In the book The Republic by Plato, one of Plato’s goals is to explain what justice is and how it comes to be. The two characters, Socrates’ and Glaucon, begin to discuss justice, but their discussion quickly comes to a halt because their looking at it in a small scale: the individual citizen. Socrates’ decides to broaden their view and look for justice in the city. Doing so profoundly helps the two of them continue their search for what justice is. Their city is not a normal city though, it’s almost a utopia, and has to be in order to find justice. Socrates calls this his perfect city. After a lot of discussion, Socrates claims that justice is the result of three other things: wisdom, courage, and temperance. Plato (1996) says, “And of course …show more content…
Plato labels justice, along with wisdom, courage, and temperance, as the four virtues of this city. He goes into a description of all four in regards to the city, but his statements are not right. Plato is incorrect in how he analyzes what makes a city virtuous because rulers aren’t always fit to rule, a guardian would have little to strive for, advancements in social class would be desired, and justice is limited by the existence of the other three virtues. The first virtue of the city that Plato describes in The Republic is wisdom. Plato (1996, 428d) says that Wisdom is found in the rulers of the city. He is wrong by saying the wisdom of the whole city is found in its rulers. First we should look at how they got to be rulers. Rulers in Plato’s city are simply born into the positon. Not because they’re wise or smart, just because of family. Who’s to say an average man doesn’t know what’s best for the city? They do live in it after all, and they do more than just tell people what to do, which gives them a perspective more like most citizens. We should also look at the nature of rulers. Most become power hungry …show more content…
According to Plato (1996), the other three virtues must be present for there to be justice (433b-433c). Justice itself is basically everyone doing their own job so the city can operate smoothly. Justice is not possible in this city. I’m positive people will experiment with the job they do as their life goes along. Not very many people do one thing their whole life. Boredom sets in overtime and they just want a change of pace. Plato’s argument for justice is that everyone does their job and their job only. This keeps each person accountable for what they do. It’s a form of specialization. If someone is good at farming, they farm. If someone is good at baking, they bake (Plato, 1996, 434a-434d). This way things are done as efficient as possible and everything runs quick and smooth. It’s like a well-oiled machine. Plato’s argument is not strong though. The main reason is that I have proven that the other three virtues are not possible in the way Plato described. According to Plato himself, justice cannot be a virtue. The other reason is specialization is a great form of work, but it’s hard to control sometimes. Like I said above, people will want to try something new after a while. When this happens, the machine that is their city, will begin to fail. It’s like one bolt on an engine that lets loose. Once that goes, it puts more stress on all the other parts. One by one, the engine will destroy
In The Republic, Plato presents a dialogue of Socrates, in which he seeks to uncover truths about what constitutes a just society, and what kind of men would rule such a society. As such a society would require a sound government, Plato, through Socrates, presents five possible types of governments, which involve varying levels of liberty and justice. Although the arguments demonstrate that aristocracy is the ideal form of government, all forms of government have fatal flaws that lead to continual
After reading The Republic there are three main points that Plato had touched on. The first of these three points is that Plato is disheartened with democracy. It was due to Socrates’ untimely death during Athens’ democracy that led to his perception of the ideal state as referred to in The Republic. Plato perceived that the material greed was one of the many evils of politics; in Plato’s eyes greed was one of the worst evils of political life. Thus economic power must be separated from political
In Plato’s Republic Book 1, Thrasymachus argues that morality is the advantage of the stronger. To support his view, Thrasymachus first claims that the governments, which are the stronger parties, always pass laws based on their own interest, and then argues that subjects must always obey these laws, therefore morality is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates gives two sets of counter arguments. First, by differentiating apparent advantage and actual advantage to the stronger, Socrates argues that
upon, as explained by Socrates in Plato’s Republic. Throughout the eight books of Socratic dialogue the ideal state and ideas of justice are debated, on both individual and state levels. The guidelines for a perfect state and how it will come about are thoroughly described. Socrates covers every aspect of political life and how it should work stating that “until power and philosophy entirely coincide… cities will have no rest form evils” . In Plato’s Republic Socrates emphasizes the superiority of the
In his text, The Republic, Plato leads us through an elaborate thought experiment in which he creates the ideal city. Throughout The Republic Plato constructs the laws and societal structures of what he deems will lead to a high functioning society. He names this city Kallipolis. A cornerstone of Kallipolis’ structure is Plato’s principle of specialization. The Principle of Specialization argues that each member of society must do the job in which he is best suited. Plato explains “The result, then
In Plato’s book, “The Republic”, there are many examples of rhetoric. In regards to the controversial topic of women and eugenics in which Plato is almost forced into mentioning because of Adeimantus and Glaucon, he uses various rhetorical statements to portray his view on the matter. His readers believe women should be equal, so Plato attempts to persuade his readers into thinking he believes the same. For example, in the passage on women and family Plato states, “we shall assign these to each accordingly;
was just beginning to surface as a notable substance within various societies. Athens, was perhaps, the greatest nesting ground of intellectual thought, and it hosted many great minds, such as Plato. While Plato is famous for many of his works, The Republic is the most read and circulated. In the Republic, Plato lays out two philosophical questions through a character named Socrates. Both questions re-occur as the foundation of dialogue amongst other characters, such as Glaucon, Adeimantus, and Polemarchus
This textual analysis will be based on the book “The Republic” by Plato, specifically the passage 475d-477a. The purpose of this essay is to analyze and evaluate the main concepts explored in the passage and their relation to the platonic political philosophy presented in “The Republic”. The essay will provide a summary of the passage, emphasizing the breakthroughs reached in the Socratic dialogue. The main points will then be singled out for a more in-depth review in order to see if the arguments
In the Republic, Plato narrates a dialogue about justice and what it means between Socrates and some of his peers. Socrates argues with three of them about what is justice and is it to be just. Socrates begins his dialogue with Cephalus, then shifts the conversation to Polemarchus and then has Thrasymachus finish the debate. Each of them gave different perspectives to what justice means and what it is to be just. In this paper I will show how each one of their definition is unique yet can also be
The Republic, Written by Plato deals with the many definitions/opinions of what “justice” really means. Socrates truly examines what he thinks the true value behind the word actually is. However, he isn’t alone other characters such as Cephalus, Thrasymachus, and Polemarchus all have something to contribute to the conversation. Socrates is the man who checks the truth behind each one, while Plato shares his thoughts on what Socrates believes is true. Truth in all the arguments and what each person
In Book IV of The Republic, written by Plato, Socrates makes an argument for why an individual should strive to be just, or more importantly, why being just is more profitable than being unjust to the individual. The three parts of an individual: rational, spirited, and appetitive, must all strive to pursue truth in the just individual, but it is possible that this requirement may not be met while still profiting the individual. Through an analogy between justice in the city and justice in the
The ancient Greek Philosopher Plato had an interest in finding the ideal government. In Plato’s Republic, he discusses his ideas and views of how this ideal government would function. He believed that people are born into 3 different classes, with different responsibilities (Plato 415a). Only people in the “golden” class were fit to rule. The most effective of these rulers would be philosophers, as they have knowledge of the good of the whole (Plato 473d). This system seems too perfect for me. I
Book II of The Republic by Plato showcases the two very different views of Socrates and Glaucon in regards to the account of nature and origin of justice. Socrates and Glaucon discuss the theory presented by Glaucon that states that injustice is something that is intrinsically desired by all humans. Glaucon presents this argument to Socrates in order to understand and defend justice for its own sake. Glaucon seeks reassurance from Socrates that justice is not just only good for the positive consequences
The Republic by Plato is an vision of an utopian society established through the character of Socrates. Many aspects of Plato’s society appears utopian; however, it can also be viewed dystopian as it is mere subjectiveness. Many of Plato’s arguments apply to current day society; for example, Donald Trump’s rise to power depicts democracy degenerating to despotism. Plato’s Republic is utopian in idealistic terms because the most qualified individual is in charge of society who is able to extend his
In Plato’s, “The Republic,” Socrates mediates conversation, as he challenges himself, and those around him to arbitrate the value of justice and conceptualize the significance that it holds for both the individual and the state. Throughout books I to VI, Socrates, Glaucon, and Adameitus constructively develop a sense of justice through argument and the formation of an ideal state. However, this embodiment reaches a deadlock in the middle of book V when Socrates pronounces that everything discussed