Justice In Plato’s Republic Justice in Plato’s Republic Paper 2 In the Republic, Plato attempts to answer one of philosophy’s most central questions: What is justice or right conduct? Thrasymachus, who is upset at Socrates’ rhetoric interrupts, suggests that justice is what is in the interest of the stronger. Thrasymachus’s view of justice is that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Thrasymachus explains this by expressing that the government makes rules to its own advantage and so it is declared just for their people.
Socrates argues Thrasymachus’s view by insisting that rulers command certain acts on their subjects which sometimes mistake their own best interest causing themselves harm. Thrasymachus agrees with Socrates that rulers often do act against what is in their own interest and that sometimes the stronger orders the weaker, their subject, to do what is disadvantageous to themselves. Thrasymachus says it is just to obey the orders of the rulers and just is the advantage of the stronger. The more important opinion of justice by Thrasymachus is that justice benefits other people while injustice benefits you. The stronger person uses his/her strength advantage to his/her advantage. Socrates catches Thrasymachus contradicting himself by stating that justice requires doing what is to the stronger advantage.
Thrasymachus says that the stronger sometimes makes mistakes and orders something not to his advantage and justice requires subjects to obey stranger. Therefore, justice sometimes requires subjects to do what is not to the stronger’s advantage. This statement is a contradiction to Thrasymachus’s first remark. Thrasymachus then introduces craft assumption. Socrates believes that true crafts people pursue not their own advantage, but the subjects of their craft and that rulers are considered craftsmen. Socrates concludes that true rulers seek not their own advantage, but their advantage of their subjects.
Rulers use their craft to the advantage of their subject and not for their own advantage. Thrasymachus denies that true craftsman seek not their own advantage but, the subjects of their craft by giving example of the shepherds and cowherds. They do not seek the good of their animal instead their sole purpose is fattening them for their own good. The question that is produced is: What makes something the subject of a craft? Two elements make something a subject. First, it needs to be the thing that is practiced on. Sheep are the shepherd’s subject because they are being practiced on.
The second thing is that the subject is the beneficiary of the craft. In this case, patients are the subjects of the doctor because they are the ones being treated of the illness. The dictionary definition of justice is that it is an abstract principle by which right and wrong are defined or the principle of moral or ideal rightness. This objection creates a major point of controversy that Socrates would like to expose falsehood. One example that Socrates points to is the honor among thieves.
The same way that division and self interest pulls apart thieves, injustice will pull apart the soul. Philosophy.
