Republic Book 1 Essay Research Paper Book

Republic: Book 1 Essay, Research Paper

Book 1 of Plato’s Republic raises the question what is justice. Four views of justice are examined. The first is that justice is speaking the truth and paying one’s debt. The second is that justice is helping one’s friends and harming one’s enemies. The third view of justice is that it is to the advantage of the stronger. The last view is that injustice is more profitable than justice.

The book begins by explaining that at the time many Athenians are celebrating the introduction of a new goddess at the city of Piraeus. Socrates and a companion, Glaucon, are returning from the festivities when Polemarchus see them. Polemarchus insists that they come to his home for some conversation with his friends and Socrates agrees. He cannot resist an opportunity to discuss philosophy with a group of noble young people.

Cephalus, Polemarchus’s father, is in the house. Socrates sees how old he has grown and wants to know if old age is a difficult part of life. Cephalus says he is happy to have escaped the all-encompassing bodily pleasures and is now content. He then adds that if he had not had a good character, then he would not be able to enjoy old age. Socrates then asks him if he thinks he endures old age easily because he is wealthy. Is acquiring wealth the most important thing in life. Socrates, who is poor by choice, implies that men like Cephalus often forget about the conditions that make their kind of life possible.

Cephalus admits that his wealth makes it possible for him to live a well-balanced life. He does not have to deceive others and he is not in debt to any god or any man. Socrates then asks Cephalus is he means that justice is simply telling the truth and honoring one’s debts. Cephalus says that this is what he means. Because of his wealth he can die satisfied, his duty of providing for his family after death fulfilled. Thus, for Cephalus justice is a matter of self-interest, a view that agrees with the laws of the city and the traditional religious beliefs.

Socrates objects to Cephalus by asking if there are times when one should not tell the truth or repay debts. Because Cephalus’ definition of justice does not apply in all cases, Socrates says that it is not a good definition.

Suddenly Cephalus says he must leave; there are still debts to be paid to the gods. He refuses to be drawn into a philosophical discussion because it might threaten his beliefs.

The tone Socrates uses is casual and the language is simple. This serves to belie the complexity and elevation of the ideas which draws the young men into the conversation by feigned ignorance, only so Socrates can show that he does not know what he thinks he knows. The tone also complements truth and wisdom.

After Cephalus leaves, the discussion becomes more serious and complex. Polemarchus carries on his father’s argument. However, unlike his father he is not concerned with the role of justice in religious matters. Polemarchus relies on authorities other than the gods or laws. He borrows a saying from a poet that says that justice is “giving every man his due”. Socrates says that he does not know what the poet means, so he asks what is it that is due and who is it due to. Socrates knows, for example, what the functions of medicine and cooking are. However, he does not know what the function of justice is. Polemarchus says that justice is benefiting one’s friends and harming one’s enemies.

Socrates begins refuting Polemarchus’ argument by asking him to explain in what ways justice can be helpful and harmful. Through a series of leading questions (Is the just man more useful than the farmer in producing crops. Than the builder in constructing houses. Etc.) Socrates leads Polemarchus to the conclusion that justice must be useless. Socrates then says that because justice, according to Polemarchus, appears to be the craft of keepers of things not in use (money and property), and because good keepers are in a position to be the best thieves, justice appears to be the craft of thievery, to the benefit of one’s friends.

Polemarchus objects to Socrates’ conclusion. Socrates says that maybe his problem is that he does not know what Polemarchus means by “friend.” Polemarchus responds that friends are those who we think are good and helpful to us. However, asks Socrates, can we be mistaken about who our friends and enemies are. If we can, we may be helping or harming the wrong people, which could not be justice. Thus there is a contradiction, justice can both help and harm friends. Polemarchus then says that a friend is someone that is good is a friend.

Socrates then says that it cannot be a function of justice to harm anyone at all. Do we not consider justice to be an excellence of character. Socrates then says that no excellence – whether of horses or humans – is ever achieved through destructive means. The function of justice is to improve human nature. Whatever else it is, justice is a form of goodness that cannot participate in anything injurious to someone’s character.

Socrates uses his Socratic method when he seeks to find out what justice is. It is a technique of questions and answers used to discover knowledge. By questioning someone, Socrates refines their definition of something and thus together they reach a better understanding. The flaw of this type of method is that it presumes t