Plato’s Republic aims to teach us that justice, in itself, is worthwhile, and that it is better to be just than unjust. It is better to be just than unjust for the just person avoids a life of misery, and the just person lives a happy life. It also goes so far as to teach the value of moderation and self-control to citizens of democracy and democracy itself.
In trying to create the argument of why it is better to be just than unjust, Plato first creates an analogy of the state/city to individuals. In the state, there exist different roles or classes. The city contains four virtues which are dispersed amongst the different classes in society. The four virtues consist of wisdom, courage, temperance/moderation, and justice (pg. 94-109) Temperance, or moderation, and justice are universally dispersed amongst everyone in the city; however, courage and wisdom are granted to a select few, particularly the Guardians (pg. 88-96). It is emphasized in Book IV that there are roles in......
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Approximate Word Count: 1684
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |