Abstract
This thesis explores Plato's Republic through the lens of the
sociological theory structural-functionalism. My interpretation
will reflect the premises of this theory. I show how the system
of social stratification allows for the most important features of
eight seemingly oppositional social institutions or social
structures to exist harmoniously in the society. These
oppositional structures are the sacred/profane dichotomy,
class and caste systems, endogamy and exogamy, and the
nuclear and extended family. I show how the Guardians and
the Auxiliaries represent the sacred, whereas the Workers
represent the profane; how the Guardians and the Auxiliaries
exhibit the features of a class society, while the Workers exhibit
the features of a caste society; how the Guardians, Auxiliaries,
and Workers practice endogamy, and yet appropriation and
discarding mechanisms exist that function as exogamy; and
how the Guardians and the Auxiliaries exhibit the extended
family form, and the Workers exhibit the nuclear family.