The Possibility Of Deception In Plato's Noble Lie

The lie however, does not end here. It goes on to fantasize that each person was formed with a metal included in the mixture. Gold for those who would be rulers, silver for the auxiliaries, and iron and copper for the working class (Plato 415a). It would seem that the only purpose of this “noble” lie was to instill an impression of inability in the lower classes of the society. By using this lie, the ruler's of the society would be able to indoctrinate the citizens, and have them submit to their mythological belief that they were just born better. As dictatorial and totalitarian regimes do today with terror, Plato sought to do through indoctrination. Plato assumed that the ruling class would easily accept their own false stories and that the lower classes would surely accept it. The “noble lie”, and the underlying deception it embraces, brings up a fascinating point to the entire framework of an ideal society. It would seem that Plato embraced the acceptability of deception, yet at the same time did not want this kind of deception to be common. It seems that it would be known, at least to the rulers, that the “noble lie” was, a lie. If it was the case that, at least the ruling class, if not others, knew the “noble lie” to be false, would
Censorship of all types was discussed within the Republic. This censorship included certain types of music, and most importantly specific literary material, such as books and poetry. Beginning in chapter four, Plato suggests that any material that would undermine the appropriate community approved attitude, and values should be censored. Socrates begins the “road to censorship” by pondering the question of why children are told stories, “...which are, by and large, untrue, though they contain elements of truth?”(Plato