Which individual or group in the Republic is the freest, and why?.
In order to answer this question we must first understand what we mean by freedom. What is freedom? Even though we have an idea of what freedom is, it is really hard to come up with a definition for it. Freedom can be considered from a lot of points of views. It could mean political freedom, freedom from our basic needs, the persuasion of our wants and happiness, less control, independence, expression, participation the list goes on. All of us have a different belief of what freedom is. We might think we are free or vise versa but not appear to be so to other people. .
In the Republic it seems like the best definition of freedom is the lack of responsibility to one's society. Plato considered freedom the will to do anything you want, and he often considered the excesses of freedom especially by the young men. Basically freedom is the excess of youth and the ability to do what you want when you want. Young men had no responsibility henceforth they had freedom. " That a father habituates himself to be like his child and fear his sons, and a son habituates himself to be like his father and to have no shame before or fear his parents that's so he may be free and metic is on an equal level with townsman and townsman with metic and similarly with the foreigner" (Book VIII, 562 e). In other words the person or group with the most freedom had to be that group or person with the least responsibilities to themselves and/ or to the city states. .
From Plato's definition of Freedom Socrates is the freest . Socrates' freedom comes from his attitude. His very philosophical bases at the center of his attention make him a man who is always aiming at improving himself. He thinks that life is a continuous search, a search aimed at giving rational answers to all the problems we have to deal with in our lives. Socrates is an erotic man but his eros does not lead him.