Although justice cannot be defined, many countries strive to demonstrate this concept through maintaining an effective legal system. The country of Greece did not begin with a written set of laws but rather the role of creating unwritten laws, to maintain society, fell into the hands of the citizens. This was unsuccessful for several reasons and, therefore, written Greek laws were created to serve the interests of the citizens. The first known written laws of Ancient Greece were created by Draco, the lawgiver; however, the laws formed were harsh and unreasonable. An Athenian statesman, Solon, altered Draco’s laws and introduced the justice system to establish democracy by making the Courts attainable to Greek citizens. Eventually, Greek laws …show more content…
They have influenced law, ethics, and religion from Ancient times. These three important philosophers have had a say on natural law during 428 BCE and 322 BCE. Prior to the existence of these significant philosophers, during 621 BCE, a legislator known as Draco created a body of laws for Athens. He produced the first written law code for this country, however, it was unsuccessful because of its inability to achieve justice. “Draco's laws were known for their cruelty and their bias towards the rich landowners as opposed to those who found themselves owing money” (Loizides, 2015). The laws written by Draco were outdated and unjust because of its severe punishments and homicide laws. The punishment for crimes that were minor to those which were more serious was death which was irrational and unjustly. During 594 BCE, an Athenian statesman known as Solon, altered the laws set by Draco through eliminating cruelty and encouraging a legal system that had an underlying foundation of democracy. Solon “is credited with restructuring the social and political organization of Athens and thereby laying the foundations for Athenian democracy” (Cartwright, 2016). This was the first major step for Greece towards achieving a legal system that was fair and righteous. Solon recognized the severity of Draco’s laws and modified them by eliminating unreasonable …show more content…
Philosophers of law “represent ancient, historical, and contemporary philosophies and all have influenced jurisprudence and contemporary legal thought in North America” (Blair, 2004). Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle have promoted their beliefs to a global scale, leaving an impact to this day. Jurisprudence, justice, and ethics have played a major role in these philosophers work which can be seen through their principles of natural law. “Natural law supporters assume that it is human nature to be good, that all people strive to be good, and that goodness is essential to our well-being” (Blair, 2004). Socrates did not produce any legal writings, however, his approach to the law can be seen through Plato’s Dialogues. In Socrates dialogue, he created a series of questions that resulted in no finite answer at the end of the discussion. “Socrates’ method of intellectual inquiry was to raise and discuss searching questions about customs, morals, and religious and political behaviours with the young men from the leading families in Athens” (Blair, 2004). His approach resulted in him to be imprisoned since his actions were seen as corrupting the youth and their morals. Through Plato’s Dialogues, Socrates’ strong belief in natural law can be witnessed when he decided to comply with the punishments that were given to him and did not follow through on a
Law is to country just like soil is to plants. If the soil is right and appropriate then the the plant will flourish. If laws are just and its conditions are right, then the state will benefit from it. Without an appropriate law, the state will be in complete chaos. In the same case, two different lawgivers from different nations were given the same mission: to help make their states better than it was. Solon, an Athenian archon who was elected to make Athens and its city states thrive and remove this nation from its disastrous state. On the other hand, there’s Lycurgus, a Spartan man, whose mission was to help make Sparta also a thriving nation based on his first hand experiences he had during his travels (mostly from Egypt and Crete). At the end of the day, these two lawgivers had a different notion of justice and they each dealt with social inequalities in their city in their own way.
The main architect of Athenian law was Solon. It is unknown when Solon was born. He died in 559 BC. (Plutarch). Solon allowed everyone to participate in court (Stockton 19). He created a code of laws based on justice, balance, and good order (Muller). Solon abolished the practice of debt bondage (Muller). Solon created the Council of 400 (Boule), and a court called the Heliaia. (Muller) Solon divided Athenians into classes in accordance with their income (Plutarch). The lowest class, the thetes, was ineligible for election to office (Plutarch). However, they could still come into the assembly and act as jurors (Plutarch). The other classes, from lowest to highest, were zeugits, hippies, and pentakosiomedimnoi (Muller).
Justice is generally thought to be part of one system; equally affecting all involved. We define justice as being fair or reasonable. The complications fall into the mix when an act of heroism occurs or morals are written or when fear becomes to great a force. These complications lead to the division of justice onto levels. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Plato’s Republic and Apology, both Plato and Aeschylus examine the views of justice and the morality of the justice system on two levels: in the city-state and the individual. However, Plato examines the justice system from the perfect society and Aeschylus starts at the curse on the House of Atreus and the blood spilled within the family of Agamemnon.
Socrates reaches a conclusion that defies a common-sense understanding of justice. Nothing about his death sentence “seems” just, but after further consideration, we find that his escape would be as fruitless as his death, and that in some sense, Socrates owes his obedience to whatever orders Athens gives him since he has benefited from his citizenship.
