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.…
Politically, Plato explains the paradox of justice and the law. Plato believes that absolute justice is the same for everyone without exception. This justice goes beyond power and or money. He feels justice is not necessarily the law. "Law is an imperfect form of justice." What is legal is not necessarily moral. In Book 1 of Plato 's The Republic, Plato explains that justice is a balance between reason, courage and man 's needs or in other words, the head, the heart and the stomach. He goes on to explain that justice or fairness does not always mean equal. The law may change but justice remains constant. A good rule or law however is a just rule. Plato felt that to get people to act justly one must teach them ethics and values. He also believed that along with these ethics and values we must have a reasonable understanding of these rules. An understanding of these rules is needed so people are more apt to comply with them and therefore maintain a just and fair society.…
In his philosophy, Plato places a large emphasis on the importance of the idea of justice. This emphasis can be seen especially in his work ‘The Republic’ where, through his main character Socrates, he attempts to define the nature of justice and to justify this definition. One of the methods used by Socrates to strengthen or rather explain his argument on justice is through his famous city-soul analogy, where a comparison between a just city and a just soul/individual is made. Through this analogy, Socrates attempts to explain the nature of justice, how it is the virtue of the soul and is therefore intrinsically valuable to the individual, but it becomes apparent in the analysis and evaluation of the analogy that there may have been several purposes behind it. Inconsistencies within the analogy itself also raise questions to the validity in Plato’s definition and justification of justice.…
Plato’s theory of justice is about equality and that one deserves punishment if they do commit an unjust action. During the Crito, Socrates tries to correct a lot of points that Crito is trying to argue with him about, what it means to be justice. To be justice, means a human being that does good based on the laws that are emplaced according to the state. Good people according to Socrates are only worth considering. People that do good are considered moral people, and have opinions that should be regarded because their inputs are considered to be ethically correct. Being a human of ethical virtues means that they must not do wrong. Anything that is immoral, is considered immoral. We as humans may not intervene in activities that deem to be…
Any argument relies upon some fundamental agreement about the issue being discussed. However great the divide in opinion may be, there must exist at least some similarity in the participants’ manner of viewing the issue if a solution is ever to be reached. Book One of Plato’s Republic features a disagreement between Socrates and Thrasymachus about the nature of justice. The disaccord between their views of the subject is extremely pronounced, but there are certain underlying agreements which guide the course of the debate. One way to evaluate the validity of the arguments involved is to examine whether the assumptions at the root of the argument are in accord with this common ground. By my reading of the dialogue, Socrates’ reply to the first part of Thrasymachus’ definition of justice rests safely upon this common ground, whereas his answer to Thrasymachus’ second definition moves away from this mutually acceptable base, and is injured as a result. In exploring this topic, I intend to examine briefly Thrasymachus’ two-part definition of justice. For each of these parts I will evaluate one Socratic response and discuss it from the perspective of the “craftsman analogy” – an analogy which is initially used by common consent, but which Socrates adapts until its original usage almost disappears.…
Justice is a concept that has changed and developed throughout history. The foundation of the modern justice system in the western world began in Athens just over two thousand years ago. Many philosophers had their own conceptions about what justice truly is, however, Plato proved to be the most influential. Before Plato, many men shared Polemarchus’ belief that justice meant giving good to friends and evil to enemies. In his book, The Republic, Plato sets out to define the true definition of justice. Plato states that justice is when men to put aside irrational desires for the greater good of society. If civilization were to follow Polemarchus’ view of justice, society would become anarchy. People would punish those that have wronged them…
Glaucon the son of Ariston and the brother of Plato was an ancient Athenian who was known for writing about justice and injustice in Plato’s Republic. Glaucon in Republic tells the story of the ring of Gyge’s ancestor. His story starts out with a shepherd who is really morally good. The just man is given a ring that can make him invisible. A little bit like the Lord of the Rings. Once he has this ring the man can act unjustly with no fear of punishment. The shepherd uses the ring to seduce the queen, kill the king and take over the throne. Glaucon is getting the message across that laws do not equal justice. Even the most just man would behave unjustly if he had this ring. He would be a materialistic and power-hungry. Maybe most people…
In Book V of The Republic Plato (427d-449a) Plato states that the city is the best and in order for it to be the best the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation and justice have to be plain to see. Also in Book V Plato describes how justice of an individual is similar to justice in the city. The explanations of Plato’s position on the location of the virtues, how they are parts of the soul, how justice is similar to justice in the soul and how Plato connects justice with unity and happiness such that Glaucon agrees with him that a person living a just life will reap the benefit of that lifestyle opposed to living unjust in this essay are given to make Book V (427d-449a) much clearer.…
The Republic written by Plato examines many things. It mainly is about the Good life. Plato seems to believe that the perfect life is led only under perfect conditions which is the perfect society. Within the perfect society there would have to be justice. In the Republic it seems that justice is defined many different ways. In this paper I am going to discuss a few. First I am going to discuss the reason why Glaucon and Adeimantus see justice as being a bad thing and it is better to live a…
Plato's strategy in the Republic is to explicate the primary notion of societal or political justice and then parallel it to the concept of individual justice. Before he can prove that justice is a good thing, Plato must first state its definition, by showing justice in its perfect form in order to discover the true essence of it. Therefore, Socrates claims that the only way to have a perfect state is if the state has a perfect leader, thus he introduces the concept of the philosopher-king.…
In Plato 's The Republic, the author seeks to define the meaning of justice. In the story, the main character Socrates and some other men are discussing the subject of justice in the city and how one might judge what is just. At one point in the argument, Thrasymachus, one of the debaters and a sophist, makes a very broad and controversial statement: "Justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger." This sparks a heated discussion between him and his friends, who ask him to clarify what he meant. In this paper, I will explain Thrasymachus ' argument and outline the dialectic process that took place.…
Plato was a totalitarian judging from The Republic. With the definition of totalitarianism in mind, Plato illustrates features of authoritarianism and ideology in his political worldview, which entails a strict division of classes, the dependency of the fate of the state on the ruling class as well as the superiority of the interests of the ruling class over the subservient and inferior classes. Furthermore, the uncompromising rules for breeding and educating this class combined with the strict supervision and collectivisation of the interests of its members create a close enough representation of the totalitarianism depicted in the definition. Firstly, in addressing the issue, which Plato begins with in The Republic of what justice is Plato, asserts that justice is that which is in the interest of the…
Justice is avidly sought of for daily, however how one knows if they are achieving justice or not. In Plato's Republic he attempts to define justice and draws out a plan on how society would be able to achieve true justice. Plato’s strategy in The Republic is to first explicate the primary notion of societal, or political, justice, and then to derive an analogous concept of individual justice. Through discussion justice is soon defined as harmony within a structured political body. As a whole, Plato sees a just society when relations between the different classes of people are right. This, in turn, created the allegory of the Ideal City. Within this allegory Plato proceeds to create different classes of people -the producers, the guardians,…
Plato, in his book “Republic”, focused on justices and further on argues that, with his beliefs about the soul, that there is a virtue connected to such part of the soul. These different parts of the soul, are called imperative and it is divided into three parts, with a virtue connected to it. These virtues are the cardinal virtues; thus reason and wisdom are one, the human spirit performing well is paired with courage and destiny which is paired with temperance or otherwise known as moderation (self-control). If we have all these virtues we can obtain justice, the fourth virtue. According to Plato, justice is an important virtue because it balances out the interrelationship between the parts of the soul. There is justice when reason rules over spirit and desires.…