A Review of justice in Plato
A brief Review of justice, Plato’s Republic
It is the 5th century BC, in ancient Greece specifically the city state of Athens, it is here were a man commonly known as Plato (true name Aristocles) begins to write brilliant philosophical dialogues, sparked by the state mandated execution of his teacher Socrates. It was in this moment Plato etched his name in to the physique of humanity, as one of the greatest philosophers in history, it was at a midpoint of his career when he wrote what is arguably his greatest work The Republic; this will be our subject of Review. In the Republic Plato (Aristocles) uses the character of Socrates to put forth a grand conceptualization of a just and virtuous society a (utopia) were justice ensures good order and prosperity the Polis or city. He presents these ideas in the form of a progressive narrative which begins as a conversation about the nature of justice. As such in this paper will concentrate on reviewing and analyzing his ideas and his conclusion on what justice is. In order to do so we must identify what that conclusion was, Plato sums this up in one line of the republic as (443p) “justice is for each man to do his duty.” Now considering the tremendous scope and breath of this book, we will Review this primary train of thought and for the sake of brevity negate some of the secondary themes
In Plato’s Republic, the narrative begins when Socrates and his companion Glaucon are returning from the festival of the goddess Benddis and, are intercepted by a group, led by a Thrasymachus whom coaxes them to join them at his house; it is there where they are joined by Polemercus (a sophist) and Adimantus. Shortly thereafter ignites a debate on the nature of justice, the guests propose several definitions and examples of what they think justice is, nevertheless upon dissection these are shown to be unsatisfactory. In response to a notion proposed by Thrasymachus that injustice is more advantageous for the individual than justice,
It is the 5th century BC, in ancient Greece specifically the city state of Athens, it is here were a man commonly known as Plato (true name Aristocles) begins to write brilliant philosophical dialogues, sparked by the state mandated execution of his teacher Socrates. It was in this moment Plato etched his name in to the physique of humanity, as one of the greatest philosophers in history, it was at a midpoint of his career when he wrote what is arguably his greatest work The Republic; this will be our subject of Review. In the Republic Plato (Aristocles) uses the character of Socrates to put forth a grand conceptualization of a just and virtuous society a (utopia) were justice ensures good order and prosperity the Polis or city. He presents these ideas in the form of a progressive narrative which begins as a conversation about the nature of justice. As such in this paper will concentrate on reviewing and analyzing his ideas and his conclusion on what justice is. In order to do so we must identify what that conclusion was, Plato sums this up in one line of the republic as (443p) “justice is for each man to do his duty.” Now considering the tremendous scope and breath of this book, we will Review this primary train of thought and for the sake of brevity negate some of the secondary themes
In Plato’s Republic, the narrative begins when Socrates and his companion Glaucon are returning from the festival of the goddess Benddis and, are intercepted by a group, led by a Thrasymachus whom coaxes them to join them at his house; it is there where they are joined by Polemercus (a sophist) and Adimantus. Shortly thereafter ignites a debate on the nature of justice, the guests propose several definitions and examples of what they think justice is, nevertheless upon dissection these are shown to be unsatisfactory. In response to a notion proposed by Thrasymachus that injustice is more advantageous for the individual than justice,
Cited: 1. Peter Adamson historu of philosophy without any gaps podcast Ep 25. Soul and the City: Plato 's Political Philosophy http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/ 2. Catholic University of America Dr. Tobias Hoffman Platos republic class notes http://faculty.cua.edu/hoffmann/courses/201_1068/Plato-5%20Republic.4.pdf 3. Notre Dame on line philosophical reviews http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/25625-understanding-plato-s-republic-2 4. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/