Paste your essay in here… Plato is argued to be one of the best philosophers known to man and through his Republic explains in detail what justice is and creates an idealistic society for everyone to strive for. From the beginning of the book, he has Socrates question Cephalus, Polymarchus, Thrasymachus, and Glaucon on what their definition of justice is. Each of them has smart ideas, but Socrates poses questions that are left unanswered because their definitions are wrong. In the end, Plato states that Socrates believes justice is simply a human virtue and the only way to obtain it is through a philosophical life. To develop his case, Socrates talks to his peers throughout the book about justice within the city and the individual, later explaining how they are connected. In book 4 line 433c, Plato says that a combination of these four virtues—wisdom, courage, temperance, and everything else (justice)—encompass what a city should is built around. As well, the rulers must be able to distinguish between belief and knowledge. In Socrates’s eyes, being just is doing one’s work, or philosophy, along with making sure that they living a happy life filled with good and virtues. Whether someone is talking about it in terms of the city, the individual, or how is it seen in democracy, the definition of justice will always have somewhat of the same interpretation.
To make it easier for his interlocutors, Socrates creates a city called Kallipolis which means good city in Greek. He explains that in creating something on a larger scale, as a city, they would be able to see its justice and injustice along with easily finding what is just within the individual (Plato 369a 1-10). When creating this city, they talk about the basics and give it an army, a class system, rulers, etc. As the group finishes with the physical aspects of the city, they move into the virtuous or government side of things, and its justice. Socrates says that before they can establish what justice is they must talk about three things that each city must have: wisdom, courage, and temperance. He saves justice for last because it will be everything that those three are not. Wisdom is found in the philosopher kings and guardians of the city. To be able to rule, one must possess the most general knowledge about the city and have a wise state. Courage is found within the soldiers of the city and the army. They are brave men who enter the battlefield and fight for their people. Not only does courage apply to those who risk their lives, but also those who “absorb the laws in the best possible way” (Plato 430a). The last quality before discussing justice is temperance which is found in every individual, more so the producers, because it deals with the moderation of desires so that people do not act out. Finally, Socrates begins his propose his stance on the topic of justice.
Justice within the city and individual are very closely related, both having three parts. Wisdom resides within the philosopher kings and the rationality of a person. Each individual has a function; as Aristotle describes it, human function is the activity of the soul in accord with reason or requiring reason (Aristotle 1098a 5-10). What this means is that we all have a purpose to fulfill and make sure we perform this purpose to the best of our ability. Next, is courage which resides with the guardians and warriors as well as the spiritedness of a person. Being spirited is very important for the individual because having this virtue shows that the person is willing to give everything for their city or state. Just as the warriors fight for their city, the people will fight to provide for the state, but if their spirit isn't restrained, it could be dangerous. Lastly, temperance is seen within the appetite of a person and the producers/farmers/craftsmen of the city. Appetite deals with the desire to acquire or do certain things such as wealth, success, knowledge, etc. Referring back to Aristotle description of the human function, he states how the individual must live a humble contained life and fulfill their purpose to be just and philosophical. Plato suggests that justice is the first step to becoming a good individual and being able to distinguish knowledge from belief. This brings up a whole different topic that can also lead humans to an understanding of the afterlife and how to be a virtuous, happy person.
Socrates’ description of Kallipolis and the justice within the city is persuasive to an extent. He backs up his arguments with real-life situations such as a man on a ship being overthrown by his crew to show how philosophers have so much knowledge, but we do not know how to use it so we see them as useless. He creates this idealistic society that seems almost too perfect which is where he is not so persuasive. This all begins from his explanation of the Myth of the Metals. The myth tells a story of how each person has a set of gold, silver, bronze, or iron within them given by Mother Nature. The reason Plato implements this myth is so that each person will not fight for what they think they deserve. Instead, when they are given a class, they will know their place. The story is not very appealing because he does not allow people to have the freedom to decide what they what to be. If someone was born into the “iron” group, they weren't ever even considered or allowed to be a philosopher king. The concept of this utopian society is too good to be true because Socrates wants people to perform their function to the fullest and to do so for the city, thinking about everyone else before themselves and leading to a diminished government.
