Socrates and Thrasymachus varied greatly in their theories on the objectivity of justice. I will argue that there are objective truths about what is just and what is unjust. In the first paragraph, I will elaborate on the difference between a subjective and objective truth . In the second paragraph, I will contrast the views of Thrasymachus and Socrates on the objectivity of justice. Finally, in the third paragraph and following, I will develop and support an argument for the presence of objective truths in the sense of justice. Merriam-Webster defines a truth as a transcendent, fundamental or spiritual reality. A reality can mean many different things. For example, if a person says, “strawberry milkshakes are the best!” that may be a …show more content…
Socrates believes that there is a form of justice that we all know, but that can only be observed in the intelligible world. This means that nothing in this world will be perfectly just, it will only resemble justice. He says that justice in the sensible (physical) world appears as each part of an individual or a society doing that for which it is naturally suited. To explain justice within the individual, he compares each part of the tripartite soul with a social class. He says that the reasoning element of the soul is represented by the rulers, the spirited element by the auxiliaries, and the appetitive element by the craftsmen. Socrates says that just as justice in society can be seen as each class doing that for which they are naturally suited (rulers ruling, auxiliaries being courageous and protective, and craftsmen feeding the appetites of the society) the parts of the soul must do their individual duties to ensure that the entirety of the soul is just. Socrates is correct in his argument that there is objective truth to justice. To clarify, justice can be defined as the maintenance or administration of what is morally upright or good. In the mind of Socrates, the ultimate human good that should be maintained through justice is happiness. In fact, Socrates believes that happiness is the ultimate human good in any case. He defines happiness as a
ABSTRACT. This paper seeks to reject Socrates ' arguments against Thrasymachus ' account of the just and unjust in Plato 's Republic, and, in doing so, show that Thrasymachus ' account is in fact a coherent and plausible account of justice. I begin by describing the context of Socrates and Thrasymachus ' argument and what it would take for Socrates to overcome the Thrasymachian account. I then describe the Thrasymachian account and argue for its coherence. I attack the Socratic method of deconstructing Thrasymachus ' argument and show that Thrasymachus true argument remains unaddressed throughout the course of the their exploration and Republic as a whole. I conclude that Thrasymachus – although himself unaware – succeeds in proposing a plausible and defensible account of justice and that Socrates misleads both Thrasymachus and the reader to advance his own conception of justice.
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.
The Republic by Plato examines many aspects of the human condition. In this piece of writing Plato reveals the sentiments of Socrates as they define how humans function and interact with one another. He even more closely Socrates looks at morality and the values individuals hold most important. One value looked at by Socrates and his colleagues is the principle of justice. Multiple definitions of justice are given and Socrates analyzes the merit of each. As the group defines justice they show how self-interest shapes the progression of their arguments and contributes to the definition of justice.
Question: What is Socrates’ notion of justice. Is his concept of justice universally valid? Explain why or why not.
Much like the city, the same principle applies to individuals, that is, the aspects of the soul must occupy their respective roles in correct proportion. Socrates states that soul of man has a good part and a less good part, and that justice or mastery means that the better part must control the worse parts. Much like in the city, the best part is smaller than the multitude worse parts.
In order to question and reassess Thrasymachus’ view of justice, in this essay, I will first bring up cases for Thrasymachus being accused of being contradictory and inconsistent in his view for justice. For the second part of the essay, I will provide a counterargument in order to prove Thrasymachus’ consistency followed by a discussion on Socrates’ own contradiction in regards to his account of the city.
In the following paper I am going to defend my personal position on whether or not justice is objective. I am going to explain the argument between Socrates and Thrasymachus and define the terms used. Next I will give supporting evidence to support my position. I agree with Socrates, which is that justice is an objective truth.
In response to Thrasymachus, Glaucon, and Adeimantus, Socrates seeks to show that it is always in an individual’s interest to be just, rather than unjust. Thus, one of the most critical problems regarding the Republic is whether Socrates defends justice successfully or not. Socrates offers three arguments in favor of the just life over the unjust life: first, the just man is wise and good, and the unjust man is ignorant and bad; second, injustice produces internal disharmony which prevents effective actions; and lastly, virtue is excellence at a thing’s function and the just person lives a happier life than the unjust person, since he performs the various functions of the human soul well. Socrates is displeased with the argument because a sufficient explanation of justice is essential before reaching a conclusion as to whether or not the just life is better than the unjust life. He is asked to support justice for itself, not for the status that follows. He propositions to look for justice in the city first and then to continue by analogy to discover justice in the individual. This approach will allow for a distinct judgment on the question of whether the just person is happier than the unjust person. Socrates commences by exploring the roots of political life and constructs a hypothetical just city that gratifies only fundamental human necessities. Socrates argues
In his philosophy, Plato places a large emphasis on the importance of the idea of justice. This emphasis can be seen especially in his work ‘The Republic’ where, through his main character Socrates, he attempts to define the nature of justice and to justify this definition. One of the methods used by Socrates to strengthen or rather explain his argument on justice is through his famous city-soul analogy, where a comparison between a just city and a just soul/individual is made. Through this analogy, Socrates attempts to explain the nature of justice, how it is the virtue of the soul and is therefore intrinsically valuable to the
On examining Thrasymachus' idea that it pays to be perfectly unjust, Socrates refutes this argument in Book 4 as he speaks of the souls three parts; wisdom, spirit, and desire. The civil war between these three parts is shown to be the cause of injustice, but before Socrates can correlate this with the regimes of certain
This paper argues that Socrates makes a plausible case for justice. Socrates raised two main questions in the first two books of Plato’s Republic, what is justice? And why should we act justly? Thrasymachus and Glaucon both have different and more negative views of justice than Socrates. Throughout books one and two, Socrates, Glaucon and Thrasymachus go back and forth discussing the definition and application of justice in society. He starts his discussions with Glaucon and Thrasymachus by stating simply, “What is justice?”
In the discussion of what is and is not just, Socrates first forms the opinion that justice is something
Although Socrates encourages questioning authority, he focuses on achieving morality and justice. He believes that
At first, Socrates is hesitant to respond to the challenge of Glaucon. After some time, Socrates reciprocates to Glaucon’s argument. He states that there are two kinds of justice: political justice, and
By the end of Book I, Socrates has Thrasymachus agreeing with his view that “the just man is happy and the unjust man miserable” (353 e), indicating that Thrasymachus has taken back many of his previous statements. This simple statement verifies the fact that Socrates has refuted much of what Thrasymachus argued in Book I; yet, there are a few arguments and statements that makes Socrates’ refutation not as strong as it possibly could be.