Noble lie
untruth propagated to strengthen social harmony
The concept of a noble lie (also known as useful fiction) is a myth or a lie that is prevalent in a society, and that either emerges on its own or is propagated by an elite in order to maintain social order or for the "greater good". It is argued by some to be an example of the psychological concept of groupthink.
Descriptions of it and application of terminology to it, date back as early as ancient Greece in Plato's The Republic.
History and philosophy
Plato
In his political philosophy work The Republic, Plato presented the noble lie (γενναῖον ψεῦδος, gennaion pseudos) in the fictional tale known as the myth or parable of the metals in Book III. In it, Socrates provides the origin of the three social classes who compose the republic proposed by Plato. Socrates proposes and claims that if the people believed "this myth...[it] would have a good effect, making them more inclined to care for the state and one another."
[Y]et God in fashioning those of you who are fitted to hold rule mingled gold in their generation, for which reason they are the most precious—but in the helpers silver, and iron and brass in the farmers and other craftsmen. (...) and if sons are born to them with an infusion of brass or iron they shall by no means give way to pity in their treatment of them, but shall assign to each the status due to his nature and thrust them out among the artisans or the farmers. And again, if from these there is born a son with unexpected gold or silver in his composition they shall honor such and bid them go up higher, some to the office of guardian, some to the assistanceship, alleging that there is an oracle that the state shall then be overthrown when the man of iron or brass is its guardian.
In Republic Book III, 415a–417b, Plato (or Socrates within the dialogue) seeks not merely to justify the social hierarchy through the "noble lie", but also to devise a means of preventing intensified hostility between classes and harmoniously binding different strata together, by ensuring that each class exchanges its shares and roles and that these are distributed in a balanced way.
In Plato’s Republic, the “gold of the soul” does not refer to an actual metal, but rather to the nobility residing within the guardian’s inner nature. By contrast, the “gold of the earth” signifies material wealth, portrayed as a source of envy, greed, intrigue, and corruption.
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