Are Philosophers Good Citizens? Plato 's Republic?

“What is justice?” This is a question that men have struggled with answering for centuries. Justice should be defined for the sake of all people, especially by rulers who attempt to make fair laws so that their society functions in an orderly fashion. In Book 1 of The Republic, Plato attempts to define exactly what justice is. To help determine this definition, he speaks through the philosopher protagonist of Socrates. Justice is first brought up in The Republic during Socrates’ trip to Piraeus. While traveling Socrates ends up gathering with his interlocutors and together, they talk about justice and how one would define it. Socrates debates with the men about the definition of justice and is presented with a definition of

The simple answer to the question is Socrates a good citizen? is ‘no’. A good citizen is a member of society that promotes the common good, and does not perform actions that are harmful to their community. These citizens act in a way that betters their community. Socrates appears as an individualist who corrupts the youth and speaks against the gods. Generally, a good citizen is liked by his community, but Socrates faces criticisms and dislike. Socrates fails to advocate for a better community and he acts in his own benefit. Through his process of enlightenment Socrates criticizes the gods, teaches the youth and displays progressive ideas.

Why do we even bother with justice? To an average person, I’d argue that the value of justice could rival or is even undermined by the value of a consistent Wi-Fi signal. This is no jab at modern consumerism, but instead an analogy to identify how commonly vague the definition of justice is to a common individual. However, to Plato and his Republic, the value of Justice both rivals and harmonies with all that’s important, and all that is “good”. Justice, according to Plato, represents both intrinsic and extrinsic good. In other words, the state of Justice is preferable just for the sake of Justice and for the harmony it can bring to the Republic. To arrive at this defining distinction, Socrates participates in

Plato?s view of Justice can be seen in his model of The Tripartite Soul. In this model Plato outlines 3 sectors of his ideal society. This theoretical society is composed of Guardians, Auxiliaries, and Producers. The Guardians were the upper class citizens who had the authority to pass judgment. Guardians were rational and wise, and could participate and become involved in politics. The Auxiliaries were positioned as courageous citizens who helped preserve the spirit and emotion of a society by ?protecting and serving? much like a modern day public works department or police and fire squad. In the lowest tier of Plato?s ideal society were the Producers, whose job it was to create. The Producers were to use temperance in their lives, for they were classified as appetitive souls who could easily succumb to bodily desires. The Producers were to practice asceticism, which is the eradication of bodily desires.

Plato came up with a definition for justice by first examining the just individual and then comparing it to the city-state. According to Plato a human’s soul was made up of three elements: Reason, Spirit and Appetite. To him a just person was just when the three parts of their soul were in harmony. The reason would rule the soul, the spirit would enforce the rule of reason, and the appetite would be the desires of a person. The reason and spirit would control the appetite with reason being above them all.

Plato aims to give an account of the ethical life. Themes for example knowledge, the well-ordered life, and wisdom are connected into the discussion of ethical life, however, the principle of justice and the organization of the good life is the central topic of Plato's theories. Today we associate justice with the successful implementation and execution of political law. To the Ancient Greek's justice was used to describe the proper and correct method of living. Justice is harmony and was believed it could be achieved through learning. Plato first established that justice is good, and part of the good life in Book I. Plato listens to other philosophers theories and argues that justice is an excellence of character. The role that justice plays is to improve human nature. In addition to other things, justice is a form of goodness that cannot contribute in any activity that attempts to harm one's character.

In Book 2 of Republic, the interlocutors open with the question, ‘What is good about living a just life’. To answer this question, the first thing they do is define what the different types of good are. After this Socrates states the type of good he believes justice to be. Then, Glaucon explains and defends what the majority of people think. One way he does is by using an old myth as an example. This shows that the only good thing about living a just life comes from its good reputation.

In the world of Plato, there are many a wonder that leave common folk confused and babbling to their mother about senseless ideas. These, I think are some of the most amazing questions that humans have ever asked as a species. In Republic one, Socrates, Glaucon and their associates set out to answer a seemingly easy question turned complex; what is justice? Now, most people would think most nothing about this, thinking that there is nothing more to justice than what the law sets forth. However, as I have read through the first few books of the Republic, I have gained a much deeper insight in what it means to be truly just.

