- What is Plato’s understanding of the relationship between the physical world and the world of the archetypal forms (the real and the ideal)? How do you think that this relationships shapes his thinking about Kallipolis? How does the layout of your city embody this relationship?
- We talked about the explicit and implicit emphasis that Plato places on values such as order, truth, safety, stability, efficiency, and being strong of body, mind, and spirit. How does your city demonstrate these values?
- One of the most persistent critiques of Plato has been that he is so focused on the ideal that he ignores the way that the real world works. In what ways do you think that Plato is being realistic? In what ways do you think he is being idealistic or even naive? How is this manifested (or addressed) in your city’s layout?
- One of your Analysis Journal prompts asked you to think about Plato’s view of humanity. What do The Republic and “The Allegory of the Cave” seem to imply about Plato’s view of humankind? If we think about Kallipolis as a metaphor for the human spirit, what does this metaphor seem to imply? Once you have answered these questions, tell me how your city is shaped by this view of human nature.
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