The Republic by Plato - 11 - Happiness Comes From Discipline
Book Twelve
Quote
"The truth of the matter then, even if people deny it, is that a real dictator is actually a real slave."
Notes
As they noted in the last section, a dictator is the worst type of person. But not only that, he also also the most unhappy. He is oppressed and enslaved by the lowest parts of himself, and he's constantly paranoid about being killed since he has so many enemies. He can't trust anyone and he doesn't have any friends.
A philosopher king, on the other hand, is the most happy. He is not ruled by the worst parts of his mind, and he is devoted to the intellect, reality, and truth, which are the things that bring the most happiness.
Socrates concludes that they've now proven what they set out to explore in this dialogue, the question of whether it's morality or immorality that leads to the most happiness. Clearly it's morality as seen by the dictator compared with the philosopher king.
The core of his argument comes down to how the mind is divided into three main categories, all vying for control to get the things it wants. There is the desirous part which cares most about physical pleasures like food, sex, drugs, and money. The passionate part is interested in power, success, and fame. And the intellectual part wants to know the truth of things. When the intellectual part is in control of the others, that person is not then a slave to their desires. They actually have more freedom to pursue things that bring more satisfaction and happiness, like philosophy, dialectic, and friendship.
"Things are acceptable when they subject the bestial aspects of our nature to the human — or it might be more accurate to say the divine — part of ourselves." Immorality makes you unhappy because you become enslaved by the worst parts of your nature.
This is also a principle for how we raise children, and ultimately, how we build a society. "What we do is use what is best in ourselves to cultivate the equivalent aspect of a child, and then we let him go free once the equivalent part within him has been established as his guardian and ruler." Once someone has that moral center orienting them to the truth and to intellectual pursuits, then they have real freedom and happiness.
Key Takeaways
Our selves are divided. This seems to be at the core of Plato's argument here. We have different parts of our selves that each care about different things. And the question is which part are you giving control? One part, even though it may give you whatever you want in the moment, will make you a slave to those shallow desires. The other part will require more discipline, but in the long run it will give you more freedom.