Throughout the early books of Plato’s The Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors Adeimantus, Polemarchus, Glaucon, Thrasymachus, and to a lesser extent Cephalus, explore what it means to be just and why justice is preferable to injustice. This topic was brought up in a monologue from Cephalus, who is an old patriarch that represents Greek tradition and thus offers a traditional view of justice. One by one, all of the interlocutors attempt to define justice, with Socrates disagreeing with at least some part of each definition. After not being able to define justice for a majority of the early portions of The Republic, Socrates finally comes to the conclusion that “[the just man] doesn’t let each part in him mind other people 's business or the three classes in the soul meddle with each other, he arranges himself, becomes his own friend, and harmonizes the three part” (443d2-6). In other words, the just man lets each part of his soul rule itself. The rational part of our soul seeks truth, the spirited part of our soul seeks honor, and the appetitive part of our soul seeks our more earthly desires, such as sex, food and economic success. After this, the conversation would seem to be over. As we know, however, The Republic is not even half over. There are several critical factors behind the continuation of The Republic, but it all has to do with unanswered questions, continued debate and, above all, digression..

define a true just man on his spirit and intentions if he is only being just

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

Plato is one of the most incredible and though provoking philosophers of all time. He demonstrates his intellectual capacity and vision in his work, Republic. Plato is essentially the mouthpiece for Socrates in this book, and they follow the dialogue form throughout the book. The essence of his thoughts in Republic is that justice is inherently good, the best way to live, and should be sought after in every way. He faces many tough arguments with those he is trying to convince, but eventually shows everyone, including the reader, how important justice really is. He helps put into perspective that a just reputation is appealing to everyone, but the intrinsic value of justice is ever more important. Plato goes into some incredibly complex and often surprising arguments about why justice is such a necessity in both civilizations and each individual. Plato emphasizes the importance of the values he knows to be best during the book, and a couple of those happen to be truth and wisdom. By pursuing both, he thinks people would be naturally inclined to opt for a just way of life. The thoughts and topics he delves into are simple in a way, but are infinitely complex when you take a step back and define or assign meaning to the concepts of truth and justice. The way we look at justice or truth is dependent upon what we assume both concepts mean. Plato clarifies these definitions because it gives clear meaning

Justice in philosophy is one of the most important political and moral concepts. The word justice comes from the Latin word jus, which means right or law. English Dictionaries defines it as one who typically does what is morally right as well as offering the word “fair” as a synonym. But philosophers get beyond etymology and what the dictionary definitions are and look deeper into it. For example, the nature of justice is both a moral virtue of character and a quality needed for political society, as well as knowing how it applies to social and ethical decision making. The question to answer is how Plato and Rawls theories were used for philosophical conceptions of justice. These are known to be the greatest theories of ancient Greece. Not only their theories of justice will be explained, but also how Plato and Rawls apply their own theories to controversial social issues like civil disobedience, punishment, equal opportunity for women, property rights, and international relations.

Plato suggests that justice is the most important thing in life and it is recognized in the Republic. He says that justice is the bond that holds society together and that’s why it is the true principle of life. He establishes a set of social and moral requirements set for everyday life. He defines justice as a human virtue that makes an individual good and self-consistent. He also defines

“Justice is the art which gives to each man what is good for his soul” and that is simply to say that justice is identical with, or inseparable with philosophy. (Cahn, Political Philosophy, 1-136) Justice is an order and duty of the parts of the soul; it is to the soul as medicine preserves the health of the body. In its current and cardinal definition is a just behavior or treatment; a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people. (Oxford Dictionary, “Justice”) Justice is the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered. However, justice is polymorphic; depending on eras and civilizations also differing in every culture. Although there some principles of justice that can be found to be almost universal. An early theory of justice was set out by the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Plato was highly dissatisfied with the prevailing degenerating conditions in Athens. The Athenian democracy was on the verge of ruin and was ultimately responsible for Socrates’ death – his mentor. Plato saw in justice the only remedy of saving Athens from decay and ruin. Evidently, factors such as amateurishness, political selfishness and excessive individualism became main targets of Plato 's attack which were rampant in the Greek world. Agitated in contemporary affairs, the attack came in the form of the construction of an ideal society in which justice