Justice in the Republic Matt Young College

Like many other works of ancient Greek literature, Plato’s Republic focuses primarily on the question of the nature of justice. Through the progression of the book, the characters (led by Socrates) engage in dialogue in pursuit of an understanding of the concept. In the process various participants put forth their opinions on the subject, their definitions of justice being rigorously evaluated and discarded or amended as necessary. In the course of the first four books of the Republic, two directly contradicting propositions draw more attention and debate than any others: those advocated by Thrasymachus and Socrates. Thrasymachus’s argument, once probed by Socrates, states that the most desirable life is the one in which the individual puts his own interests above those of others – in popular terms, injustice. As a point of clarification, he argues for his own view on the nature of the highest good (i.e. justice), but accepts the use of the word “injustice” to describe his position so as to minimize confusion. Socrates’s view, on the other hand, holds that the best life is that of a just man, which is one whose soul is correctly structured with regard to its three parts (the reasoning, spirited, and appetitive). By examining...