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While many interpret The Republic as a political treatise, much akin to Aristotle's Politics, some philosophers have proposed that it ought rather to be interpreted as an allegory of the soul, since the central question of The Republic deals with what a just man is and how his soul is rightly ordered. By this interpretation, the Philosopher King is not a literal person, but stands for the rational part of man's soul. The Guardians stand for man's spiritedness, or will, and the masses stand for the lower desires. The just man is one whose reason rules over his desires through the will. The unjust man is he whose reason is ruled by his desires. Since rationality is what separates man from beast, the result is that one in this condition acts no better than an animal.

While many interpret The Republic as a political treatise, much akin to Aristotle's Politics, some philosophers have proposed that it ought rather to be interpreted as an allegory of the soul, since the central question of The Republic deals with what a just man is and how his soul is rightly ordered. By this interpretation, the Philosopher King is not a literal person, but stands for the rational part of man's soul. The Guardians stand for man's spiritedness, or will, and the masses stand for the lower desires. The just man is one whose reason rules over his desires through the will. The unjust man is he whose reason is ruled by his desires. Since rationality is what separates man from beast, the result is that one in this condition acts no better than an animal.