Plato's Republic

Plato's Republic

“the having and doing of one’s own and what belongs to one would be agreed to

be justice.” (The Republic 434a)

In other words the above statement means that justice, according to Plato, is

doing only the tasks assigned to them by nature. This is the fundamental notion for

his creation of an ideal city. It is both knowing what true justice is and where one

belongs in the city that the ideal can be achieved. What this means to politics in the

ideal city is that only a certain class of person has the ability to engage in politics, just

as only a certain person has the ability to engage in carpentry. Those who engage in

politics would be the philosophers because just as the ideal individual searches for

universal truth so must the ideal city. This is a concept that would make sense to a

philosopher such as Plato, but it assumes that those who do not or cannot seek the

truth, need it, or to be ruled by it in order to live in an idealistic city.

It is necessary for Plato to define what true justice means in order for it to be

prescribed in his city . Justice in a city, according to him, can be found in an

individual as well because it is a concept that is universal; it is found within the

individual and outside the individual. Thus, it is essential to the founding of a city.

Justice in a city is when a division of labour takes place amongst its residents. As an

individual uses his or her minds for thinking and hands for making and fighting, the

ideal city classifies people into what they do best. Those with an arete (an

excellence) for artistry would be artisans, or money-makers, those that could go

beyond mere materialism, those that could seek the truth, would be the rule...

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...f justice, it is less difficult to try and make Plato’s argument weaker.

This might be done on the basis that his definition does not have universal

applications, that what he calls justice is tainted by his position in society, as a

philosopher. As a philosopher, would Plato not see the world with his interest in

mind? The answer is simply yes, though an argument maybe tainted by the person

who says it , the fact remains that if he claims it as universal, and others support his

idea, one cannot easily refute him (without trying an alternate view- such as there is

no such thing as justice).

Plato’s concepts regarding justice in the city, and the division of labour have

continued to this day. And within The Republic‘s text, Socrates’ ability to disprove

other’s arguements gives some validity to the saying that those who set the rules win

the game.