Plato's Republic

1033 Words3 Pages

Plato's Republic

In Plato’s Republic, Glaucon is introduced to the reader as a man who loves honor, sex, and luxury. As The Republic progresses through books and Socrates’ arguments of how and why these flaws make the soul unhappy began to piece together, Glaucon relates some of these cases to his own life, and begins to see how Socrates’ line of reasoning makes more sense than his own. Once Glaucon comes to this realization, he embarks on a path of change on his outlook of what happiness is, and this change is evidenced by the way he responds during he and Socrates’ discourse.

The first change in character begins with Glaucon’s position on whether or not the unjust soul is happier than the just soul. This is seen in Book 4, 445b, when he argues against Socrates’ proposal that they define justice in the individual. He feels that this is a ridiculous inquiry because, through Socrates’ proofs, unjust behavior causes the soul to be in a state of unrest and torment. Glaucon believes that the query warrants no further investigation, since an individual whose soul is unbalanced cannot possibly be happy. Through his objections to pursue the matter further, it can be seen that Glaucon has already begun to transform, though gradually. He sees now, through his own admission, that material possessions and power is not worth having “when his soul – the very thing by which he lives – is ruined and in turmoil.” These feelings stem from the conclusion of the three classes within the...

Show More
Related

  • The Logical Response To The Fool, By Thomas Hobbes

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Glaucon presents an argument against justice in order to pressure Socrates to give a more convincing argument for living a just life. He was unsatisfied with Plato’s counterargument against Thrasymachus. Glaucon wants to believe that justice is good and that living a just life will result in a good life, unlike the Fool in the Leviathan. However, Glaucon strengthening the argument that the unjust life is better. Glaucon starts his argument with the three ways in which something can be good: good in itself, good in itself and good for its consequences, and bad or indifferent in itself but good for its consequences. After presenting these three types of good things, Glaucon asks Socrates to place justice into one of the three categories. Socrates’s responds by saying the he would define justice as the kind of good that we like both for its own sake and for its consequences. Glaucon then requests that Socrates present a convincing argument that justice is good for its own sake, regardless of its consequences. He essentially wants to hear a compelling argument that shows justice as a kind of good that is good for its own sake. Glaucon eventually developed a case that supports the unjust life. He argues that anyone, just or unjust, would commit acts of injustice if they could get away with it and not suffer any consequences. To support his claim, he

    Read More

  • Comparison Between Crito And Apology by Plato

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen and Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society, will help to position Plato's Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.

    Read More

  • Pro-Life And Pro Choice: The Pros And Cons Of Abortion

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    As to any argument, there are two opposing sides when it comes to the matter of abortions. These two opposers usually refer to themselves as “pro-life” and “pro choice”. Pro-life supporters maintain that abortion is wrong and pro-choice believe that it is a woman’s freedom to choose her pregnancy decisions. When it comes to the topic of abortions, most of us will readily agree that it’s a woman’s choice to decide what her reproductive decisions are, i.e. pro-choice. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is in the question of whether or not abortion is a fundamental right granted to women by the Constitution. Whereas some are convinced that a fetus is considered alive at conception, usually citing the word of God, others maintain that

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Do the Right Thing” is a film directed by Spike Lee, which was released in 1989. The film takes place in a small predominately African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The protagonist of the film named Mookie works in a pizzeria located in his neighborhood named, Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. Throughout the film, we see different characters who visit Sal’s pizzeria, including Buggin ' Out, who is a neighborhood local who feels offended when he sees the lack of diversity on the pizzerias wall; which only displays famous Italian-Americans. The lack of African-American culture in the neighborhood leads to a building up of tensions, which eventually explodes into a fight between the owner of the pizzeria Sal, his two sons and the locals.

    Read More

  • Glaucon's Challenge and Plato's Theory of Justice in Plato's Republic

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    Glaucon begins his argument to Plato by separating goods into three classes. The first class is composed of intrinsic goods that we welcome for our own sake, stripped of their consequences, such as happiness. The second class is the type of good that we like for our own sake as well as its consequences, such as health and knowledge. The third class is an extrinsic good that we desire only for their consequences, such as physical training and medical treatment. Plato believes that justice belongs in the second class of goods that we like because of itself and its consequences, while Glaucon suggests that it belongs in the third class of...

    Read More

  • The Role of Desire and Value in Glaucon’s Comparison of a Just and Unjust Life.

    1630 Words  | 4 Pages

    Book two of Plato’s Republic begins with Glaucon's argument for favouring an unjust life over a just life. Glaucon compares a perfectly just life to a perfectly unjust life to show that the perfectly unjust life is the happier life. I will define Glaucon’s views on the nature of justice and human motivation, and then summarize his metaphorical story of Gyges’ ring, to show how he combines these premises to come to the conclusion that the unjust life is happier.

    Read More

  • Human Nature and Moral Theory in Plato’s Republic

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Chapter 2 of Republic, Glaucon uses the Myth of the Lydian Shepherd to portray a pessimistic view of human nature. Plato, the author of Republic, uses his brother Glaucon to tell the Myth of the Lydian Shepherd. We are led to believe that Plato takes the myth and its implications on human nature very seriously by use of a personal character. The argument, originally given by Thrasymachus, contends that at the root of our human nature we all yearn for the most profit possible. It also contends that any man will act immorally if given free reign. The theory proves unplausible due to circularity in the argument and implications that prove untrue.

