To be honest, I haven't been able to take a lot of The Republic seriously. It's very good writing and logic, but much of the quibbling on philosophy just doesn't seem practical at all - where's the real-life application that makes this book matter? It can also be difficult to grasp exactly how seriously Plato's/Socrates's idealism should be taken.
But the section about dreams, in the first part of Book IX, really bewildered me the most.
It's a very minor issue, I know, but is Plato/Socrates really suggesting that our dreams show our moral state? Maybe one dream in a few dozen can reflect a fear or an obsession, but, typically, dreams are nonsense.
I'm not sure. I think the issue of 'the just man' is being taken a little too far now. Unless Plato/Socrates is meaning to be sarcastic, though I don't think he is this time. It's befuddling.
PS I commented on Brannan Uhlman's.
I don't know. My experience has shown my stresses and delights being communicated in my dreams, though usually under some sort of allegory or symbolism.
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