LADY SHRI RAM COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

CLASSICAL POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Does Plato’s Ideal State Induce Violence?

Submitted To: Dr Vagesh Pawaiya

Submitted By: Anuja S B (552)

Merlin Pattath (674)

INTRODUCTION

Plato was the first systematic political theorist, and a study of the Western philosophical
tradition begins with his masterpiece, the Republic. The Republic dealt with the question of
achieving justice in society. In answering this question, it focused on other interrelated
themes like the right kind of life, the nature of human beings, the purpose and goals of
political association, the ideal type of political system, the classification of the constitutions,
the need for good, upright rulers and the nature and meaning of knowledge.

However, does the Ideal State as propounded by Plato through the Philosopher Ruler meet the
end result of - welfare, development, and happiness of the community as envisioned by
Plato? What can be the possible consequences of the guardian class put under strict
regimented austere lives? This research paper, will try to find answers to these questions.

A determined interest in political philosophy and the curiosity generated by James W.

Prescott’s article on violence led to the selection of this topic correlating the Plato's Ideal
State and Violence. Moreover, violence is an all-time relevant issue, and attempting to find its
root causes appeared the need of the hour considering the overall welfare of humanity.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Violence means aggressive acts of individuals directed toward harming another individual. In
the literature on violence in humans, there are two basic theories: 1) aggressive behaviour is
instinctual, an inborn drive, and 2) aggressive behaviour is learned.

Freudian theory holds that humans have strong instinctual drives falling into two major
categories: 1) the instinct of self-love, self preservation, or the pleasure principle, opposed to
2) the destructive instinct or death impulse. Reich suggested an interconnection: "sexual
dissatisfaction increases aggression, while gratification reduces it" . Discussing animal
behaviour from a biologist's point of view, Eibl Eibesfeldt stated that aggression, "far from
constituting an epiphenomenon or a mere bad habit, fulfils a whole series of functions serving
the survival of the species".

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James W. Prescott is a neuropsychologist, who provided a thesis on how lack of sexual
pleasure and mother care are the origins of violence. Most of our ‘pleasure’ activities appear
to be substitutes for the natural sensory pleasures of touching. People touch for pleasure or
for pain or they don’t touch at all. Although physical pleasure and physical violence seem
worlds apart, there seems to be a subtle and intimate connection between the two.

In his laboratory experiments with animals he found out that pleasure and violence have a
reciprocal relationship, that is, the presence of one inhibits the other. A raging, violent animal
will abruptly calm down when electrodes stimulate the pleasure centres of its brain. Likewise,
stimulating the violent centres in the brain can terminate the animal’s sensual pleasure and
peaceful behaviour. Prescott argues that various abnormal social and emotional behaviours
resulting from what psychologists call ‘maternal–social’ deprivation, that is, a lack of tender,
loving care, are caused by a unique type of sensory deprivation, ‘somatosensory deprivation.’

In research conducted, it is clearly indicated that those societies which give their infants the
greatest amount of physical affection were characterized by low theft, low infant physical
pain, low religious activity, and negligible or absent killing, mutilating, or torturing of the
enemy. These data directly confirm that the deprivation of body pleasure during infancy is
significantly linked to a high rate of crime and violence.

However, some theorists hold that all human behavior is learned - that there is no instinctual
basis for human behavior. Biologists and ethnologists generally believe that there is a
combination of factors operating, and most would agree that "the degree to which
aggressivity is determined by constitutional predispositions or is learned, the resultant of
reactions to frustrations during the life history of the person, has not been determined".

PLATO'S IDEAL STATE AND THE COMMUNITY OF WIVES AND PROPERTY

An ideal state for Plato possessed the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance or
self-control, and justice. It would have wisdom because its rulers were persons of knowledge,
courage because its warriors were brave, self-control because of the harmony that pervaded
the societal matrix due to a common agreement as to who ought to rule, and finally, justice of
doing one’s job for which one was naturally fitted without interfering with other people. For

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Plato, the state was the Ideal, of which justice was the reality. Justice was the principle on
which the state had to be found and a contribution made towards the excellence of the city.

The Ideal State ruled by the philosopher was made possible through an elaborate and rigorous
scheme of Education. While education, for Plato, was designed to create the proper
environment for the nurturing and development of the human soul, The Community of Wives
and Property tried to eliminate all the negativities that obstructed the proper growth of the
individual. Since the stress was on creating a meritocratic society in which every individual
would perform tasks appropriate to one’s nature, the community of wives and property
ensured that nepotism, accident, family ties, and pedigree or wealth would not be the criteria
of selection for social stations and their assigned tasks.

