Justice In Socrates: The Unjust Of The City

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In order to observe justice completely, Glaucon and Adeimantus challenge Socrates by saying it is better to be unjust than just. To defend himself, Socrates explains that they must look at justice in a city before they can understand justice in man. By defending justice, Socrates constructs an imaginary city, which internally happens to be a parallel to the tripartite soul, to gain a better understanding of justice as a whole. Although Glaucon does not agree with Thrasymachus’ idea that being unjust is more advantageous than being just, he sides with this argument for Socrates to be able to come to a conclusion in the face of an opposition. Glaucon brings the tale of the ring of Gyges to Socrates attention, wagering that no man can withstand …show more content…

The men who are the best at guarding the city, who truly love the city, and who seek to do what they believe is most advantageous for the city are the men who shall be chosen to rule the city. Because these men are chosen from the existing guardian class and are the ultimate guardians of the city in the sense of knowing what is best for its well-being, they shall be known as the guardians, while the current guardians will be renamed as the auxiliary. These guardians will rule without worry of monetary matters, and will not act in any way that will benefit themselves, due to their wholly philosophical nature. To maintain control of the lower classes, the philosophers lie to them. Although it may seem wrong to lie to them, the philosophers justify it because it keeps the peace. This lie, also known as the Myth of the Metals, says that each person is born with a certain metal that corresponds to their soul and class. Those of who are meant to rule have gold, the auxiliary have silver, and the merchant-laborers have bronze and iron. Those who are meant to be in a particular class will find themselves place in their correct class, even if their parents were not of that class. Through this lie, peace is maintained because everyone knows where they

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