Republic Book 2

A detailed Summary of Republic Book 2

In Book II of the Republic, Socrates and others begin an inquiry into the real nature of justice and injustice and their respective advantages. Although Socrates makes the statement, "Now as we are not remarkably clever..." his suggestion on how to proceed with this inquiry yields a very clever analogy. Socrates compares looking for the true nature of justice with a shortsighted person trying to read small inscription from a distance. I find this remarkably clever because he allows you to visualize how difficult a task this would be. Socrates then goes on to say that it would be a godsend if someone were to point out that a large-scale version of this inscription existed elsewhere. By making this analogy, Socrates is drawing a visual distinction in the minds of others between justice as it relates to the individual (the small inscription), and justice as it relates to the state (the large inscription). The analogy shows to others that justice exists on a larger scale in the sta!

te and if they look first at larger inscription then they may be able to find justice there on a larger proportion.

With Socrates' suggestion, the men set out first to inquire into what justice mean as it relates to the state.

land from their neighbors. This would once again increase the state because in order to take the land necessary from neighbors to increase the state, an army would be needed. With Socrates' well-directed question and the powerful points he made, you can see injustice for the first time. This clear of injustice exposes where we might find justice. Justice comes from the satisfaction of mutual needs being provided out of mutual respect and fairness. Injustice would certainly come by invading the borders of another state merely to provide your state with luxuries. An army in and of itself would not be unjust if it is only there to provide defense from a possible enemy. An army created for the purpose of expanding for luxuries and not necessities shows a lack of respect.

To accomplish this goal, Socrates proposes that they imagine a state as it is coming to be. This is also a very clever proposal because Socrates is aware that if they try to find justice in a fully functional state, take Athens for example, with all of its intricate workings, their minds would be clouded by what already exists instead of how it came to be. Socrates knew that creating an imaginary state would provide more insight in how justice came into play in the first place and, after all, that is the knowledge they seek. Finding out how justice comes into play in the state will show the true nature of justice in the state and in turn yield insight into the relation of justice and injustice in the individual. The men could weigh their respective advantages only after they identified justice's true nature.

or injustice. He says if they came in with one of the elements, it must be somewhere in their dealing with one another. But his question is not yet answered. At this point, Socrates begins to paint a picture of their imaginary civilization, one not rich with luxury but one suitable to survive happily. At a point in Socrates' explanation of the occurrences in the civilization, Glaucon interrupts him to point out to Socrates that this civilization is fit

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Approximate Word count = 1376
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History