Plato abolished private family and property for the guardian class for they encouraged
nepotism, favouritism, particularism, factionalism, and other corrupt practices among rulers.
Politics did not mean promoting one's personal interests. Instead, it was to promote the
common good. Plato thereby established a high standard for governing and governors.

Plato proposed that the members of the guardian class live together in common, like soldiers
in a barrack. They would not possess any gold or silver. They would only have the small
amount of property that was necessary. None would own a house or storeroom, namely an
exclusive private space. They would receive a fixed quota from the producing class,
depending on what was required for subsistence. The life of the guardians would be by the
rule followed among the Greeks that "friends have all things in common".

In the Republic, Plato devoted greater space and consideration to the community of wives
than to property. This was because he was perturbed by the negative emotions of hatred,
selfishness, avarice, and envy that the family encouraged. He disliked the exclusivity that the
private family fostered in its members.

Plato also rejected the idea of marriage as a spiritual union or sacrament or bond based on
love and mutual respect. However, marriage was necessary to ensure the reproduction and
continuation of the human race. He, therefore, advocated temporary sexual unions to bear
children. He relieved women of child-rearing and childcare responsibilities.

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Plato proposed strict regulation of sexual intercourse, which was to be performed in the
interest of the state by ensuring that the best and the fittest of human stock were made
available. The philosopher ruler would decide on sexual unions.

Plato viewed the ideal age for marriage to be between 25 and 55 for men and 20 and 40 for
women. He forbade relationships between mothers and sons, and between fathers and
daughters. Men and women were freed from permanent marital ties, not to encourage sexual
promiscuity, but rather for securing the greatest good of the community (Barker 1964:
257-258; Sibley 1981: 71). Abortion was recommended for illegitimate children, those that
were not sanctioned by the state or were the result of mating by persons beyond the
prescribed age limits

Once children were born, they would be taken care of by the state-maintained nurseries,
which would be equipped with well-trained nurses. Except for the philosopher ruler, none
would know the parentage of these children. Even the biological parents and their children
would be oblivious of their relationship, the idea being that all children would be respectful
towards their elders in the same way as they would, had they been their parents. Conversely,
all elders would shower equal love and affection on all the children, as if they were theirs.

THE IDEAL STATE AND VIOLENCE:

How Somatosenory deprivation leads to violence in the Ideal State?

While Plato's scheme may apparently seem liberating and revolutionary, it implied excessive
regimentation with very little privacy and individuality. In trying to ensure that family life
was not corrupted with narrow sectarianism and selfishness, Plato went to the other extreme
and eliminated the emotional bonding that the family provided

Plato certainly challenged some of the cherished conventions within human society. Many of
his critics were disturbed by these proposals. Aristotle was the earliest of those who
disagreed, giving a detailed reason as to why the family and private property were important
for the happiness of the individual and the welfare of the state. Both Grube (1935) and Taylor
(1926) dismissed Plato's proposals as abhorrent for they did not take into cognizance the
deepest human emotions that marital and family life involved. Strauss (1964) reiterating

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Aristotle, looked to the family as a natural institution and questioned Plato's wisdom in
abolishing it.

Plato permitted the third social class to enjoy private families and property, but that would be
under the strict control and supervision of the guardians. He subordinated both the guardians
and the artisans to a moral ideal: the welfare of the state and collectivity. While the guardians
were entrusted with the task of ruling and governance, they would lead strict, austere lives.
The artisans did not have the right to participate in the political process, but enjoyed
emotional ties and had possessions, Plato played fair with both sections of the society in
terms of rewards and denial. The characteristics of Plato's Ideal State were class,
communism, civility, control, contentment, and consensus (Hacker 1961: 30).

Plato’s ideal-state requirements are unattainable and by linking with the thesis provided by
James Prescott, Ideal-state theory will only lead to violence. According to Prescott, lack of
sexual pleasure and parental care are the origins of violence. This is one of the primary needs
that Plato’s ideal state denies to people from a very young age. Prescott opines that, unlike
violence, pleasure seems to be something the world can’t get enough of. People are
constantly in search of new forms of pleasure. When an infant is denied body pleasure, such
as maternal care deprivation, it leads to various abnormal social and emotional behaviours.

