The Republic of Plato
How many possible definitions of justice do you see in book I? What do you think is true and what is false in these multiple definitions of justice? Is anyone who speaks about justice in book I completely wrong? Is anyone completely right? Why and how?
What about Thrasymachus? How should we think about him, and the claims he advances? Should we be satisfied by the response Socrates gives him?
Attached is the book The Republic of Plato and question is of BOOK I
ANSWER
The Republic by Plato
In The Republic by Plato, there are about four possible definitions of the concept of justice. From the definitions, justice is indeed a human virtue that binds a society. Without the idea of justice, neighbors would be free to walk to another neighbor’s house and annihilate his property, of which there would be no bond in that society. Similarly, it is true that justice is proportional to order and duty. However, the idea of a soul in his definitions suggests a supernatural force prompting people to be just while it is merely a decision that every individual has. In addition, I do not think a king or a good leader in modern has to be a philosopher as Plato demands. It is possible to be a leader, depending on multiple people’s wisdom rather than relying on personal philosophy. In Plato’s age, Kings were absolute, which would make sense on why they needed to have absolute knowledge. However, in the modern world, a president receives a recommendation from a vast network of people specialized in different things and better placed to have opinions on decisions that a president. Nonetheless, I strongly agree with the idea that justice is in-built in every individual.
Thrasymachus believes that justice is subjective and is only justice if it is in the interest of the stronger. I do not believe that is right because justice has to be in the interest of many, not stronger. He supposes that justice is incompatible with self-interest; however, in response, Socrates response is satisfactory and aims to demonstrate that it is in an individual’s self-interest be just rather than be unjust. Thrasymachus therefor is more of an ethical thinker rather than a political theorist.
