Socrates was executed by the leaders of the city of Athens for practicing philosophy. Since Socrates sought to question the old gods and beliefs in the system of justice, while also encouraging others to think about the same, the leaders sought to eliminate the subject of philosophy from their city altogether. Plato, Socrates ' student, wrote The Republic as an apology to Socrates for the behavior of the Greek, while also aiming towards defending the ideas and philosophy of Socrates on Justice. The process through which Plato managed to explain how justice is a part of the human soul is explained as below:
Book begins with Cephalus, Plato 's father, saying that justice means simply to follow and oblige to the legalities laid down and by following …show more content…
Socrates begins by saying that one needs to look at justice at two levels -- one at a city level and other at a personal level. Now since city level justice is bigger than personal level, we will therefore discuss and focus on the city level of justice or the political justice. Socrates begins by saying that the foundation of each society is based on the "principle of specialization" -- meaning that each person is required to do that which he is best at doing and suited for. In this, the person should not attempt at doing any other task. This will ensure that all tasks are performed in the best possible …show more content…
The way Socrates explains this is extremely interesting and unique. According to him, similar to political justice where there were three classes in the society, the human soul too is divided into three parts -- the rational part (which seeks truth), the spirited part (which seeks honor) and lastly, an appetitive part (which seeks lust, love, food, looks etc). According to Socrates, the trick is to maintain a balance between these three parts of the soul. Therefore, in a person who is just, the rational part that seeks wisdom would be dominant, and hence, it would rule the rest of parts of the soul. The spirited part would, in its turn, act as the auxiliaries, aiding the human soul in yearning for wisdom and ruling the money-loving part of the soul or the appetite of the soul. This soul is the exact mirror of the way of the just society that Socrates explained
Book begins with Cephalus, Plato 's father, saying that justice means simply to follow and oblige to the legalities laid down and by following …show more content…
Socrates begins by saying that one needs to look at justice at two levels -- one at a city level and other at a personal level. Now since city level justice is bigger than personal level, we will therefore discuss and focus on the city level of justice or the political justice. Socrates begins by saying that the foundation of each society is based on the "principle of specialization" -- meaning that each person is required to do that which he is best at doing and suited for. In this, the person should not attempt at doing any other task. This will ensure that all tasks are performed in the best possible …show more content…
The way Socrates explains this is extremely interesting and unique. According to him, similar to political justice where there were three classes in the society, the human soul too is divided into three parts -- the rational part (which seeks truth), the spirited part (which seeks honor) and lastly, an appetitive part (which seeks lust, love, food, looks etc). According to Socrates, the trick is to maintain a balance between these three parts of the soul. Therefore, in a person who is just, the rational part that seeks wisdom would be dominant, and hence, it would rule the rest of parts of the soul. The spirited part would, in its turn, act as the auxiliaries, aiding the human soul in yearning for wisdom and ruling the money-loving part of the soul or the appetite of the soul. This soul is the exact mirror of the way of the just society that Socrates explained