by Roxanne Jones

Created on: October 12, 2009

Plato's Republic is a piece of literature that was written around 380BC in Ancient Greece by the Athenian Philosopher Plato who was the teacher and mentor of Aristotle. The story is written in the form of a Socratic dialogue between Socrates and the other characters in the story, Glaucon, Adeimantus, Thrasymacus, and Polemarchus. This book is about what justice is, what makes a virtuous individual, why justice is important, and what is the ideal state. Plato says that the best form of government is a type of Aristocracy where the philosopher-kings rule.

What is Justice?

One of the main things discussed in The Republic is defining what justice is and why it is important. Early on in the book Thrasymacus says that justice is what is advantageous for the stronger. In response to this, Socrates starts a dialogue in which he picks apart Thrasymacus' definition of justice. Socrates is then asked by Glaucon and Adeimantus to defend why a man would be better off if he were just but were seen and treated badly as if he were unjust while another man was treated well because everyone thought he was just even though he was in fact unjust. In other words, they ask Socrates to give reasons why being a just person is worthwhile in and of itself and not simply for its good consequences. Plato then defines justice by first describing the just city, Kallipolis. In Kallipolis, philosopher-kings rule because they are the only ones with knowledge of the true form of The Good. They see things clearly and can understand things as they really are and this helps them make decisions about what is best for their city. Everyone in the just city has their own function which is to do what they do well; Producers must follow they passion for wealth and produce for the others, Guardians must follow their passion for honor and protect the others, and the philosophers must follow they passion for knowledge and understanding what the good is. This, according to Plato, is what justice is; where all of the parts of the city work together for the greater good of the city. And by analogy, justice in the individual is when all of the parts of the individual work together in harmony, the appetitive, the spirited, and the intellectual parts. Justice is good in and of itself because only the just person can be truly happy. The unjust person always wants more and his greed will always make him miserable

Theory of Forms

The famous allegory of the cave is presented in Plato's Republic. In the allegory of the cave, three men are chained in a dark cave and cannot see the real world, the only thing they can see are shadows on the cave wall. One of the prisoners is freed and goes out into the sun and sees the world. After he leaves the cave he can never see things the same way again. The allegory of the cave is used to describe what philosophers are; they see things as they truly are. They understand the true form of things and it is their job to inform those who are still in the cave about the forms and true wisdom.

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