In this essay, I will argue that Plato's definition of justice in the individual is inadequate since a just individual cannot act unjustly. I will start by defining justice in the individual. Next, I will list few examples of act Socrates considers to be unjust. Then, I will show how just individuals (i.e., the philosopher-rulers) in the republic act unjustly through the example of their treatment of people with disability, therefore, Socrates's definition is contradictory. Lastly, I will propose two remedies to solve this contradiction.
Socrates claims that an individual is just when each of the three parts of the soul does its duty, and all three parts are in harmony (Bloom, 441e). More specifically, the calculating part should rule the soul, …show more content…
For example, in Book V, Socrates suggests individuals who are "born deformed, they will hide away in an unspeakable and unseen place, as is seemly" (460c). I am unclear what exactly the unspeakable and unseen place is, but I can infer that this place has to be outside the republic. By allowing "deformed" individuals to live in the republic, the city-soul analogy will no longer work. Socrates will need a new class of citizen to include people with a severe disability, making the city quadripartite while the soul tripartite. To sustain his city-soul analogy, Socrates has to either kill people born with a severe disability or send them elsewhere outside the city. Both choices involve harm, therefor, both choices are …show more content…
Socrates claims that this can be achieved through studying multiple subjects that involve mathematics and dialectics (522c); mathematics is the bridge that connects that connects sensible objects with forms. As a consequence of their education, the philosophical rulers will become rational agents and conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the fate of people with disability. Since people with physical disability will have a hard time producing and specializing in craft, the rulers will conclude that the cost of keeping them in the republic exceeds the benefit, and people with physical disability will be sent to the unseen place. This is contradicting Socrates’s definition of justice in the individual because a just individual, after performing a rational calculation, cannot cause harm to
Socrates claims that an individual is just when each of the three parts of the soul does its duty, and all three parts are in harmony (Bloom, 441e). More specifically, the calculating part should rule the soul, …show more content…
For example, in Book V, Socrates suggests individuals who are "born deformed, they will hide away in an unspeakable and unseen place, as is seemly" (460c). I am unclear what exactly the unspeakable and unseen place is, but I can infer that this place has to be outside the republic. By allowing "deformed" individuals to live in the republic, the city-soul analogy will no longer work. Socrates will need a new class of citizen to include people with a severe disability, making the city quadripartite while the soul tripartite. To sustain his city-soul analogy, Socrates has to either kill people born with a severe disability or send them elsewhere outside the city. Both choices involve harm, therefor, both choices are …show more content…
Socrates claims that this can be achieved through studying multiple subjects that involve mathematics and dialectics (522c); mathematics is the bridge that connects that connects sensible objects with forms. As a consequence of their education, the philosophical rulers will become rational agents and conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the fate of people with disability. Since people with physical disability will have a hard time producing and specializing in craft, the rulers will conclude that the cost of keeping them in the republic exceeds the benefit, and people with physical disability will be sent to the unseen place. This is contradicting Socrates’s definition of justice in the individual because a just individual, after performing a rational calculation, cannot cause harm to