The Best-Known Platonic Depiction Of Tyranny Appears In Republic GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

The best-known platonic depiction of tyranny appears in Republic, where the tyrant is beastly, subject to base and unnecessary appetites: power, vainglory, luxury, lust, and gluttony. To the extent that passions control him—a decidedly male figure—the tyrant is a sort of slave, who depends on both taxation to support him and his ―drink-mates…and…mistresses,‖ as well as bodyguards to protect him from assassins and other ―worthless creatures‖ who proliferate under tyrannical rule.

An argument recently propounded by the historian of philosophy Matteo Giovannini threatens to unsettle this widely held view of the platonic tyrant as a brutish slave. According to Giovannini, the traditional view, while sound as far as it goes, is incomplete in that it ignores insights into the tyrannical character that are offered by Plato in the earlier and more obscure dialogue, Lysis.

If the ancient Greeks first inspired the ideological commitment to democracy that gripped Western thought especially during and after the Enlightenment, the Greek philosophers contributed to this development less by their embrace of the democratic principle than by their rejection of tyranny. In Aristotle‘s schema, tyranny is the most perverse of six types of government; Plato designated five types, with tyranny the least desirable, followed by democracy. Yet less clear than Plato‘s disregard for the tyrannical character is his sense of its basic constitution.

Giovannini‘s account purports to complicate the one-dimensional view of tyranny associated with Republic. But this account, while ingenious and provocative, is not beyond question. Most significantly, Giovannini appears not to have anticipated an obvious objection to his research design. While Lysis first appeared during Plato‘s formative period of aporetic dialogues in which the principal interlocutors frequently pose questions but rarely provide lasting answers, Republic dates from a later, more mature period in the development of Plato‘s thought, when conclusions are more frequent and less concealed. If Plato intended the conception of tyranny that appears in Republic to be somehow bound up in a paradox with the conception of tyranny in Lysis, he would presumably have hinted as much. Absent such indications, the danger is heightened that Giovannini may have invented, rather than discovered, subtle interconnections in Plato‘s thought.

According to Giovannini, Lysis forms a counterpoint to Republic by depicting a tyrant whose status derives, not from his slavish dependency, but from his utter self-sufficiency; he is complete, or (to use the language of the ancient philosophers) perfect. For such a figure, friendship—for many of the Greek philosophers, the foundation of healthy political community—is ultimately impossible, because ―the one who is perfect does not depend on the many who are imperfect, but the many who are imperfect depend on the one who is perfect.‖ In short, Giovannini argues, the tyranny found in Lysis is the wake of a doomed union between the needy masses and the singular, complete one. Viewed in the double light of Republic and Lysis, the platonic tyrant depicted by Giovannini is a paradoxical figure: here a slave; there the epitome of wholeness.

“The best-known platonic depiction of tyranny appears in Republic”- is a GMAT reading comprehension exercise. Candidates need to be highly proficient in GMAT reading comprehension. There are three comprehension questions in this GMAT reading comprehension section. The purpose of the GMAT Reading Comprehension questions is to evaluate candidates' comprehension, analysis, and application skills. Candidates who are actively preparing can benefit from GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solutions and Explanation

1. The author makes a few different points throughout the passage. In paragraph 4, the author is primarily concerned with:

1. providing a richer alternative to the one-dimensional view of tyranny furnished in Republic.
2. establishing a relationship between the content of platonic dialogues and the order in which they first appeared.
3. dismissing Giovannini‘s findings on the grounds that they are more imagined than real.
4. supplying an overall assessment of Giovannini‘s argument about the platonic conception of tyranny.
5. mildly criticising Giovannini‘s findings but also indirectly supporting them

2. According to the information put forth by the author in the passage, what does Giovannini suggest about tyrannical regimes as depicted in Lysis?

1. They fulfil the brutish desires of the tyrant.
2. They are typically incompatible with the political community.
3. They result from a severe imbalance in the relationship between the ruler and the ruled.
4. They promote strength and self-reliance among the general populace.
5. They are an anomaly in the otherwise benevolent regimes of other rulers

3. Suppose conclusive evidence emerged that, in order to shield his audience from confusion, Plato on occasion intentionally avoided revealing complex or seemingly contradictory conclusions in his dialogues. What relevance would this information have to the passage?

1. It would weaken Giovannini‘s claim that the platonic tyrant is a paradoxical figure.
2. It would verify the author‘s assertion that Republic provides a reasonable but only partial depiction of Plato‘s conception of the tyrannical character.
3. It would weaken the author‘s major criticism of Giovannini‘s research.
4. It would weaken the author‘s assessment of Giovannini‘s work as ingenious and provocative
5. It would have no impact on the claims made in the passage

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