Justice and education in Gadamer’s interpretation of Plato’s Republic in Platos Staat der Erziehung

Abstract

In 1942 Gadamer published his essay Platos Staat der Erziehung. In this article he will interrogate the mutual relationships between pólis and psyché, as well as the relationship between politics and philosophy in Plato’s Republic. This paper aims to critically expose the analysis offered by Gadamer of dikaiosýne understood as “doing one’s own” in Platonic dialogues, in addition to the political rank of philosophical education. For this, emphasis will be placed on the role played in his research of the notions of andreía and sophrosýne. Finally, the conclusions will show how in Gadamer’s reading the philosophical education of the guardians and leaders is inscribed in an essential interpretation of a utopian characterization of kallípolis, which problematizes the question of power in Platonic thought.