Reproductive Freedom and the Paradigmatic Character of Plato's "Republic"

Abstract

In the Republic, the paradigmatic character of Plato’s best city appears incompatible with the use of deception in the procreative practices of the Auxiliaries and Guardians. I argue that this incongruity, as well as the exact provisions of Plato’s reproduction festival, are explained by three facts: his commitment to eugenics, his insistence on the abolition of the typical Greek household and his belief that there are serious limitations to the type of knowledge that Auxiliaries can achieve.

That only the elite should have children is a worrying argument

“…Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, and Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia MsimangP@sun.ac.za I thank Mr Msimang for his comments [1] on my article [2] and the editor for inviting my response. I urge readers to read both article and comments and be the adjudicators; the article has already had 1 430 full text views.…”

“…The argument itself is at least as old as Plato's Republic in the Western canon, and concerns itself with the important issue of the ethics of procreation. [2] The more specific question that de Roubaix deals with is: when is it responsible (or not responsible) to procreate and have a child in SA?Let me begin by expressing my general sympathy with the claim made by the author that 'we should consider the probable quality of life of the child we intend to produce' [1] in a manner that brings these considerations to bear on our decisions about whether to procreate. This is a kind of personal accountability about reproductive choices that we should encourage.…”

“…The argument itself is at least as old as Plato's Republic in the Western canon, and concerns itself with the important issue of the ethics of procreation. [2] The more specific question that de Roubaix deals with is: when is it responsible (or not responsible) to procreate and have a child in SA?…”

Cherry-picking, selective reading and the creation of straw arguments?

“…The argument itself is at least as old as Plato's Republic in the Western canon, and concerns itself with the important issue of the ethics of procreation. [2] The more specific question that de Roubaix deals with is: when is it responsible (or not responsible) to procreate and have a child in SA?Let me begin by expressing my general sympathy with the claim made by the author that 'we should consider the probable quality of life of the child we intend to produce' [1] in a manner that brings these considerations to bear on our decisions about whether to procreate. This is a kind of personal accountability about reproductive choices that we should encourage.…”

“…The argument itself is at least as old as Plato's Republic in the Western canon, and concerns itself with the important issue of the ethics of procreation. [2] The more specific question that de Roubaix deals with is: when is it responsible (or not responsible) to procreate and have a child in SA?…”