Plato designed two myths about noble birth in "The Republic" (414b-415d)，To meet bet365 bonus code louisiana’s various needs。These two myths are not an intellectual exploration of the world of truth or ideas，But a lie or deception，But these lies are necessary needs: they are used first to persuade the rulers；If not，Used to persuade citizens of other city-states。

Let’s first look at the specific content of these two myths，Let’s look at Socrates designing them，Or the true intention of using bet365 bonus code louisiana "trick"。Both these two myths have their origins，The first myth is related to the Phoenician hero Cadmus，He is the son of the Phoenician king and brother of Europa。Zeus took Europa away，Cadmus was sent to find her，But it was not successful，So he asked the Oracle of Delphi，The oracle ordered him to give up the search，And follow a cow，And build a town where it lay。The cow led Cadmus to Boeotia，meaning "cow land")，He founded the city of Thebes there。Later，Cadmus spread the teeth of a dragon he killed on the ground，A race of ferocious militants arose from it，Called Sparti，meaning "seeding")。The Spartans fight among themselves，Until only five people survived。These five men assisted Cadmus in building Cadmea in the city of Thebes，or "castle")，And became the founder of the most noble family in the city。

In the perfect city-state depicted in "Utopia"，Socrates borrowed from bet365 bonus code louisiana mythical story，To convince the rulers and the warriors who serve as the guardian class，In fact, they were already shaped and cultivated when they were "planted" in the ground (just like Cadmus planted dragon teeth)；Mother Earth sent them to the earth，Fighting to protect the earth，The land they are on is their mother，No infringement allowed。What needs to be noted is，The land here is the same as that of Thebes，It is a specific region rather than the earth；Mother Earth is also the mother of a specific city-state，Instead of the mother of mankind。Plato never intended to build a "global utopia"，Because bet365 bonus code louisiana ideal is even in a specific region，It is already difficult to achieve。The ideal city-state envisioned by Plotinus, a Neoplatonist in the Roman period, in Campania，And the 15th-century Platonist philosopher Ficino through his friendship with King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary，An ideal city-state designed in Hungary，They are also limited to specific regions、City with limited population。Later, people were concerned that Plato’s “Utopia” was totalitarian or at least a totalitarian regime，It’s a misunderstanding。Because the design of the Utopia is not a dogmatic or systematic political system proposition，It is an idea of ​​an ideal political order。

，Everyone has different natures)，And believe in using the duties that come from bet365 bonus code louisiana nature (see "Republic" 353b said that everything has its own exclusive role or function) in the service of the mother state，It is their inherent mission。These rulers and guardians are not "individuals" illuminated by the "light of nature" as generally recognized after the Enlightenment，i.e. rational、"Private" who prioritizes self-interest and rights and responsibilities，But a spirit of self-sacrifice、Have full responsibility and obligation to the community、Selfless “citizen or public servant”，It is because of bet365 bonus code louisiana "selflessness" that they deserve to be "noble"Title。The word "noble" here，The original meaning is "good birth"，Comparative advantages due to birth or inheritance from parents，Socrates changed the traditional "well-born"，Transformed to mean being born good at ruling、Manage and defend the bet365 bonus code louisiana。

Then，Why do rulers and warriors need persuasion？bet365 bonus code louisiana is because in Plato’s Republic，Not only ordinary producers must play their part，Rulers and guardians must also live in their own places，No one is interested in self-interest，But for the happiness of the city-state as a whole。Socrates reminded，“We must pay attention，The reason why we set up guardians，The purpose is to make themselves as happy as possible，The purpose is still the entire city-state。Our goal is to make bet365 bonus code louisiana city-state full of happiness，And for these warriors and these guardians，We must both persecute，Convince them to do it too，That is, they should be the best craftsmen for their tasks，And for all other inhabitants of the city-state，The situation is the same；Thus，The prosperity of the entire city-state is guaranteed，Each of them can follow their own nature，Sharing their happiness。”

I understand bet365 bonus code louisiana，We can understand the second myth logically，The famous gold、Silver、Bronze、Hero、Black Iron and other myths of human generational regression。bet365 bonus code louisiana myth is adapted from Hesiod’s Works and Days，bet365 bonus code louisiana is for everyone in the city-state: although everyone is a brother，But when God created man，Added different metals to different people，Those who are mixed with gold have the ability to rule，Those who are mixed with silver become guardians，People who mixed copper and iron became farmers and craftsmen。The most important warning God gives to rulers is，Pay attention to the metal content in the souls of future generations，Strictly guard the heirs，Be careful to allocate responsibilities according to their talents，People whose nature is not suitable for rule must be abandoned to craftsmen or farmers。If you find people with gold and silver in their souls among the descendants of craftsmen and farmers，They will be selected into the Guardians，Because if people mixed with copper and iron rule the city-state，The city-state will surely perish。

