Plato’s Republic is widely regarded as one of the most important philosophical works of all time, which contemplates some of humanities most challenging questions. What is justice? And what type of life should one lead? These ideas are set out by Glaucon and Adeimantus in The Republic and attempt to determine whether a just life is more valuable than an unjust life. Socrates responds to this challenge by concluding that the just life is worth more than the unjust, however not even Socrates’s arguments are infallible or subject to no opposition.
Book 1 of The Republic, Thrasymachus defines justice as something that is good for the stronger, whereas Glaucon views Justice as something not practiced for its own sake but rather something someone engages in out of fear and weakness. We only suffer under the burden of justice because we know we would suffer worse without it. Glaucon points out people …show more content…
In this ideal human society, Socrates envisions three classes: the guardians - the smallest class, the auxiliaries, and the productive class, both constituting the largest classes. For the city to be just, it takes that the members of each class recognize and do what they are best at, that each stick to what is appropriate, and that classes are kept distinct. According to Socrates, it is precisely this account of justice that applies to an individual. An ideal type of person’s soul should exhibit the same kind of order that is possessed by an ideal political community. This fallacy of a state is then extended towards justice within a person, where the soul is divided into three parts. The appetitive part, in which happiness consists in the long-term in satisfaction of their appetites. The spirited part, where happiness consists in the satisfaction of desires for honor and approval, and the rational part, where it consists in the satisfaction of desires for truth and overall
Book 1 of The Republic, Thrasymachus defines justice as something that is good for the stronger, whereas Glaucon views Justice as something not practiced for its own sake but rather something someone engages in out of fear and weakness. We only suffer under the burden of justice because we know we would suffer worse without it. Glaucon points out people …show more content…
In this ideal human society, Socrates envisions three classes: the guardians - the smallest class, the auxiliaries, and the productive class, both constituting the largest classes. For the city to be just, it takes that the members of each class recognize and do what they are best at, that each stick to what is appropriate, and that classes are kept distinct. According to Socrates, it is precisely this account of justice that applies to an individual. An ideal type of person’s soul should exhibit the same kind of order that is possessed by an ideal political community. This fallacy of a state is then extended towards justice within a person, where the soul is divided into three parts. The appetitive part, in which happiness consists in the long-term in satisfaction of their appetites. The spirited part, where happiness consists in the satisfaction of desires for honor and approval, and the rational part, where it consists in the satisfaction of desires for truth and overall