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Gymnastics is the first of a series of studies that prepare the student to recognize the forms. Upon becoming cognizant of the forms, the student then masters their peculiar study, which is dialectic. Gymnastic is the physical study that accompanies the intellectual preparation for interaction with the forms. Many philosophers believed that physical training was necessary for mental improvement to be achieved. Diogenes of Sinope claimed to have demonstrated so.Or you could learn sophistry if dialectic is too difficult. Being a sophist is quite profitable in the contemporary political climate.The education of the guardian begins with gymnastics; this is separate from military service, which comes later. All of the lesser studies, such as gymnastics, mathematics, and military science, however, are simply in anticipation of the most supreme: dialectical reasoning. Thus, consider skipping it all and simply reading Aristotle's Topics. Quite Platonic. I know, join the military is what you say. But I also value justice, and our military's actions are not just in my opinion and I cannot be a part of something unjust as this. So, is there any way I can learn "gymnastics" and avoid being unjust?
What I am getting at here, is that I want to follow this kind of "life" so to say. As in, academics is my passion, but I do not feel I can truly see the world for what it is without first going through the "gymnastics" as Plato would put it.
Learning "music" is something that can be done fairly easily in today's society. The problem is the "gymnastics". The only clear was to do this is to join the military.
So, in Plato's theory the Silver and the Gold must go through rigorous training in both gymnastics and music. As those who know what I am talking about, the "gymnastics" are supposed to be what you could say makes you tough, and the "music" is to understand harmony. In my opinion, this is genius.
Training of Silver and Gold, how can one learn"gymnastics" and be just?