Introduction: Who is Plato?
Plato was born in 428 BC and was one of the most influential political philosophers that significantly contributed to the impression of justice. Plato founded an Academy in Athens, where he was born, which happened to be the first institute that offered a higher level of education to students; he was a strong believer that knowledge would result in justice and a just society. His main reason for beginning to decipher law and justice started with the unjust trial of his teacher, Socrates. This stemmed into his book The Republic that highlights his view on justice, and various forms of government. Socrates’ Influence
It was the unjust trial of Plato’s teacher Socrates that initially intrigued him to grasp a greater understanding of law and justice. Socrates was Plato’s teacher and was convicted by the state for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods of the state. The …show more content…
The central question in The Republic revolved around “what is justice?” (“Values and The Good Life” pg.21). To understand Plato’s theory of justice, one must first know the theories he mentioned in The Republic by earlier Sophist’s. The first theory mentioned was “The Theory of Cephalous”(Traditionalism). This theory illustrates that one should harm their enemies and help their friends. Plato disputed this theory by mentioning that appearances can be deceiving (“Values and The Good Life” pg.23). Next was Thrasymachus’ Theory (Radicalism), which believed that justice regarded the interest of the sovereign. The last theory mentioned in The Republic was Glaucon’s Theory (Pragmatism), this dealt with the idea that justice is “artificial and conventional”. The theory states that it is good to be unjust but it is bad to suffer injustice. Once again, Plato disagreed with this theory because he was a strong believer that justice is internal, it comes from within (“Values and The Good Life”
Plato was born in 428 BC and was one of the most influential political philosophers that significantly contributed to the impression of justice. Plato founded an Academy in Athens, where he was born, which happened to be the first institute that offered a higher level of education to students; he was a strong believer that knowledge would result in justice and a just society. His main reason for beginning to decipher law and justice started with the unjust trial of his teacher, Socrates. This stemmed into his book The Republic that highlights his view on justice, and various forms of government. Socrates’ Influence
It was the unjust trial of Plato’s teacher Socrates that initially intrigued him to grasp a greater understanding of law and justice. Socrates was Plato’s teacher and was convicted by the state for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods of the state. The …show more content…
The central question in The Republic revolved around “what is justice?” (“Values and The Good Life” pg.21). To understand Plato’s theory of justice, one must first know the theories he mentioned in The Republic by earlier Sophist’s. The first theory mentioned was “The Theory of Cephalous”(Traditionalism). This theory illustrates that one should harm their enemies and help their friends. Plato disputed this theory by mentioning that appearances can be deceiving (“Values and The Good Life” pg.23). Next was Thrasymachus’ Theory (Radicalism), which believed that justice regarded the interest of the sovereign. The last theory mentioned in The Republic was Glaucon’s Theory (Pragmatism), this dealt with the idea that justice is “artificial and conventional”. The theory states that it is good to be unjust but it is bad to suffer injustice. Once again, Plato disagreed with this theory because he was a strong believer that justice is internal, it comes from within (“Values and The Good Life”