Justice In Plato's The Republic
The Republic Written by Plato
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.
They discuss and establish that justice is in the class of things that ought to be practiced for their own good, as well …show more content…
He proves this through much thought and questioning, showing that it is only philosophers that truly love wisdom and are out to seek the truth and accept it. To demonstrate the difficulty of accepting the truth, Socrates tells the story of the cave, where men see only shadows in the dark and assume them to be the truth. When they actually see that the truth is different from what they are used to, they refuse to believe it at first, although they do later.
After this, Socrates goes on to show that there are four types of regimes, listed in the order of most just to least just: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Then he goes on to say how each develops from the other, and why each is just and/or unjust. Similarly, the men from each era represent the amount of justice in their souls. This in turn proves that the just man is happier than the unjust man.
After all this, Socrates goes on to the story about a man returning from the afterlife and describing it. At the end of the story, he says that because he and his companions have established that the soul is immortal, and because this story speaks about the immortality of the soul, it is even more important for people to be just and seek good and true knowledge in their life. This, in turn, will bring them much happiness in both this life and the
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.
They discuss and establish that justice is in the class of things that ought to be practiced for their own good, as well …show more content…
He proves this through much thought and questioning, showing that it is only philosophers that truly love wisdom and are out to seek the truth and accept it. To demonstrate the difficulty of accepting the truth, Socrates tells the story of the cave, where men see only shadows in the dark and assume them to be the truth. When they actually see that the truth is different from what they are used to, they refuse to believe it at first, although they do later.
After this, Socrates goes on to show that there are four types of regimes, listed in the order of most just to least just: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Then he goes on to say how each develops from the other, and why each is just and/or unjust. Similarly, the men from each era represent the amount of justice in their souls. This in turn proves that the just man is happier than the unjust man.
After all this, Socrates goes on to the story about a man returning from the afterlife and describing it. At the end of the story, he says that because he and his companions have established that the soul is immortal, and because this story speaks about the immortality of the soul, it is even more important for people to be just and seek good and true knowledge in their life. This, in turn, will bring them much happiness in both this life and the