In Allan Bloom's translated book, "The Republic of Plato" Socrates breaks apart the idea of justice and solidifies his ideas in order to fully grasp all aspects of it. Socrates is dedicated to fully develop the notion of justice, as he wants to discover the truth about what is right and wrong while abolishing the ideas of past just governments. Socrates wants to prove that justice is something necessary and desired because it is essential and not just a thought that is needed. In doing so Socrates concludes that justice occurs when appetite and courage allow wisdom to rule over them. He argues that since it was agreed that justice is a virtue of the soul, and virtue of the soul means the health of the soul, justice is desirable because it means
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Since justice in the city is linked to the neat organization of three classes, Socrates needs to find the equivalent of those classes within one person. His proposition is that there are three parts of a single soul that need to work together harmoniously for there to be justice. Socrates looked at how that a city has three categories because a person has three distinctive drives—a drive for procreation and food, a drive for spirit, and a love of learning—are distinct parts of human nature itself. Just as the city was wise, courageous, moderate, and just, so too must the individual soul be. Socrates believes that people act in rational ways because it is how they are psychologically built. He believes that there is a specific way the soul is organized in order for it to be good and just. The soul should be organized like the city, so that, just as the guardians rule the city, the rational and calculating part of the soul should rule, while the spirit, like the obedient soldiers, should help the rational part out. People will be courageous if their spirited parts follow the guidance of their rational parts; they'll be wise if their rational parts know what is most beneficial for the whole body. Socrates believes that reason is the highest human virtue and therefore it will always lead to correct decision and justice. With this, they will succeed in being moderate if all three parts of their souls work together in
Since justice in the city is linked to the neat organization of three classes, Socrates needs to find the equivalent of those classes within one person. His proposition is that there are three parts of a single soul that need to work together harmoniously for there to be justice. Socrates looked at how that a city has three categories because a person has three distinctive drives—a drive for procreation and food, a drive for spirit, and a love of learning—are distinct parts of human nature itself. Just as the city was wise, courageous, moderate, and just, so too must the individual soul be. Socrates believes that people act in rational ways because it is how they are psychologically built. He believes that there is a specific way the soul is organized in order for it to be good and just. The soul should be organized like the city, so that, just as the guardians rule the city, the rational and calculating part of the soul should rule, while the spirit, like the obedient soldiers, should help the rational part out. People will be courageous if their spirited parts follow the guidance of their rational parts; they'll be wise if their rational parts know what is most beneficial for the whole body. Socrates believes that reason is the highest human virtue and therefore it will always lead to correct decision and justice. With this, they will succeed in being moderate if all three parts of their souls work together in