Preview

Justice in Plato Cicero and Aristotle

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
642 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Justice in Plato Cicero and Aristotle
Cicero said that "justice is a habit of the soul, observed in the common interest, which gives every man his due." According to that, justice, unlike other virtues (be it liberty, piety, respect or whatever), comprises only the inter-individual relations . Consequently, justice pursues both individual development and social good. Justice as a universal virtue which encompasses other virtues, is above the law. It requires not doing any harm to anyone and "using common things as common, private possessions as one's own." . In Cicero, justice requires us to treat adversaries with respect and honesty, There is a limit to vengeance and punishment. In general, Ciceronian duties of justice involve an idea of respect for humanity, of treating a human being like an end rather than a means.

Both Plato and Aristotle agree that justice exists in an objective sense: that is, it dictates a belief that the good life should be provided for all individuals no matter how high or low their social status

Plato sees the justice and law as what sets the guidelines for societal behavior. Aristotle puts emphasis on the institution of the polis

Both viewed justice as the harmonious interaction of people in a society.

Plato defines justice in terms of two types, group and individual. Group justice is a type of political justice and Plato identifies political justice as harmony in a structured political body

Plato's ideal of political justice relies on the principle of specialization.

Plato suggests that justice can be achieved largely (if not purely) by the dominance of reason, while Aristotle emphasizes habitual action

harmonious relation among the parts of the soul he calls reason, spirit and appetite

This harmonious condition within the soul of the just agent is the necessary and sufficient condition for Platonic justic

Aristotle also believes that the just agent must be rational.

What is justice? for many centuries a lot of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Looking up in the Merriam Webster dictionary justice is defined as "the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments". The fact that the word itself is being used for its definition explains how ambiguous the concept of justice can get. It is because of the very same reason that some time between the years of 470 to 399 BC a very well-known argument took place in Piraeus. The mentioned years are the time period that Socrates lived, the argument evolves mainly on the concept of justice and the goal is to come to an operational account for it. Throughout this argument lots of accounts are given by different participants, which all get opposed by Socrates. Two of these contributors are Thrasymachus and Glaucon. The former argues that "justice is the advantage of the stronger" while the latter argues that justice is not something practiced for its own sake (intrinsic good) but something one engages in out of fear of its consequences (extrinsic good). As seen in book one and two of Republic, Plato's…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In many societies, including our own, we labeled the meaning of the word “justice” for the sole purpose of maintaining social and political stability and order for the good of many instead of the few. However, what we believe to be just and unjust in regards to what Plato’s Republic explains about what is actually just and unjust are inadvertently blurred from a somewhat conflicting (if not unintended biased) perspective. These concepts of thought originate in a hierarchical group of knowledge: understanding, thought, belief, and imagination (Socrates 511e); most of which we use for measuring the ideal implementation of practical and critical forms of theory. What we portray justice in the United States today mostly consists of both opinionated…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is justice is a question that has plagued philosophers since the time of Plato when he wrote The Republic to present day. In the book, Plato uses the dialectic, between Socrates and other Athenians like Polemarchus, Cephalus, and Glacuon, to try and find the definition of justice. Through the voice of Glaucon, Plato defines justice as a compromise of sorts between advantage and fear, and injustice as the things that we wouldn’t…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 2775 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    At this point returning debts owed and helping friends while harming enemies are all definitions of justice that Socrates show to be inadequate and lack of complexity. In the dialogue Plato then…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    | Aristotle claims, relates to lawfulness. Judges exercise corrective justice when they punish criminals, award damages……

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosopher King

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What is Socrates definition of justice – someone who is good and just and does good things…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato vs. Socrates

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Politics for these two resembles night and day. Aristotle preached balance. In balance, a stable government can be observed and obtained. Plato's concept of what politics and government should be is a direct result of his belief in the theory of forms. The theory of forms basically states that there is a higher "form" for everything that exists in the world.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato Republic

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The idea of harmony is very important for Plato to definite justice. As Plato explains: “Justice, I think, is exactly what we said must be established throughout the city when we were founding it that everyone must practice one of the occupations in the city for which he is…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Plato used the Greek word "Dikaisyne" for justice which translates to 'morality' or 'righteousness.' Justice is not the right of the stronger but the effective harmony of the whole. Since his time, a common ideal to reflect justice in codified laws has been the purview of a select body of lawmakers appointed by the state.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato defines justice in terms of two types, group and individual. Group justice is a type of political justice and Plato identifies political justice as harmony in a structured political body. Plato's ideal society consists of three classifications of people: producers, auxiliaries and guardians. Producers are people such as farmers and craftsmen. Auxiliaries are the warrior class whose job is to protect the city and carry out the orders of the guardians. The guardians are the ruling class, raised from an early age to be virtuous. Plato's ideal of political justice relies on the principle of specialization. Each person in the society must fulfill the role that he is best suited for, his arête, and not the role that he may desire to fill.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Was Plato a totalitarian

    • 1486 Words
    • 5 Pages

    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…

    • 1486 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Virtue ethics

    • 580 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 580 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics