Persons & Scenery
The involved characters are Socrates (the narrator); Glaucon (Plato’s brother); Adeimantus (another brother of Plato’s); Polemarchus; Cephalus; Thrasymachus; Cleitophon; And others who were mute auditors. The scenery is the house of Polemarchus and his father Cephalus at the Piraeus. The dialogue is narrated by Socates the day after it took place to: Timaeus, Hemocates, Critias, and a nameless person.
Structure Of The Dialogue
Book I of The Republic focus on a passion Socrates had, that is not defining justice in its word meaning, but rather finding out the very nature of justice. It aims to answer what is justice and is it more profitable than tyranny.
In this dialogue, Plato spoke through his teacher Socrates, seeking a definition for justice. Socrates denied every suggested and introduced definition and refuted them with their own unthinkable contradictions. Still he offers no definition of justice– In his mind he was going through a definition of his own, benefiting from this discussion to make sure that it makes a respectable weight of sense, before announcing it in his following books. The discussion ends in blur, and everyone is left in confusion– even Socrates.
The book opens with a description of the scene, where Socrates and his friend Glaucon (one of Plato’s brothers) are returning from some religious festivals in the Piraeus. The two men were ambushed by Adeimantus (another brother of Plato’s), Polemarchus who asks them in a rather friendly-harsh way to come and sit with some friends and talk a bit.
The discussion begins.
Socrates starts talking to the old rich Cephalus and asks him about old age and its difficulties, in which Cephalus reports, that old ag...
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...take them willingly without payment, unless under the idea that they govern for the advantage not of themselves but of others?"
Some preliminary answers come immediately to mind: the personal rewards to be gained from performing a job well are commonly distinct from its intrinsic aims; just people are rightly regarded as superior to unjust people in intelligence and character; every society believes that justice (as conceived in that society) is morally obligatory; and justice is the proper virtue (Gk. areth [aretê]) of the human soul. But if Socrates himself might have been satisfied with responses of this sort, Plato the philosophical writer was not. There must be an answer that derives more fundamentally from the nature of reality (Plato: The State and the Soul).
References:
Plato: The State and the Soul, 18/12/2011, http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2g.htm
What is justice? In Plato’s, The Republic this is the main point and the whole novel is centered around this question. We see in this novel that Socrates talks about what is justice with multiple characters.In the first part of Book 1 of The Republic, Socrates questions conventional morality and attempts to define justice as a way for the just man to harm the unjust man (335d) ; however, Thrasymachus fully rejects this claim, and remarks that man will only do what is in his best interest, since human nature is, and should be ruled by self-interest, and he furthers this argument by implying that morality, and thus justice, is not what Socrates had suggested, but rather that it is simply a code of behavior exacted on man by his ruler. Thrasymachus begins his argument by giving his definition of justice. He says that justice, or right is simply what is in the best interest of the stronger (338c). When questioned by Socrates on this point, he explains that each type of government (the stronger party) enacts types of justice that are in its own best interest, and expect
In book four of Plato's “The Republic” Socrates defines justice in the individual as analogous to justice in the state. I will explain Socrates' definition of justice in the individual, and then show that Socrates cannot certify that his definition of justice is correct, without asking further questions about justice. I will argue that if we act according to this definition of justice, then we do not know when we are acting just. Since neither the meaning of justice, nor the meaning of good judgement, is contained in the definition, then one can act unjustly while obeying to the definition of justice. If one can act unjustly while obeying this definition, then Socrates' definition of justice is uncertifiable.
It is clear that Socrates had the upper hand in the argument over justice and advantage throughout the seemingly heated debate. His logical conclusions extending from Thrasymachus’ own argument, adequately dismantles his opponents belief of the nature of justice. Both Plato’s description of the flow of the argument, and Thrasymachus, Polemarchus, and Cleitophon’s reactions to Socrates’ words serve as ample evidence that Socrates’ definition of justice is far more convincing and well-argued than that of his opponents.
There is an ethical theory that we covered this quarter that I strongly agree with which is the theory of justice. There is a specific thinker that surprised me at and made me think about moral issues in a new way. That thinker was Socrates who surprised me and made me think about moral issues in a new way. I feel that socrates is someone who challenged what you thought or believed about ethics before taking this class. Those dialog investigates two vital inquiries. Those 1st inquiry may be “what will be justice?” socrates addresses this address both As far as political groups and As far as those unique man alternately souk. He does this to address those second Furthermore driving inquiry of the dialogue: “is those simply persnickety happier
Socrates reaches a conclusion that defies a common-sense understanding of justice. Nothing about his death sentence “seems” just, but after further consideration, we find that his escape would be as fruitless as his death, and that in some sense, Socrates owes his obedience to whatever orders Athens gives him since he has benefited from his citizenship.