Crito was persuaded by the Laws to give up because Socrates’ escape may firstly, destroy the Laws and by extension Athens; secondly, be an unjust act of retaliation against a punishment his benefactor prescribed; thirdly, result in Socrates violating his social contract with the Laws; and finally, intervene with the execution of an impartially prescribed punishment. Thus, assisting Socrates’ escape commits an injustice against the Law. Firstly, assisting Socrates’ escape is an injustice against the Laws, as Socrates’ disobedience will destroy the Laws, and by extension the city (Crito, 50a). Laws are essential for a successful city because their dictates ensure social order and prevent chaos arising from anti-social behaviour. Hence, laws should be enforced unconditionally.
In “The Apology,” Socrates represents himself in his own trial. He boldly questions the morality of the people of court. In this report, I will be analyzing portions of “The Apology” in order to reveal the intellectuality of this text within this time frame. I will only discuss bits of “The Apology“ on account that it is a lengthy piece. However, before discussing the speech it is important to set the scene. Socrates was born in 469 B.C.E. and lived to 399 B.C.E. (Nails, 2014). What we do know about him is second-hand knowledge, or recounts from his former students, Plato and Xenophon (“Plato and Socrates”). Nevertheless, his legacy has influenced philosophy and continues to do so.
Though Socrates has been unjustly incarcerated, he refuses to escape due to his implied agreement with the Athenian legal system. This paper serves to argue that Socrates’ line of reasoning to Crito does not properly address actions committed under an unjust legal system.
One important contribution of Ancient Greek to the Western Culture is Democracy. The very term itself is of Greek derivation, meaning "People’s Rule". Unlike modern states which call themselves "Democratic". For example, Pericles Funeral Oration gave the greatest contribution to our today’s society. In .(Doc. 2) Pericles stated "Our plan of government favors the many instead of the few". Because of this quote it has contributed the society tremendously due to the fact that the democratic society is a direct democracy. Yet in a way, people have the power to overthrow other powerful representatives; Pericles Funeral Oration, gave us the idea of keeping the civilization as a democracy rather than Oligarchy, Monarchy, and many more. Moreover, Solon an Athenian tyrant discussed his thought about democracy. In .(doc. 4) Solon stated, "I drew up laws for bad and good alike, and set straight justice over each". Solon reveals that he has created laws for the good of others. He wanted every individual having the ...
In 399 BC, Socrates, the great philosopher in ancient Greece, was put to death under the hands of his Athenian fellow-citizens to whom he had a strong attachment, after a final vote with over two-thirds of jurymen against him. We cannot experience the situation where Socrates gave his final argument in the court of law. From Plato’s Apology, we admire Socrates’ brilliant rhetoric and rigorous logic, while at the same time feel pity for him and indignant with those ruthless jurymen. However, the question of what exactly caused his death and why was Socrates, such a remarkable thinker sentenced to death in the very society that valued democracy the most is not easy and straightforward to answer. There are multiple elements involved that finally caused this tragedy in which “a person of high moral principle is confronted step by step with a situation from which there is no escape” (38). First of all, the moral principle and belief in divinity held by Socrates are inconsistent with those of the Athenian society, implying the very crimes charged upon Socrates were not completely groundless. Secondly, the imperfect juridical system of Athens played a role in causing this tragedy. What’s more, Socrates himself, could have offered better defense in the court, also had a hand in his own death by his stubbornness regarding to his own interpretation of wisdom and piety. His rebuttal, though brilliant and insightful, was not persuasive enough to move the fellow-citizens for his wrong approach and sophistry in his cross-examination on Meletus.
Justice in Plato's Republic Justice. The. What is the law of justice? In this world where many people look out only for themselves, justice can be considered the happiness of oneself. But because selfish men do not always set our standards in society, to find a definition, society should look at the opinions of many.
In 510 B.C the first known democratic constitution was created by Solon, lawgiver of Athens. Almost a century later, Solon’s reforms were modified by Cleisthenes. The laws in a particular city or state today should reflect on equality and human rights; but until the implementation of Solon’s and Cleisthenes’ reforms, the aristocratic families of Athens ruled over the poorer citizens.
Socrates reached his conclusion based on the following premises. First was we must not do any wrong (unjust) willingly. Second was we should not do unjust in return of unjust. Third was we must keep on our agreement that is just. Fourth was we must follow the law with which we are in agreement with. Fifth was Laws are just and the sixth was we must respect the judicial decision as not respecting the law produces unjust to law and the People.
In Plato’s “Republic”, Socrates creates an ideal society in his perspective. He contemplates what his idea of ‘justice’ is. According to Socrates, justice is the “…having and doing what is a man’s own, and belongs to him”. (Book 4 pg. 12) Justice is giving to everyone what they deserve. Socrates uses the ‘myth of the metals’ as an example to show how justice can prosper in a society, while also showing a way that democracy can be unjust.
Plato and Aristotle both established important ideas about politics and their government. The general idea these two men wrote about were tyranny and the rule of law. What the rule of law is stating is that no one is immune from the law, even the people who are in a position of power. The rule of law served as a safeguard against tyranny because laws just ensure that rulers don’t become more corrupt. These two philosophers explored political philosophy and even though they didn’t agree on much they’re impacts are still around the world today.
For Plato’s thesis – justice pays – to be validated, he has to prove two things, the first being that justice is inherently good. In