Before talking about democracy or the democratic man, Socrates goes in depth to describe the order of governments and how each one breaks down into the next. At the top is an aristocracy which is the best people in power and the type of government seen in Kallipolis. A timocracy follows after being a government of honor and respect. From a timocracy comes an oligarchy, which rulers are rich and only focused on obtaining property and wealth. Once an oligarchy breaks down, a democracy will be put in place which put’s the people in power and is mistaken for being the best type of government because everyone is free to do as they please. This is an issue for Socrates which will be discussed later. After a democracy falls, tyranny is the final and worst stage in the philosophers’ eyes. A tyranny is ruled by someone who will give to the poor just to keep them quiet and kill those who bother him or who frustrate him for no apparent reason, leading to anarchy. The governments that the interlocutors and Socrates discuss show how a perfectly good and healthy society can erupt into one that is filled with revolts and slavery.
Going back to how a democracy rises from an oligarchy, the people’s souls and appetites are focused on the wrong thing. When an oligarchy is present, the people are rich in power and only think of themselves and their success rather than the city. This causes an immense split between those what want many and those that want philosophy. Along with that, the poor and the rich will be separated. Eventually, the poor will need money which will lead to more crimes, no education, and rulers will, again, only think about themselves. The number of poor people in the city will grow and eventually they will overthrow the government to create a democracy—a society built around the people. Because the people are in power (or the poor for this matter), all decisions for the government will be based on a fair, voting system, like most societies today. However, the issue that Socrates sees is that the person who is most qualified to rule will not always get the position because it is based off what the people want or who is well-liked. These people are more than likely to be a democratic man. Since a democracy derives directly from an oligarchy, those who are categorized as “democratic men” are not educated correctly. Throughout his life, the man will be indecisive and choose the pleasure most enjoyable to him in that particular moment. Therefore, he cannot be a good ruler because he does not know what is best for the city.
Although Socrates does not agree with this type of government, there are positives to take out of it such as freedom and diversity. A democracy allows people to do whatever they desire, whether that is education, speech, or religion. From this, the citizens are happy with their lives and how the government is running. However, for Socrates, Plato, and even Aristotle, the concept of happiness is not something to take lightly. Human happiness is thought of as enjoying the task at hand or being satisfied with what an individual has. In the eyes of these great philosophers, this is wrong. To acquire happiness is to be virtuous and good. It is fulfilling the human function and finding the ends or goal of each person’s kind.
Aristotle talks deeply about the Greek word Eudaimonia, which literally translates to “good spirit” and means more like flourishing or growing. It involves the human function and is not always sunshine and flowers. To find true happiness, one must go to the end of things and repeat their purpose over and over again. Through that, they will become happy. Socrates is right to challenge the sense of freedom in a democracy because it diverts people away from their purpose or function. Although being happy in someone’s eyes might be sitting on a couch at home and overeating, they are not fulfilling what they were born to do. It affects happiness because when people are free their appetites take over. Aristotle talks about the idea of happiness in depth which deals with pleasure, virtues, and being good. In terms of democracy, Aristotle does not mention this form of government in his book, but he does elaborate on the idea of politics playing an important role in shaping a person to be good. In Book X Chapter 9, the last section of the book, Aristotle transitions from ethics into politics and says how good laws will shape a person into being a good citizen and being taught good virtues: “It is best, then, if the community attends to upbringing, and attends correctly…for his children are already fond of him and naturally ready to obey” (Aristotle 1180a 30-1180b 7). Again, a democracy is a government where people are in power and make decisions. The freedom allows people to vote and do whatever they want. One can say, then, that Aristotle believes a democracy will cause problems for the community because they laws that will be created will not be just nor good.
Throughout the Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the idea of justice is always the main subject in which everything revolves around. Although one might have their opinion on justice, whether that may be paying debts or being good, Socrates concentrates on the idea of being philosophical to be just. Happiness and having good virtues within the individual and the city come from a justice which helps one see the truth and stay away from beliefs. Democracy being the best form of government is nothing more than a belief because as discussed, Socrates easily states that the democratic men within a society can never be taught the right things and will now be able to rule a city. As seen in the final book of Plato’s elaborate text, he talks about the Myth of Er which concludes that those who are philosophers will prevail over those who have no knowledge. Philosophers will always have a better concept of justice and how a government should be ruled. Without justice, an individual will not be able to understand how they should fulfill their function, which will lead to an unsuccessful life filled with beliefs and no concept of Eudaimonia.