Demonstrating the Virtues of the Just Life

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Demonstrating the Virtues of the Just Life

The character of Socrates in Plato’s Republic is a curious one. Socrates is rarely satisfied with widely or casually accepted statements, and is fearless in taking on enormous topics for debate. One such topic that Socrates tackles early and often in the Republic is that of justice and the just life. It takes little time for Socrates to begin an attempt at demonstrating to two of his friends, Glaucon and Adeimantus, that in fact it pays to be just. After much debate and even the creation of a fictional city, a resolution of some kind is reached. Socrates does succeed in convincing his opposition that it pays to be just, however he does not demonstrate said fact. The difference is subtle, but profound.

The debate begins when Glaucon makes the powerful claim that, “the life of the unjust man is, after all, far better than that of the just man” (Plato, Republic[1], 358c[2]). He and Adeimantus beg Socrates to respond, and in response Socrates decides that to consider justice in a man, it would be easier to consider justice in something larger, namely a city. He begins the creation of a fictional city with the necessities of the citizens, and then the responsibilities each citizen has to the city, namely, to inhabit the profession that one is best at. To protect the city, its citizens, and its land, a class of “guardians” is to be created. This leads to the discussion of education, and finally to the third class of the population, the wise rulers. Socrates has created a three-tiered city that he claims is just.

Once the city has been completed and it is inspected, Socrates declares that the definition of justice that they have been search...

... middle of paper ...

...y saying that, “isn’t to produce justice to establish the parts of the soul in a relation of mastering, and being mastered by, one another that is according to nature, while to produce injustice is to establish a relation of ruling, and being ruled by, one another that is contrary to nature?” (444d). Isn’t it better to lead a just life if doing so prevents internal chaos and maintains order in the soul? It seems that answer is yes, but the question rests on a fallacy. The connection between injustice in a city as chaos among the classes, and injustice in a man as chaos in the soul has never been sufficiently shown. Socrates has failed his demonstration.

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[1] Plato. Republic. Trans. Allan Bloom. Basic Books, 1968.

[2] Stephanus numbers and letters used to cite all works of Plato.

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