The Brothers Grimm’s, “Ashputtle and D.T. Niane’s “Sundiata”, both have characters who is a villain. Sassouma Berete in “Sundiata” is similar to Ashputtle’s evil stepmother and stepsisters. Both of them bring misery and burden to the main character. In the story of “Ashputtle”, the evil stepmother and stepsisters mocks and insults Ashputtle, also they forced her to do all the household chores. Meanwhile, in the story of “Sundiata”, Sassouma Berete makes fun of Sundiata’s physical difference and jeers at Sogolon. Both of these villains have the same purpose. They want to bring down the main character, so that they can maintain their wealth.…
What is justice? Today, where it is common for people to only look out for themselves, justice is an extremely important tool. But what exactly is justice? What is right, what is wrong, and who decides that? To find an accurate definition, we as a society should not just focus on one opinion, but the views of many. Similar to how our society is today, the society in The Republic, lived the same, struggling to determine what the correct definition of justice was, and how to pursue the right answer. In the paper, I will be discussing all aspects of Plato’s Republic, including the Philosopher King and his nature, and justice in that time.…
In this paper we will show that Glaucon and Thrasymachus' positions on justice are entirely different. We argue that Thrasymachus despite his slippage and confusion between a traditional and immoralist definition of justice, is really intending to illustrate a political system ruled by a rational-minded and exploitative tyrant. On the other hand Glaucon clearly presents justice as a necessary evil originating out of a social contract constructed by the weak of society. He then challenges Socrates to prove to him that the life of a just man is better than the life of an unjust man.…
If a man was not subjected to law or punishment would he choose to do what is considered just? In Plato’s The Republic, Glaucon, one of Socrates’ students, states a common view on justice. Justice is simply a lesser evil when compared to the two extremes which are suffering injustice without power to retaliate and doing injustice without suffering consequences. According to Glaucon, all men are inherently unjust, and only do what is just when forced to do so by law. This view of justice can be seen throughout history when leaders, like Nero, do unjust actions for their own personal gain simply because they are free from any consequences.…
What is justice is a question that has plagued philosophers since the time of Plato when he wrote The Republic to present day. In the book, Plato uses the dialectic, between Socrates and other Athenians like Polemarchus, Cephalus, and Glacuon, to try and find the definition of justice. Through the voice of Glaucon, Plato defines justice as a compromise of sorts between advantage and fear, and injustice as the things that we wouldn’t…
Socrates meets with some of his friends and begins discussing the meaning of justice and whether the just life is better than the unjust life. First, they contemplate the meaning of justice. Cephalus stated that justice is as simple as telling the truth and returning what you receive, Polemarchus stated that justice is giving each his due, and Thrasymachus stated that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates proves each of them wrong and embarks on a discussion to find out what true justice is, and to find out whether the just man is truly happier than the unjust man, or vice versa.…
When Socrates is asked to defend justice on its own, but not for the reputation that it brings, he suggests that justice should be found in the city before starting to use the analogy of finding it in an individual. He then uses an example of a just city that aims at satisfying the basic human wants. Some citizens enter into political welfare as no one is independent. Nevertheless,…
The question of justice comes up a lot within Greek tragedies. Throughout the book, The Republic, Socrates is trying to define justice and what it truly means. A famous philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, analyzes the idea of human ethical life according to the Greeks and understanding the cause of human tragedy. I will be relating Martha’s interview to the story of Antigone, answering the question of whether her execution was just or not. I do believe that Antigone’s execution was not just because there was an imbalance in the parts of the soul.…
For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between ¡§Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen¡¨ and ¡§Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society,¡¨ will help to position Plato¡¦s Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.…
He must do this regardless of the opinion of the majority or possible consequences for himself; he must act only in accordance to the opinion of the few wise, knowledgeable men who understand what is justice, and the laws of the State. Unfortunately, in all of the dialogues the author of this essay has read5, Socrates never clearly explains what ‘the laws’ really are — they remain a sort of abstraction, a divine essence of justice. However, this does not invalidate our definition of a champion of…
Socrates and Glaucon analyzes and discuss what a tyrant man is, and the life that he lives in by illustrating “three proofs”. During the conversation Socrates states that, “lust will dwell within him as a tyrant, in total anarchy and lawlessness” (p. 290). Socrates is explaining that lust is the most dangerous form of all desires. A tyrant becomes a slave to his irrational desires, and tries to continue to feed his desires by stealing from others and commit murders. However, he will never be able to fulfill it. So, he would have to live a life of unhappiness and fear among the victims that he has done wrong. Because of his aggressive actions, he will never have any freedom and will never develop any friendships. At the end, Socrates states that the bad and unjust is the unhappiest which is a tyrant that brings fear among the people of the state and…
1. What is the difference between a. and a. Both Socrates and Glaucon ultimately agree that it is better to be actually just and seemingly unjust than it is to be actually unjust but seemingly just. Their reasons for holding this position are because people just have control over themselves. They are able to maintain dominion over their desires, to avoid self indulgence in evil desires, and to choose good things. This is something the unjust person loses no matter how just he may seem.…
Mark Twain once said, “Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other”. Through events in the play Antigone, Sophocles discusses this choice between what is morally right and lawfully right. Sophocles believes that the god’s laws should be upheld no matter what the circumstance, and he demonstrates this through the events in the play. Using the Greek traits Hubris, Ate, and the Nemesis, Sophocles creates inner turmoil within the characters in the play, and the decisions they must make.…
This establishes that whether or not Socrates originally believes his punishment is right, by staying in Athens his entire life, he made a commitment to follow the law-being just-therefore, if he is accused of breaking the law and is convicted by the courts of Athens, which represent the law, then he must complete his sentence, or else he is only becoming more unjust. Socrates later decides that although he could escape, it is better to try and do the right thing, despite having done unjust things in the past, and ultimately decides to carry out his punishment. This passage also further examines the gray area within the idea of just and unjust by saying that following the laws is just; however, the people of the court who determine which acts are within the bounds the laws and which acts are not, are also biased according to their own personal perceptions, meaning no human truly knows the intransigent definitions of what is just and what is unjust.…
Plato's Apology discusses the trial of a philosopher from Athens named Socrates. During the trial Socrates is accused of rejecting the gods of the city and creating his own, as well as corrupting the youth of Athens. He unsuccessfully attempts to persuade the jury of his innocence, and is bestowed a verdict of 'guilty.' In response to the jury's decision, Socrates attempts to illustrate why death should be considered a blessing. I will argue that although Socrates presents possibilities that might await one after death, he does not exhaust all of these possibilities. Additionally, I will argue that the theories Socrates claims await after death cannot necessarily be considered blessings. To prove these points, I will explain the argument and go on to show counterexamples which demonstrate the flaws in Socrates' argument. Last of all I will show that although the argument presented by Socrates may have its shortcomings, it is ultimately a crucial step for Socrates in preserving his reputation and validating his life goals.…