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.…
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.…
Plato believed that this was the way to conduct the ideal form of political justice. Everyone must do what best suites their nature and not pry into any business other than that which is naturally suited to them. According to Plato, his society was separated into three roles: Producers, Rulers and Guardians. Producers produce the goods (carpenters build, artists paint, doctors heal, etc), philosophers rule, and Guardians fight and protect. Specialization guarantees that each class remains in fixed relations of power. Warriors abide by the commands of the rulers, producers to not interfere with political affairs, each person worries only about their own business to which they are suited, participating in other aspects only as far as obeying the rules that are created by the rulers,…
The position Thrasymachus takes on the definition of justice, as well as its importance in society, is one far differing from the opinions of the other interlocutors in the first book of Plato’s Republic. Embracing his role as a Sophist in Athenian society, Thrasymachus sets out to aggressively dispute Socrates’ opinion that justice is a beneficial and valuable aspect of life and the ideal society. Throughout the course of the dialogue, Thrasymachus formulates three major assertions regarding justice. These claims include his opinion that “justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger,” “it is just to obey the rulers,” and “justice is really the good of another […] and harmful to the one who obeys and serves.” Socrates continuously challenges these claims using what is now known as the “Socratic method” of questioning, while Thrasymachus works to defend his views. This paper seeks to argue the implausibility of Thrasymachus’ views through an analysis of his main claims regarding justice, as well as his view that injustice brings greater happiness.…
In the Republic Plato endeavours to answer complex questions about justice by introducing a unique account of what justice actually is, and how morally sensitive people are educated and informed about the real nature of justice and morality [3]. Our understanding of justice is more profound if we insist that what really matters is not merely the observance of external demands — normative and conventional moral rules — but the character of the truly just person [4]. Justice and goodness, based upon judgement as the virtue of a decent life, are seen as congruent in the context of a well ordered society.…
Justice played a very important role in Plato’s philosophy. After chastising different theories of justice, he came up with his own theory, he said justice was a human virtue; it is what makes a person good. Individually, justice can make a person good and self-consistent, but socially it could bring harmony to society. Plato’s idea of justice was all about virtue and goodness. Plato also believed that justice was an essential part of an ideal society. Because it brought more light and could cure bad things.…
In Plato's Republic, Socrates goes to great lengths to explain and differentiate between the ideas of opinion and knowledge. Throughout society, most common men are lovers of sights and sounds. "Lovers of sights and sounds like beautiful sounds, colors, shapes, and everything fashioned out of them, but their thought is unable to see and embrace the nature of the beautiful itself (Republic 476b)." The few who do recognize the beautiful itself are followers of the sight of truth, the philosophers.…
In his book The Republic, Plato searches for justice within the individual and what makes a person just. By comparing his sense of what is just at a political level and what is just at a psychological level he proposes three virtues of the individual which will make that particular person just. The virtues are of wisdom, courage and moderation. A just man won’t differ at all from a just city in respect to the form of justice; rather he'll be like the city (Republic 435b).…
Before I started reading Plato's the Republic, I was loathe to admit that reading those philosophy books were gonna really change how I view myself. It was totally a waste of time to read these vague and complicated books. As I went on reading the republic, I saw many similar things that still existed in our society. In the book, Plato prescribes severe dictates concerning the cultural life of the city. He rules out all poverty, with the exception of hymns to the gods and eulogies for the famous, and places restraints on painting and architecture. Does this look like "Cultural Revolution" that happened in China in late 60s in twentieth century? There are differences though, which is how the leaders see the results of the destruction of human civilization. Plato expresses regret at these aesthetic sacrifices, he feels they must be made for the sake of education, which transforms the unhealthy luxurious city into a pure and just city. However, our great leader didn't see any ruinous effects on our society until he reached the end of his life.…
unite the citizens in harmony…” (The Republic of Plato, pg. 234). Each person reaches their own happiness depending on their choices; happiness is the ultimate ‘good’ and good is individual justice in behaving good. The paradox of…
What is justice? Obviously, the word can have multiple meanings. If we were to walk in the Student Center and ask ten people what justice was, they probably all would have different responses. I am not saying that they would not have some of the same ideas, but ultimately, their responses would vary. Having said that, what if one of the people 's ideas of justice included injustices? For example, Adolf Hitler believed that justice would be reached by completely wiping out Jewish people and creating a "perfect" blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryan race. He also wanted to rule the entire world. Now, was this actually justice? I would definitely have to disagree, but by the same token, he had thousands of followers. The thought of this is heinous and ludicrous, but it is the truth. I think that a similar argument could be made against Plato. To me, Plato errs in his definition of justice. Plato comes up with the Kallipolis, his idea of a just society. In this society, he strives for perfection. However, he is definitely in contradiction. The problem with this "just" society that he fabricated is that many injustices occur while attempting to reach this level of perfection. In my opinion, justice cannot be reached by using injustices to do so. By the same token, I feel that no matter what, perfection could never be reached because in striving for justice, there is always going to be someone or something that ends up being treated unjustly.…
“The Republic” by Plato is considered to be a Socratic dialogue finished in 390 BC. In what is considered one of the most valuable pieces of work of Plato tries to answer questions such as: why should people do good things? Or other questions like: are people rewarded for doing bad things? However he also treats other themes as the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul and the roles of the philosopher and of poetry in society. But what we shall explore is how he develops the theme of justice, describe his just state and finally reflect on this just state.…
Plato is one of the many philosophers who have had an influence on the ideas of humane thinking. Born in Athens, believed to be around 428 BC, Plato has expressed various works pertaining to idealism and the theory of forms. Plato has made many allegories and metaphors of life. One of his many famous writings would be included in his collected dialogues. The Republic, Book 1, is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around his mid-life. The Republic (Book 1) focuses on the definition of justice and the order and character of the just city-state and the just man. The Republic is Plato’s best known work and has proven to be one of the most influential works of philosophy and political theory.…
Here lies the direct comparison Socrates makes between the happiness of those who lead just and unjust lives. Three proofs are given according to the just life. Butler interprets these proofs as arguments made by Socrates that the happiest life simply is the most pleasant life to live; the just life is more content than the unjust life. Pleasure is used as the dominant response in measuring the just and unjust life. The unjust life is consumed with dissatisfaction and pain whilst the just life is one filled with virtue, elegance, and beauty. Correspondingly, what makes life happiest is that it most pleasant and pleasurable. Butler concludes that Plato issued the Republic with the intention of proving that justice is better than injustice because justice produces the happiest most pleasure-filled…
In The Republic, Plato makes a systematic case for censoring all arts. The task of the Platonic philosopher is to take up the “ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry” [607b] and to assert the State-enforced dominance of philosophy. To that end, The Republic as a whole is a powerful integration of philosophy, religion, education, and politics, and its argument for the political suppression of most art follows from that integrated system.…