Task 1: Read the Info on the Ship (back of sheet) and the info here on the Noble Lie. Is Plato Elitist? The "noble lie" (also translated as "magnificent myth“) is a fictional account that Plato gives for the origin of the three classes in his proposed republic. He talks of a stratified society, where the populace is told a tale of how all people are brothers born of the same mother-earth, but different kinds of people are constituted of different types of metal. Rulers have gold, auxiliaries have silver, and farmers have bronze and iron. Most children of rulers have gold, but some will have silver or bronze and would be demoted to lower classes, whereas some farmers or auxiliaries would be born with silver or gold and promoted.

Writing a philosophy essay... This is what the exam board have told us... 1.READ THE QUESTION 2.FORM A POSITION 3.PLAN OUT THE ESSAY 4.THE POINTS SHOULD BE LOGICAL 5.YOU NEED TO REACH A CONCLUSION

Remember topic overview!!! ‘How do know what the right thing to do is?’ For Plato there exists through the Form of the Good an absolute moral standard by which everyone is judged!

Question due next week: How far does Plato’s philosophy help ‘one do the right thing’? ‘Discovery of the forms is essential if one is to do the right thing.’ Discuss.