The Archetypes of Plato and Cervantes
This page discusses archetypes found in two popular works as a case study in how archetypes are used to illuminate our understanding of society.
The Republic by Plato
The Republic uses several archetypes, to greater and lesser degrees throughout the work. They are (in no particular order) the producers (demiourgoi), farmers, craftsmen, artisans, warriors or guardians (phulakes), and the rulers or philosopher-kings.
There is also at one point a discussion of "faculties of the soul", which include imagination, demonstration, intelligence, and opinion. Reason, belief and illusion are also mentioned, as part of the prisoners in a cave analogy.
In book IV Socrates introduces the "division of the soul", and it is elaborated upon in books VIII and IX, most notably book IX, page [580d] through [581e]. Socrates divides people into those governed by "rational", "passionate" or "spirited" and "appetitive" attitudes. These correspond, respectively, to lovers of wisdom, lovers of honour (or voctory), and lovers of gain. Also notable is the comment that each type, if asked, will say that their own lifestyle is the most enjoyable of the three.
Among several other purposes being persued by The Republic, is that of discussing how society can (or should) be structured in order to work effectively. The archetypes figure into this discussion frequently and in significant ways. The faculties of the soul are also used to describe and clarify what the archetypes are capable of and best suited for. For example, it is asserted that the philosopher has the ability to see truth and an obligation to bring that truth to others who have not yet seen it; this is stated within the context of the cave metaphor.
Don Quixote
Here, for our purposes the archetypes are represented by the character of Don Quixote and that of his companion Poncho Sanza.
Read The Republic at Tufts University's Perseus Digital Library
This page was written in the "embarrassingly readable" markup language RHTF, and was last updated on 2014 Aug 01.
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