The first major change Polemarchus makes is in his redefinition of a friend to one wo "seems to be, and is, good" (334e). While this maintains that a friend is only within a certain group, this modification adds the requirement that the friend be a good person. Despite being unable to address the possibility of human error when considering who is a friend or not, Polemarchus' reclassification makes explicit the need of justice to be good. Beyond reclassification of a friend, Polemarchus makes a more substantial shift: he concedes that there is no justice in harming another, whether friend or foe. After agreeing with Socrates that "justice [is] human virtue" (335c) and that animals are harmed become worse with respect to virtue, he is forced to concede that "it is not the work of the just man to harm either a friend or anyone else" (335d). This point marks a significant shift in his conception of justice, as it reveals Polemarchus' rejection of harming others. While his view of justice continues to be relatively insular, he rejects the idea that it would be just to harm his enemies—a core belief of the
The first major change Polemarchus makes is in his redefinition of a friend to one wo "seems to be, and is, good" (334e). While this maintains that a friend is only within a certain group, this modification adds the requirement that the friend be a good person. Despite being unable to address the possibility of human error when considering who is a friend or not, Polemarchus' reclassification makes explicit the need of justice to be good. Beyond reclassification of a friend, Polemarchus makes a more substantial shift: he concedes that there is no justice in harming another, whether friend or foe. After agreeing with Socrates that "justice [is] human virtue" (335c) and that animals are harmed become worse with respect to virtue, he is forced to concede that "it is not the work of the just man to harm either a friend or anyone else" (335d). This point marks a significant shift in his conception of justice, as it reveals Polemarchus' rejection of harming others. While his view of justice continues to be relatively insular, he rejects the idea that it would be just to harm his enemies—a core belief of the