Plato: The Republic - Book 1 Summary and Analysis

Plato wrote the Republic in 380 BC the first book of Plato's Republic is concerned with justice what is justice and why should one behave justly are two questions which Socrates and his interlocutors attempt to answer the first definition of justice is proposed by cephalus cephalus is an old wise and very wealthy man he provides tremendous insight about old age he says that as one grows older the passions relax and one feels as if he has escaped from a mad and furious monster and that one experiences a sense of calm and freedom he also asserts that the greatest benefit his wealth has conferred upon him is that he never needed to intentionally or unintentionally deceive another man for when a man nears the end of his life and considers his past transgressions he begins to fear the potential punishments he will suffer in the afterlife cephalus concludes that justice is paying debts and telling the truth socrates refutes cephalus definition of justice by positing several instances in which it is not just to tell the truth or to pay ones debts for example it is not just to return weapons entrusted to your care to a friend who is not in his right senses furthermore if a friend who is not in his right senses approaches you and inquires where another man is so that he may kill him then it is not just to tell him where that man is cephalus is son polemarchus proposes the second definition he asserts that justice is doing good to friends and evil to enemies socrates refutes this definition by asserting that the just man never does evil even to his enemies socrates states that when something inflicts harm upon a horse the horse deteriorates in the excellence of a horse similarly when something injures a man the man deteriorates in the excellence of a man which is justice but a horseman by his art cannot injure a horse nor can a musician by his art make men unmusical similarly a just man by justice cannot make a man unjust thus Socrates concludes only unjust men injure other men to do evil is never just the rasa Marcius provides the third definition he states that justice is the interest of the stronger the rasa Marcus elaborates that there are different types of governments tyrannies democracies and aristocracies each government makes laws according to their own particular interests and these laws are the Justice which they deliver to their citizens anyone who breaks the laws is unjust because the government has the power to make the laws it is the stronger and therefore justice is the interest of the stronger Socrates refutes threats and markets by demonstrating that rulers are liable to err and pass laws that are not in their best interest some laws command citizens to behave contrary to the interest of the stronger if justice is merely obeying the laws then justice is not always the interest of the stronger thrust Marcus counters that when rulers pass laws contrary to their interest then they are not the stronger at that point in time the rest Marcus uses an analogy of a mathematician when a mathematician makes a mistake while calculating he is not a mathematician insofar as the name implies at that time when he airs his skill fails him and he is not a mathematician Socrates proceeds to explain that every art has an interest the art of medicine is concerned with the interests of the patient the art of horsemanship is concerned with the interests of the horse no art is concerned with its own interest because it has none no physician in so far as he is a physician considers his own good in what he prescribes but only the good of the patient thus a ruler makes laws in the interest of the ruled and not in the interest of himself each art gives us a particular good medicine gives us good health navigation gives us safety on the Seas payment gives us money we do not confuse the goods of each art with one another for example the art of navigation is not confused with the art of medicine because one becomes healthy on a sea voyage furthermore we do not confuse the art of making money with the art of medicine because one becomes healthy when he receives payment the artist never regards its own interest but only the interest of its subjects and thus men must be paid to rule because they pass laws in the interest of their subjects and not themselves society can pay rulers three different ways with money honor or by withholding a penalty for refusing to rule men who are not avaricious or ambitious are penalized if they do not rule because men less just than they will rule if they do not dress and Marcus declares that the unjust man is much happier than the just man and that the just man is in fact miserable therefore according to threats of Marcos injustice is more advantageous than justice Socrates proves that justice is wisdom and virtue while injustice is ignorant and vice by using an analogy of mathematicians just as a mathematician does not desire to go beyond a mathematician but he does desire to be more knowledgeable in mathematics than someone who is not a mathematician so too does the just man not desire more than the just but does desire more than the unjust likewise the man who is ignorant of mathematics desires more than the mathematician and the non mathematicians just as the unjust man desires more than both the just and unjust finally because justice is wisdom and virtue it is stronger than injustice which is ignorant Socrates also notes that the unjust are incapable of common action a group of thieves must behave justly towards one another if they wish to conspire if they are truly unjust they would inflict evil upon one another and would not be able to work towards a common cause injustice is even more fatal in one individual injustice renders an individual and capable of any action because of the internal disorder finally socrates concludes that everything has an end and an excellence the end of the eye is sight the end of the ear is hearing in the end of the soul is happiness if an eyes particular excellence deteriorates then it will not be capable of achieving its particular end accordingly if the soul's excellence which is justice deteriorates then it will not be capable of attaining its end which is happiness socrates concludes book 1 by acknowledging that he has not adequately described the true nature of justice but rather has only identified a few superficial attributes and consequences of behaving justly

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Keywords: Academy of Ideas, Socrates, Wisecrack, Sparknotes, Books, The School of Life, Philosophy (Field Of Study), Philosophy Tube, Video Sparknotes, 8-Bit Philosophy, The Republic (Book), Thug Notes, Plato (Author)

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Length: 6min 39sec (399 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 06 2014