Platon et la question de l’héritage

This paper examines the question of inheritance in Plato's thought. The aim is to show that in his major dialogues, such as the Laws and the Republic, Plato places the notion of inheritance at the heart of his thought, striving to provide an answer to the problem of continuity in the moment of rupture that is death. He was the voice of the society of his day, proposing that inheritance be passed on to the preferred child. The founder of the academy adheres to a commonly accepted idea: the idea of passing on the assets we accumulate to our loved ones according to well-defined rules. We can deduce from his analysis that only human beings are entitled to a legacy. Only they deserve to be elevated to a higher level through inheritance. The reason is that they have abilities unknown to animals: abilities that enable them to safeguard and grow what has been passed on to them.