Cephalus Definition Of Justice In Plato's Republic

In Plato’s Republic, Book 1 opens with Socrates’ conversation with Cephalus about old age. Cephalus states that being older makes him contemplate things that he never gave thought to before. He claims that the stories told about unjust men going to Hades’ underworld to pay the consequences for unjust deeds keep him up at night. Cephalus’ fear of the afterlife sets forth the foundation of the entire book. Two significant questions are introduced: What is justice? And Is it worth being just? Cepahlus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus are the three main interlocutors of the argument. Throughout the rest of Book 1 and the Republic, they will attempt to provide their definitions of justice. The definitions in Book 1 reflect the individuals’ own philosophy

He defines justice as “giving back what a man has taken another” (Plato 1968, 331c). Socrates refutes this definition with a simple pragmatic response by stating that returning something to someone is not just if it will cause them harm. However, the theme behind this definition is a greater one and it is addressed in Book IV. This definition seems to be a coping mechanism for Cephalus. As mentioned earlier, his interest in justice is due to the fact that he is older and will die soon. If he can say that he has been just throughout his life, he does not have to worry about going to hell for being unjust. Therefore, he makes justice something that is within his reach. He is very wealthy and it is within his means to pay back anyone he is in debt with. Cephalus claims that wealth is necessary in order to be a just man (Plato 1968,

He claims that justice is “the advantage of the stronger” (Plato 1968, 338c). Thrasymachus is referring to regimes and how the stronger people are the ones creating laws to their advantage. This however seems to be a critique of justice because the topic of conversation switches to the second question: Is justice worth it? From Thrasymachus’ original claim, Socrates derives another definition which is obedience to the laws. He disproves both claims by stating that if the rulers make a mistake and set a law that does them an injustice, it would no longer be just for the ruled to obey. Although Socrates disproves this claim, this notion of survival of the fittest is incorporated in the just city as