    Read More

  • Plato Republic Democracy

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Plato's Republic democracy made a controversial issue in a critique by Socrates. The theory of the soul accounts for the controversy as it states that the soul is divided into three parts: the rational, the spirited, and the appetite which are ranked respectively. The idea of the soul's three parts and the soul being ruled by a dominant part is used as the basis for identifying justice and virtue. However, the theory of the soul is not only used to identify justice and virtue, but also used to show that the virtue within a city reflects that of its inhabitants.

    Read More

  • The Noble Lie: Plato's Republic

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of the noble lie begins with Plato in the Republic, where in search of an ideal state he told of a magnificent myth^1.The society that Plato imagined was separated into a three tier class structure- the Rulers, Auxiliaries, and the labor or working class. The Rulers, he said, would be selected from the military elite (called Guardians).The rulers would be those Guardians that showed the most promise, natural skill, and had proven that they cared only about the community’s best interests. The Auxiliaries were the guardians in training, and were subject to years of methodical preparation for rule. The lower class would be comprised of the workers and tradesmen, who being the most governed by their appetites, were best fit for labor. The introduction of the "noble lie" comes near the end of book three (414b-c)* Where Plato writes "we want one single, grand lie," he says, "which will be believed by everybody- including the rulers, ideally, but failing that the rest of the city".* The hypothical myth, or "grand lie" that Plato suggests is one in which, the Gods created the people of the city from the land beneath their feet, and that when the Gods made their spirit the precious metals from the ground got mixed into their souls. As a result some people were born with gold in their souls others with silver, and others with bronze, copper,or more even common metals like iron and brass. It was from this falsehood that the first phylosophical society’s social hierarchy was established. The myth goes as follows: Those the Gods made with gold in the souls were the most governed by reason, and who had a predisposition to contemplation which made them most suitable for rule. Those with silver in their souls where the most governed b...

    Read More

  • Pro Life Vs. Pro-Life Or Pro Choice?

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    One method is done through an oral pill. With this method, the woman must be at least six weeks pregnant. The cut off of this procedure is eight weeks and five days. The second option is surgically done. Along with the other method, the woman must be at least six weeks pregnant. The cut off of this procedure is thirteen weeks and five days, which is the end of the first trimester. After thirteen weeks, abortion is no longer an option, unless it is for a very special reason. Each method has it’s own pros and cons. Staring with the oral method, you take the pill and it takes about several hours for the abortion to occur. One can experience mild to very strong cramping throughout the abortion. Heavy bleeding and clots is also common after the abortion. After the heavier bleeding has passed, lighter bleeding can occur nine to fourteen days after. The pill has a 97 percent success rate, but when it does fail, a surgical abortion is needed (“Comparison of” 1). One advantage to this method is it being more natural, almost like a miscarriage. There is no need for shots or anesthesia either. Also, the pregnancy can be ended sooner. As for the surgical method, the procedure takes about three to five minutes. One can experience mild to very strong cramping throughout the abortion. It is also common for light to moderate bleeding and maybe continue for six to eight weeks. This method has a 99 percent success rate (“Comparison of” 1). This

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Plato's Ring Of Gygess

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    When relating Plato’s “Ring of Gyges” to the culture that we live in now, he explains that persons are selfish and egoistic. The reason is that people do not always do the unfair things because they fear of being caught and harmed. As a human being, everything we do is coherent. When it comes to Cultural relativism, it is our beliefs, customs, and ethical virtue that relate to our social context. The main purpose is that most people do the right or wrong things that affects the society. The story explains the meaning behind what Glaucon is saying about his culture and what he had to go through and it contradicts his egoism.

    Read More

  • The Issue Of Abortion : Pro Choice Or Pro Life?

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abortion defined is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. Each year in the United States 1.6 million abortions are performed with 91% of them being performed during the first trimester (under 12 weeks of gestation). There are second trimester abortions as well (under 24 weeks of gestation) which occurs in 9% of the accumulative abortions a year in the United States. And about 100 abortions are performed in the third trimester (above 24 weeks gestation) this is approximately .01% of all abortions. 1.5 million U.S. women with unwanted pregnancies will choose abortion each year.

    Read More

  • Justice and Moderation of the Soul in The Republic, by Plato

    3023 Words  | 7 Pages

    The three men discuss justice as if it's a good thing. Glaucon wants Socrates to prove that it is, and argues if it is just to do wrong in order to have justice, or on the other hand, is it unjust to never do wrong and therefore have no justice. For example; a man who lies, cheats and steals yet is a respected member of the community would be living a just life, in comparison to a man who never lied, cheated, nor stole anything but lives in poverty and is living an unjust life. Glaucon assumes the life of a just man is better than the life of an unjust man.

    Read More

  • Is Justice Profitable?

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Glacon’s argument to Socrates may appear very convincing at first glance. People who succeed in li...

    Read More

  • Analysis of Plato's The Republic

    2022 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Republic is an examination of the "Good Life"; the harmony reached by applying pure reason and justice. The ideas and arguments of Plato center on the social settings of an ideal republic - those that lead each person to the most perfect possible life for him. Socrates was  Plato's early mentor in real life.  As a tribute to his teacher, Plato uses Socrates in several of his works and dialogues.  Socrates moderates the discussion throughout, as Plato's mouthpiece. Through Socrates' powerful and brilliant questions and explanations on a series of topics, the reader comes to understand what Plato's model society would look like. The basic plan of the Republic is to draw an analogy between the operation of society as a whole and the life of any individual human being.  In this paper I will present Plato’s argument that the soul is divides into three parts.  I will examine what these parts are, and I will also explain his arguments behind this conclusion.  Finally, I will describe how Plato relates the three parts of the soul to a city the different social classes within that city.

    Read More

More about Plato's Republic

Open Document