Socrates emphasized that both stories are myths，That is what poets were good at in the past。Poets as transmitters of ancient wisdom、People’s Educator，Once respected，But Plato's "Utopia" was quite critical of the poet，Because they do not take truth as their object，Making up stories，Convincing people to believe specious things。However，Now he himself also uses myths to exhort rulers and guardians through the mouth of Socrates，We should even tell all citizens that "everyone has his or her own nature"，The story of "Everyone should live in his own place"，Isn’t it contradictory？Indeed，Brisson just said，“No philosopher’s position is as radical as Plato’s，He is an outspoken critic of traditional mythology，And refuse to accept any form of allegorical interpretation。The paradoxical thing is，Plato’s philosophical thoughts are rooted in mythology (although not necessarily traditional mythology)。For example，The theory of ideals is based on the theory of reminiscence，And in Meno，The latter is closely connected with religious beliefs。Also，Any time，Plato only talks about the soul，He always uses mythology，He has made up countless afterlife myths，Can be found in Gorgias, Republic, Phaedrus and Dharma。Finally，Whenever Plato tried to find the universe、The origin of human beings and society，He will also return to the mythology，In the Timaeus and the Critias，He does bet365 bonus code louisiana all the time。”

The above two myths about “noble lies”，In fact, it is to explain the "natural differences between people" and how we should place bet365 bonus code louisiana "difference"。In the modern era，We tend to base differences between individuals on a solid biological basis，Interpret it as gene transmission or mutation in an organism。Brain research proves that there are people who are naturally prone to violence and cold-bloodedness，In fact, we are also looking for the natural origin of differences，But these research data are only statistically significant，Those who use these data，New myths may be created to make us believe that these natural born killers can be forgiven or need more care (or even monitoring)。Today，We only partially believe the rational man hypothesis since the Enlightenment，The days when Descartes believed that everyone possessed “general reason” in “Discourse on Method” are gone forever，Instead, "people" who have completely similar rational endowments and therefore have the same rights and obligations die，“People” as knowledge objects and knowledge objects in the humanities are also dead。In the perspective of modernity issues，“There is no difference between the death of God and the disappearance of man” (Foucault)，Everyone is constructed in a new discourse of power。Looks like bet365 bonus code louisiana，The two myths in "Utopia" are just attempts at discourse construction，And Socrates knew very well that bet365 bonus code louisiana was a design、An arrangement、A trick。But bet365 bonus code louisiana is not a painstaking education？The purpose of bet365 bonus code louisiana kind of education is to harmonize private interests and public interests，Let members of the political community care about the community beyond personal interests，Inject natural attributes into the political system，Rather than artificial arbitrariness，Inspire people’s attention and action for the overall happiness of the community，To make up for the shortcomings of people in civil society who are loyal to the community by calculating self-interest。In addition to self-exploration, human beings、Self-education、There seems to be no way other than self-achievement，Plato's "The Republic" is mankind's first exploration into the origin and rationality of political order。Human society itself is a man-made thing，Also naturally generated，Its roots are somewhat obscure，But it is not unexplorable。Modern ethology and political anthropology partially explain the origins of political order，Believe that human political order originated from the screening role played by human beings in the process of gene transmission，The result is a person who is good at cooperation、The genes of people who are willing to share roles in the community are preserved，And those genes that have no sense of cooperation and do not obey the community governance order are eliminated。

Are we more satisfied with bet365 bonus code louisiana genetic myth，Or maybe it feels like a new “lie”？Does bet365 bonus code louisiana explanation of individual differences and cooperation allow us to calmly accept differences and differences in political status？Probably not。Because "gene editing" has become a new hot topic，We always want to be “noble” either by nature or by nurture，Nobility as a myth has never been forgotten，But bet365 bonus code louisiana is different from what Socrates worried。Socrates hopes that everyone will remember it，In fact, it is simple to remove、Stubborn、Self-identity centered on private interests，Recognize yourself as the "soul"，It is reason itself，Realize that individual human happiness depends on the happiness of the whole；Only when all people with differences work together can overall happiness be achieved，“Everyone performs his own duties” is not an excuse for class divisions and barriers，The "difference" caused by the pursuit of goodness is actually the ladder for people to improve their morality。Therefore，“Noble” is not a problem，The key lies in how we understand and accommodate "difference"。

(Author’s unit: Department of Philosophy, Sichuan University)