The growth and functional organisation of the brain are significantly influenced by the
sensory environment in which a person is raised. The brain needs sensory input in order to
grow and operate appropriately. The way a person behaves is determined by how their brain
works.

The human brain is quite undeveloped at birth, and up until the age of two, new brain cells
continue to form. Up to the age of roughly 16, the complexity of brain cell development
continues. According to research by Herman Epstein of Brandeis University, the human brain
experiences development spurts at ages 3, 7, 11, and 15. Although it is yet unknown how
early deprivations affect these growth spurts, some evidence implies that early deprivation
may eliminate the last growth spurt.

Pleasure and aggression are inversely correlated, which has important implications since
specific sensory experiences throughout early development might lead to cognitive

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predispositions for later violence- or pleasure-seeking behaviours. Somatosensory deprivation
is a distinct form of sensory deprivation that contributes to a variety of deviant social and
emotional behaviours that emerge from what psychologists refer to as "maternal-social"
deprivation, or a lack of delicate, loving care.

Numerous studies of adolescent offenders and adult offenders have revealed a familial history
of dysfunctional households and/or physically violent parents. The level of lack of physical
affection is rarely discussed in these studies, let alone measured, even though it is frequently
assumed from the level of abuse and neglect. Psychiatrists Brandt F. Steele and C. B. Pollock
of the University of Colorado conducted a ground-breaking study on child abuse in three
generations of families who physically assaulted their children. They discovered that parents
who mistreated their children were almost often denied physical affection as children and had
extremely terrible adult sex lives. Steele observed that almost all of the mothers who harmed
their kids had never had an orgasm. The level of sexual pleasure felt by the males who
mistreated their children could not be determined, but in general, their sexual lives were not
fulfilling.

We looked at the level of violence in societies based on their Infant Physical Affection Scale
scores. The findings made it abundantly evident that the civilizations with the highest levels
of physical attachment for their young people also had the lowest rates of baby physical
suffering, infant stealing, infant religious involvement, and enemy slaughter, mutilation, or
torture. These facts unequivocally demonstrate that a high incidence of crime and violence is
highly correlated with the lack of physiological pleasure throughout infancy.

It appears that the advantages of physical attachment for young children can be countered by
later in life, the suppression of body pleasure (premarital sex). Thus, it appears that
adolescent sexual body pleasure experiences make up for the negative effects of infant
physical affectional deprivation in later life. The somatosensory pleasure deprivation theory
has been changed from a one-stage to a two-stage developmental theory as a result of these
findings. In conclusion, the lack of tactile pleasure during either adolescence or infancy may
be the cause of aggression. Thus, it appears that we have a well-founded principle: Societies
of physically affectionate humans are very unlikely to engage in physical violence

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CORRELATING SOMATOSENSORY DEPRIVATION AND VIOLENCE IN
CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

In order for the brain to develop and function in a way that results in joyful and peaceful
actions, we obviously need to create an enriched somatosensory environment if we deem
violent and aggressive behaviours undesirable. Physical pleasure enjoyed within the context
of meaningful human connections is the antidote to physical violence.

The societies and nations where sex in general and expressions of sexual affection are taboo
are prone to seek violence in combating the practitioners of the same. Moral Policing in India
is a vivid example of this. Enforcing a code of morality in India by a group of vigilante
groups is known as moral policing. Sexual frustrations or their inability to be sexually open in
public might be the reasons for this attack or verbal abuse. The inability comes from their
deep-rooted cultural notions and the need to preserve them and punish those who violate
them. Teenage couples, homosexuals, transgenders, and prostitutes are the main victims of
moral policing. Rape is also an example of violence due to somatosensory deprivation. The
youngest rapist is 11 years old. The explanation for this sexual offense at this age cannot be
just related to sexual deprivation. Lack of parental care can also be a reason in this case.
While analyzing generally in relation to countries, the countries which keep sexual matters
extremely private and secluded are countries that have the highest rape cases. Pornography is
where a majority of youngsters find pleasure in. Watching porn, like having sex, releases
dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure. Banning pornography and
portraying watching porn as taboo or immoral, leads to lack of dopamine or lack of pleasure,
which will ultimately lead to violence. However, we must be vigilant about the violence
portrayal in porn and also promote the new feminist concept of healthy porn.

The rejection of beliefs, practices, and policies that cause our fellow humans harm, suffering,
or deprivation is a core moral concept for many people. We should pursue not only the
removal of pain and suffering, but also the augmentation of pleasure, the encouragement of
loving human connections, and the enrichment of human experience. Aiming to make life
more enjoyable will have an impact on how we exhibit hatred and aggression.

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When physical pleasure is strong, physical violence is low because pleasure and violence
have a mutually inhibiting relationship. Pleasure is low while violence is high. This
fundamental tenet of the somatosensory pleasure deprivation hypothesis gives us the means
to create a society where people are kind, caring, and cooperative.

To develop a peaceful society, we must put more emphasis on human relationships. Family
planning is essential. Children must be properly spaced so that each can receive optimal
affection and care. The needs of the infant should be immediately met. It is harmful to a baby
to cry itself to sleep. By not answering an infant’s needs immediately and consistently we not
only teach a child distrust at a very basic emotional level but also establish patterns of neglect
that harm the child’s social and emotional health. The discouragement of breastfeeding in
favour of bottle feeding and the separation of healthy newborns from their mothers in our
‘modern’ hospitals are other examples of harmful child-rearing practices.

Prescott proposes that, if we accept the theory that the lack of sufficient somatosensory
pleasure is a principal cause of violence, we can work toward promoting pleasure and
encouraging affectionate interpersonal relationships as a means of combating aggression. We
should give high priority to body pleasure in the context of meaningful human relationships.
Such body pleasure is very different from promiscuity, which reflects a basic inability to
experience pleasure. If a sexual relationship is not pleasurable, the individual looks for
another partner. A continuing failure to find sexual satisfaction leads to a continuing search
for new partners, that is, to promiscuous behavior. Affectionately shared physical pleasure, on
the other hand, tends to stabilise a relationship and eliminate the search. However, a variety
of sexual experiences seems to be normal in cultures that permit its expression, and this may
be important for optimizing pleasure and affection in sexual relationships.

CONCLUSION

Through this paper, we have tried to associate Plato's Ideal State with somatosensory
deprivation and violence. James W. Prescott's theory on Body Pleasure and the Origins of
Violence has been used vehemently to substantiate the hypothesis. However, we address
various limitations the paper entails. The first being the very theoretical nature of Plato's Ideal

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State, thereby the entire research has been an assumption built upon the never realized Ideal
State Polity of Plato.

The second would be sticking to the pleasure deprivation cause of violence. There might be
many other possible causes of violence, but the paper tried to limit it to the lack of
somatosensory deprivation. Nevertheless, the aim was to address the relevance of the same in
the genesis of violence.

Finally, the limited availability of the literature in this respect. Even when other criticism of
Plato's Ideal State being totalitarian, anti- humanistic, and anti-democratic, the element of
somatosensory deprivation in the Ideal State resulting in violence is relatively new thereby
limiting the scope of the research.

In the future, if we work on the same lines, we would try to address the limitations mentioned
above. This paper has only tried to point out the presence of somatosensory deprivation in the
Ideal State and its possible consequences but hasn't provided any possible theoretical
alternative or required amendments to the theory of the Ideal State. This can be one prospect.
The other would be to look into the possible contemporary solutions to avoid sexual
deprivation in society by implementing proper sex education stressing its importance, and
addressing the significance and methods to resolve sexual tensions among adolescents.

Moreover, we would look into proposing the means to provide proper parental care to
children in general and orphans in particular through parenting classes and awareness as well
as through welfare schemes. In addition, educating the masses on the relevance of abortion in
general and in this regard would be another possible solution to avoid abusive parenting
which would be another consideration for the prospects of the paper.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mukherjee Subrata and Sushila Ramaswamy. A History of Political Thought Plato to Marx.
New Delhi. PHI Learning Private Limited. October 2014.

Prescott, James W. Body Pleasure and The Origins of Violence. The Bulletin of Atomic
Scientists, November 1975, pp. 10-20.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00963402.1975.11458292

ROENA L. HAYNIE, Deprivation of Body Pleasure: Origin of Violent Behavior? A Survey

of the Literature, Child Welfare, Vol. 59, No. 5 (May 1980), pp. 287-29

Gentry, William. "Effect of Time-out From Positive Reinforcement on Aggressive Behavior

in Young Children," Psychological Reports, XXVI (1970). 16.

Ginsberg, Leon, and Elliott, Phyllis. "Human Behavior and the Social Environment: The
Effects of Social Deprivation on Personality," in Childhood Deprivation, edited by Albert
Roberts. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1974.

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