Glaucon

The Imitative Arts Will Tear Us Apart in the Republic The imitative arts are the greatest threat to justice in the constitutions of state and soul in the Republic. The members of such arts include music, poetry, and the visual arts. Bks. II and III delimit the function of the imitative arts in education and by Bk. X all “imitative” arts are banished from the constitutions. The most serious charge against imitative poetry, in the end, is that “with few exceptions it is able to corrupt even…

Plato and Socrates are among the most notable philosophers throughout history. Their ideas remain relevant to this day. After reading The Ring of Gyges and Allegory of The Cave, I find it better to be unjust, due the advantage and benefits it gives. By being unjust, it is more possible to have control over things which normally you do not. These stories test the mind by making you look at both sides of justice. The freedom to act unjustly, without fear of retribution, would be most easily…

In the Republic, Plato discusses and relates the three topics that are central to one lives, education, justice, and happiness. Through his definitions of these three topics, he considers how a society can achieve the proper education, justice, and happiness leading to his understanding of human nature. Plato addresses the close relation between being just and happy to the education received in society. The relationship between education, justice, and happiness depends on Plato’s understanding…

Also, the prisoner must return to the cave to teach the other prisoners that there is another way of life, a way for one not to live in the shadow with their back to knowledge. Plato says the prisoner must “descend again among the prisoners.” Glaucon understands that the prisoners stay reluctant to learn a new way and that it is the freed one’s responsibility to teach them that there is more to life. In conclusion, Johnathan Livingston Seagull and “The Myth of the Cave” have numerous similar…

The cave was written by the world renowned philosopher Plato in the 4th century. The Cave is a small excerpt in his larger famous work called The Republic. The Cave is has been known as a good summary of a variety of Plato’s main beliefs about the view that we have here and our potential by looking into Philosophy as being the main point that he is trying to get across. But he is also able to mention how he views the morality of man, that we as humans cannot teach each other but can only guide…

Caves are dark and scary. But sometimes, you can learn in a cave. The cave could have been a volcanic tunnel thousands of years ago, or filled with crystals, or even infested with glow worms that light the cave. One of the best caves to learn about isn’t a cave at all; it’s an allegory. The masterpiece of “Allegory of the Cave” by the Greek philosopher Plato uses the fictional scenario of prisoners in a cave who ascend to “the light.” The cave represents the uneducated, one-sided view some…

In Why Should I Be Moral?, Glaucon presents a popular view of morality, centered around the concept that if a person could commit an injustice without any wrong coming their way, then they would commit said injustice. This is exemplified by the Myth of Gyges, which tells the story of a man with a ring that makes him invisible. With the capacity to commit crimes unnoticed, the man commits all sorts of atrocities against others for his own personal gain. Essentially, Glaucon states that the common…

needed to maintain order so as to prevent internal/external strife within each respective community in comparison for a worst case scenario. Towards the end of Book IV, we begin to see the explanation of Socrates’ use of the word inner justice to Glaucon and how it can be quite problematic (Socrates 442d–443b, 443c–444a). As if conducting a live behavioral experiment with the justice system and the people living within the city…

in a whole city. Though it seems unusual, his arguments—which precede Book II and carry him through to Book IV—are strengthened enough that one can conclude he is in fact, correct to understand Justice in this way. At the beginning of Book II, Glaucon and Thrasmaychus put forward a fantastic argument that living unjustly, while not seeming as though you are doing so, is the key to living a happy and prosperous life. They liken that living unjustly is better because, “in pursuing what clings…

Glaucon talks about how the story about the Myth of Gyges is how humans are. If they are presented with something like the ring in the myth, then they won’t use it for good. They will do evil with it. This connects to conformity because conformity is something that he or she can either do for good or bad. Glaucon says that he ro she has the chance to use it in a good way, but it is human nature to use that…