Socrates, Plato, And The Nature Of Justice - 1363 Words

Socrates, Plato, and the Nature of Justice Throughout human history, humans have sought perfection and the ideal most likely to compensate for the unfairness and defectiveness of their day to day lives. The history of human kind has witnessed many in different cultures. The famous Greek philosopher Socrates, who was born 469 BCE and died some forty years later standing for his ideas and ideals in a famous trial as reported by one of his students, Plato (428-347) BCE, is an example that never dies. The idealistic views of Socrates cannot be clearer than what they are on the most famous of Plato’s books, the Republic. The Republic is said to be the most influential book in western history after the Bible and has four themes to it: Justice†¦show more content†¦Given historical facts about that period, Thrasymachus viewed justice as a tool, or to be more precise, a tool in the hands of the powerful and few. In his metaphors, Thrasymachus implies that justice is merely instrumental â€Å"The shepherd truly thinks of fleecing his sheep† 343b. Implying that justice is all about benefit of the powerful. On this part of the meaning of justice Socrates offers a completely different view. He contradicted Thrasymachus’ views by stating that what is in the interest of the strong may not be that obvious after all, and that by making mistakes, the justice of the powerful has worked against his interest. Socrates also later offers a view on the definition of justice that states justice is â€Å"the right condition of the human soul†. On the part of the second theme, of whether it is better to be just of unjust. Thrasymachus clearly states that despite how you define justice, it is better to be unjust than to be just. Thrasymachus states that the unjust man is happier than the just man. And that the unjust man will do better than the just man if they happen to encounter each other. Thrasymachus also adds the fact of how things are to the equation and reminds Socrates that high ranking politicians are corrupt, and that they got to their positions by being unjust. To this point Socrates objects