During the time period of The Republic, the problems and challenges that each community was faced with were all dealt with in a different way. In the world today, a lot of people care about themselves. For many people, the word justice can mean many different things, but because some only look out for themselves, many of these people do not think about everyone else’s role in the world of society. The struggle for justice is still demonstrated in contemporary culture today. One particular concept from Plato’s The Republic, which relates to contemporary culture is this concept of justice. In the beginning of The Republic, Socrates listeners, Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus, ask Socrates whether justice is stronger than injustice, and
In the Republic, Plato discusses many topics, including the issue of justice versus injustice (Plato 34). Plato’s argument indicates that justice works interchangeably with proper ethics (Plato 35). According to Plato, in order for a person to live the “best life”, they must live with justice and ethics (Plato 35). These two terms are similar in the sense that it is subjective to each individual. One’s definition of justice results from their own beliefs of ethics, which varies from person to person. Plato claims that doing “justice” is the better way of living, even if it brings misfortune in the end (Plato 34-35). This brings up the ethical dispute that misfortunes from justice is better than rewards earned from injustice. However, as seen in modern day, there is still no universal idea as to whether or not something is justifiable or abides by the ethical conduct that is expected. Often times, an action may seem justified to one individual while it seems unjustified to another. In order for someone to get what they want, they don’t think about their actions, whether or not it is following their ethical codes. In this case, the idea of “justice” and “ethics” is purely a mirage of the mind that people created so that they have a reason to feel good about themselves. In today’s society, many people get away with doing “injustice” while the actions of “justice” are disregarded. The definition of “justice” and “ethics” is still open-ended as demonstrated by justice system of the United States. There are people getting away with crimes and innocent people being put into prisons. Many times, these cases communicate the racial discrimination in the states.
The book begins by explaining that at the time many Athenians are celebrating the introduction of a new goddess at the city of Piraeus. Socrates and a companion, Glaucon, are returning from the festivities when Polemarchus see them. Polemarchus insists that they come to his home for some conversation with his friends and Socrates agrees. He cannot resist an opportunity to discuss philosophy with a group of noble young people.
The Socratic dialogue begins of Socrates recounting a conversation he had with a number of people at the house of Cephalus. Returning to Athens from Piraeus, where they had been attending a religious festival, Socrates and Glaucon are intercepted by Cephalus, who playfully forces them to come to his father’s house. Socrates begins by asking t...
For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen and Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society, will help to position Plato's Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.
During this essay the trail of Socrates found in the Apology of Plato will be reviewed. What will be looked at during this review is how well Socrates rebuts the charges made against him. We will also talk about if Socrates made the right decision to not escape prison with Crito. Socrates was a very intelligent man; this is why this review is so critical.
In Plato’s The Republic, we, the readers, are presented with two characters that have opposing views on a simple, yet elusive question: what is justice? In this paper, I will explain Thrasymachus’ definition of justice, as well as Socrates’s rebuttals and differences in opinion. In addition, I will comment on the different arguments made by both Socrates and Thrasymachus, and offer critical commentary and examples to illustrate my agreement or disagreement with the particular argument at hand.
Plato’s Republic focuses on one particular question: is it better to be just or unjust? Thrasymachus introduces this question in book I by suggesting that justice is established as an advantage to the stronger, who may act unjustly, so that the weak will “act justly” by serving in their interests. Therefore, he claims that justice is “stronger, freer, and more masterly than justice” (Plato, Republic 344c). Plato begins to argue that injustice is never more profitable to a person than justice and Thrasymachus withdraws from the argument, granting Plato’s response. Glaucon, however, is not satisfied and proposes a challenge to Plato to prove that justice is intrinsically valuable and that living a just life is always superior. This paper will explain Glaucon’s challenge to Plato regarding the value of justice, followed by Plato’s response in which he argues that his theory of justice, explained by three parts of the soul, proves the intrinsic value of justice and that a just life is preeminent. Finally, it will be shown that Plato’s response succeeds in answering Glaucon’s challenge.
In the first book of the Republic, Plato imagine a meeting between Socrates and some of his friends among whom Thrasymachus and Glaucon are present, at the occasion of a celebration taking place at the Piraeus. They are all invited at Polemarchus' house, where his father Cephalus who is an old man and friend of Socrates also resides, to celebrate and philosophise amongst themselves. The first notion of justice is introduced by Cephalus himself who talks to Socrates about the approach of death and the ideas of life's injustices it wakes up in unjust men. He points out that, on the con...
For Plato’s thesis – justice pays – to be validated, he has to prove two things, the first being that justice is inherently good. In