The Life Of Plato s The Republic - 1340 Words

Throughout the early books of Plato’s The Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors Adeimantus, Polemarchus, Glaucon, Thrasymachus, and to a lesser extent Cephalus, explore what it means to be just and why justice is preferable to injustice. This topic was brought up in a monologue from Cephalus, who is an old patriarch that represents Greek tradition and thus offers a traditional view of justice. One by one, all of the interlocutors attempt to define justice, with Socrates disagreeing with at least some part of each definition. After not being able to define justice for a majority of the early portions of The Republic, Socrates finally comes to the conclusion that â€Å"[the just man] doesn’t let each part in him mind other people s business or the three classes in the soul meddle with each other, he arranges himself, becomes his own friend, and harmonizes the three part† (443d2-6). In other words, the just man lets each part of his soul rule itself. The rational part of our soul seeks truth, the spirited part of our soul seeks honor, and the appetitive part of our soul seeks our more earthly desires, such as sex, food and economic success. After this, the conversation would seem to be over. As we know, however, The Republic is not even half over. There are several critical factors behind the continuation of The Republic, but it all has to do with unanswered questions, continued debate and, above all, digression.. While creating the city in speech, Socrates make severalShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Plato s Republic, Glaucon And Adeimantus1410 Words   |  6 Pages In Book II of Plato’s Republic, Glaucon and Adeimantus present a challenge to Socrates’ view of justice. Previously, in Book I of the Republic, Socrates presents several counterarguments to Thrasymachus’ belief that it is to your own advantage to practice injustice rather than to follow laws, if you can get away with it (Babcock). Glaucon and Adeimantus sought to present a stronger defense to Thrasymachus’ view. The main viewpoint they try to establish is that it is to our advantage to practiceRead MoreThe Great Philosopher728 Words   |  3 Pages2017 The Great Philosopher Plato Plato is known as one of ancient Greece’s greatest philosophers. Plato was born in Athens, Greece during 428 BCE. Some people believe that Plato s real name is Aristocles, if in fact this is true he would have received this name from his grandfather. Historians believed that Plato had two full brother, one sister, and one half brother. They are unsure if Plato was the eldest. They believe that he was since he inherited his grandfather s name, and tradition was thatRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The First Ones 1562 Words   |  7 Pagesminds and Plato and Aristotle were the first philosophers to answer these questions. 2. Plato 2.1. His Life To many people, Plato was known as the first writer of philosophy. 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