Government 3

A detailed Summary of Government 3

Plato's profound early writing on politics, ethics and education discussed in the Republic are the foundations of today's governments, nations and discourses. At least that is what I am told. Plato's ideology and reasoning are not always the most believable and desirable, it makes me wonder which part of today's government practices must give due to the Republic (to be discovered in Gov 101). While it is easy to be disgusted with Plato's idealism and philosophy, which seems to deter any type of an acceptable nightlife, it does leave the reader with a desire to keep trudging through endless mounds of self-indulged prose to discover Plato's reasoning. One such view, that I've been asked to dissect, is Plato's idea of justice. Before I read the Republic justice always seemed like such a simple thing, what is right, however now it's more than that. I shall examine Plato's description of a discussion between Socrates and Thrasymachus on justice in order to understand some of Plato's views.

Thrasymachus defines justice as "nothing other than the advantage of the stronger" (Book I, 338c). This bold ignorant statement causes Socrates to spring in and draws Thrasymachus into a debate on what true justice entails. Thrasymachus exp

Socrates' arguments usually involve a large amount of word twisting and manipulating Thrasymachus' original statement to mean something never intended. But this strategy works well for Socrates, so he sticks with it. In this, Socrates discusses the natural errors every human is liable to make. Thrasymachus, of course, agrees that every human makes errors, and that yes, every tyrant is human, therefore they are inclined to make errors, and yes, they may by error make unjust laws that the citizens follow. Therefore these citizens in order to be just, must follow laws that are unjust to the tyrant which is than not the advantage of the stronger.

Thrasymachus makes a decent point when he compares the ruler, to a shepherd. A shepherd does not care about the welfare of his sheep, but rather cares to use the sheep to his own well. He explains "that justice is really the good of another, the advantage of the stronger and the ruler, and harmful to the one who obeys and serves" (Book I 343c). Here, Socrates is able to use Thrasymachus' previous statements to prove he is wrong. A shepherd's job is to look over the sheep, not to sell them and the same is true for a ruler, he is there to rule; or as Socrates explains it, "every kind of rule, insofar as it rules, doesn't seek anything other than what is best for the things it rules and cares for," (Book I 345d). A ruler receives a wage to rule, therefore he is ruling for the people, and receiving a wage for him, each craft has a different function, but they all have the same wage earning function.

It is this final argument that closes the book for me. I see Socrates argument as making the most sense, a man seeking justice only for himself would not rule, because he could get that same justice throug

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Approximate Word count = 1190
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics