing the rational part. This development requires a thorough education in philosophy. Throughout my analysis I quote passages in which Plato points out the presence of bad instincts and, in general, of a morally difficult component in our soul. The kind of soul considered in my analysis is the embodied soul.
Gianlugi,
Plato merely reuses dichotomies already existent in Ancient religions. The development of Ahura is different only in being understood through a god/a narrative of superbeings.
But the business of Goodness as an archetype/ideal has surely created problems through its unreliability as a concept and one attached i suggest to elite groups rather than everyone. (I. F. Stone: The Trial of Socrates.)
Dear doctor
I quoted the following paragraphs from the net which contents I found great and ethical.
"The Republic by Plato is a text that describes the importance of being just in the world, and by being just, one is happy. It is a text that describes an ideal city and a way through which a just and philosophical governance can create happiness.
Justice is an order and duty of the parts of the soul, it is to the soul as health is to the body. Plato says that justice is not mere strength, but it is a harmonious strength. Justice is not the right of the stronger but the effective harmony of the whole.
For Socrates and Plato, there are four primary virtues: courage, moderation, wisdom and justice.
Plato states that there are four cardinal moral virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. Foremost amongst these is justice. Justice is the well-ordered person in which the parts of the psyche each possess the appropriate virtue."