Topic 5: A defense of Thrasymachus’ claim; “Justice is the advantage of the stronger” Most people believe that they understand the essence of things like justice and virtue. Though‚ if they were asked to define these things‚ few would be able to do so without posing some contradiction. Thrasymachus puts his understanding of justice in these words; “justice is nothing‚ but the advantage of the stronger” (Plato’s Republic‚ Book 1‚ pdf p.14). A conventional description of justice may be that it is the
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Analysis of Thrasymachus Throughout "The Republic" there exist different characters that each holds a unique importance towards the development of certain philosophies‚ in this case‚ the meaning of "justice". Thrasymachus is such a character‚ which could be considered a cynic by some; he plays an imperative role in the quest for the meaning of justice in the first book of "The Republic". While Cephalus and his son Polemarchus are unsuccessful in providing Socrates with an adequate definition of
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Any argument relies upon some fundamental agreement about the issue being discussed. However great the divide in opinion may be‚ there must exist at least some similarity in the participants’ manner of viewing the issue if a solution is ever to be reached. Book One of Plato’s Republic features a disagreement between Socrates and Thrasymachus about the nature of justice. The disaccord between their views of the subject is extremely pronounced‚ but there are certain underlying agreements which guide
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After that outburst from Thrasymachus showing pride of himself I asked Socrates what was all that about. He tells me that first I have to know who is Thrasymachus‚ and how he is portrayed in “The Republic” written by Plato. He is portrayed as a sophist and cynic who argues that people are selfish. By this argument that Thrasymachus yelled to us that “justice is in the interest of the strong and the subjects obeying the interest of the strong” he claims that whoever is at the top of the hierarchy
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Platos Notion of Justice vs. Thrasymachus‚ Why Be Moral? By: Khonstance Milan Plato has a different sense of justice than what we ourselves would consider to be justice. Justice starts in the heart and goes outward. Justice is about being a person of good intent towards all people‚ doing what is believed to be right or moral. Plato believes that once a person has a true understanding of justice that they will want to be “just” for its own benefit regardless of good or bad consequence. Though
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can divide their views on political justice into two major categories: those who believe justice is what the ruler says it is‚ and those who believe justice is part of a higher “moral code” independent of the ruler. Thrasymachus and Hobbes believe that the powerful dictate law and order. On the other hand‚ Aristotle‚ Polemarchus‚ Socrates‚ and Plato believe that justice cannot be influenced by those of the ruler. I believe the best account of political justice is a combination of a few thinkers including
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that a reasonable human being should always work towards exploring his own mind as opposed to thinking through other people’s mind. For example‚ Thrasymachus justifies this statement when he says‚ “What folly. Socrates‚ has taken possession of you all? And why‚ sillybillies‚ do you knock under to one another? I say that if you want really to know what justice is‚ you should not only ask but answer‚ and you should not seek honor to yourself from the refutation of an opponent‚ but have your own answer
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be moral? Plato and Thrasymachus represent the different and some-what opposing ideas on this topic of morality and self interest. Thrasymachus believes that the right thing to do is act unjustly or unmorally because one should always proceed to act in one’s own self interest. He states‚ "Why should I be moral when it is not in my interest to be so?" This is called egoism proper. In his mind the perfect life would be to have a great reputation for living in perfect justice while being completely
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344C‚ is the beginning of a conversation mainly between Thrasymachus and Socrates on the topic of justice and what is just. Although it is mainly a conversation between Socrates and Thrasymachus‚ it also includes several other people who happen to be present during the conversation of the two. This text begins with Thrasymachus eagerly and angrily‚ jumping into the conversation between Socrates and others on the topic of justice. Thrasymachus immediately attacks Socrates verbally on his manner of
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Thrasymachus‚ a famous Sophist philosopher‚ shared his theory that injustice has greater advantages than justice. He says that injustice is “superior to justice in strength and freedom and autocratic power.” This is because he believes that a just man always has the worst of it. Thrasymachus defines “just” as those who serve the interest of the stronger at the cost of the subject who obeys‚ and “injustice” as asserting authority over those innocents so that they may please their master‚ instead of
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