Plato’s Socrates, in the Republic, gives a teach about justice that claims justice is an order of th

Plato’s Socrates, in the Republic, gives a teach about justice that claims justice is an order of the soul. Explain how Socrates, in the Republic, presents the soul, and how he understands justice in the soul. What is the proper order of the soul? What are the improper orders of the soul?

ANSWER

Plato Socrates’ Description of Justice

Plato distinctively describes justice and even goes ahead to use the Greek word ‘Dikaisyne,’ which is closely related to morality or rather a righteousness, which includes a man’s duties. In his description, Plato defines justice as the quality of soul, integrity by which men set aside their illogical aspiration to taste every pleasure and get egocentric contentment from every action, to accommodate themselves to the dispatch of a single function of the general interest. His justice description was highly motivated by Athens’ degenerating circumstances since justice was the only strategy in saving Athens. Plato describes justice as a superior character and intelligence, while injustice is the deficiency of both qualities; this definition implies that men are thus superior in character and intelligence, hence more critical in action. He says a just man is wiser due to his ability to appreciate the principle of limit; injustice, on the other hand, refers to stupidity, badness and ignorance (Udoudom & Bassey 2018).

Plato says that a just man’s life is full of happiness and much better since there is some sincerity in everything, hence enabling its ability to work well. The denial of the sincerity will make it work badly; the soul is thus charged with the duty of doing certain functions. The soul possesses absolute excellence or virtue when it performs the functions; deprivation of the essential virtue makes it not work well. A common has been reached that the virtue and sincerity of the soul is justice, a soul which is just is a happier soul; this implies that a just man ends up living happily. A just soul refers to a just man who lives well; the unjust cannot live happily. Contrary to other philosophers who treat justice as an external element, Plato describes justice as an internal element. He says justice does not depend on chances, external forces or convention; the human soul’s right condition is seen in his surroundings’ fullness. The soul is regarded as the internal grace and its study involves the study of the inner man. The soul is thus natural and not artificial, thereby not a product of dismay of the weak but of the human soul’s desire to execute a role in its nature.

Plato further highlights a comparison between the human organism and the social organism. The human organism consists of three elements; reason, spirit and appetite. A just person is one whose every portion of the soul performs its role without interfering with those of other elements. For instance, the reason should work representing the entire soul with wisdom and forecast. The spirit element thereby subordinates itself to the rule of reason; bodily and mental training unites the two elements. The reason and spirit have the duties of controlling the appetites, which are likely to grow from the bodily excitements; hence the appetites should not be allowed to enslave the other elements by dominating their roles. The mutual agreement among the three elements should allow the reason to be in control alone, thus enabling justice within an individual. On the other hand, the social organism also consists of three classes, each representing the three elements of the soul. The philosopher class, which is the one in control, represents the reason; the auxiliaries class represents a class of soldiers and defenders representing the spirit. Finally, the appetite class consists of artisans and farmers, thereby regarded as the lowest rank (Lynch 2020).

According to Plato, justice resembles a manuscript existing in two copies of which one is larger than the other; it exists in a person and the society. Justice, therefore, exists in a larger and visible form in the society but individually. It can be referred to as a human virtue that makes an individual self-consistent and good. Justice is a social consciousness that makes a particular society internally peaceful and good. Justice is, therefore, a specialization; it is the desire to fulfill the roles of a person’s station by not interfering with another station’s roles, thereby making its habitation in the mind of every member of the society who performs his roles in the designated place. True justice, therefore, comprises the principle of non-disturbance and interference. All the elements fulfill the desired roles in the state, which Plato considers a perfect whole. Justice platonically would mean a peaceful relationship in which the planets are united together in an orderly movement; justice is the citizen’s sense of roles. When a person is out of his natural habitat, it makes poor co-ordination of the parts, thereby destroying them. In conclusion, according to Plato, justice is the identical quality responsible for the good and social, thus making it part of human virtue; justice is order and role of the elements of the soul; it is to the soul as health is to the body. He says justice is not just any other strength; instead, it the calm strength; it is not the right of the stronger but the effective peace of all.

References

Lynch, T. A. (2020). ‘Tuning the Lyre, Tuning the Soul’: Harmonia, Justice and the Kosmos of the Soul in Plato’s Republic and Timaeus. Greek and Roman Musical Studies, 8(1), 111-155.

Udoudom, M. D., & Bassey, S. A. (2018). Plato and John Rawls on Social Justice. Researchers World, 9(3), 110.