Justice In The Republic Of Plato, By Socrates

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In “The Republic of Plato,” Socrates seems to be having a conversation with other citizens to find out what the definition of justice is; however, he disproves what they have to say and begins to define it how he wishes. The first victim was Cephalus. He proposed the idea that justice is, “Paying your debts and telling the truth.” This appeared to be a valid response, for he explained that if you tell the truth you are being an honorable person, and if your debts to the gods or to another person are paid, you will never owe anybody anything. Socrates thinks otherwise, for he explains that some debts should not be paid. He gives the example that you would not give back a borrowed weapon to someone if they had gone mad in the meantime because it would not be ‘right’ to give a dangerous object to a mentally ill person. As for telling the truth, Socrates thinks that there are some truths that need to not be told, meaning that telling the truth to an unstable person comes with hesitation for it may make their mental state shift. Cephalus is quick to give up and hand the argument over.…show more content…
Polemarchus finds this to be the best way to define the complicated nature of justice. On the contrary, Socrates raises the question: How can you tell who is your enemy and who is your friend? Appearances are often deceiving and with that it is difficult to be sure whom you can trust. Polemarchus tries to redefine who is a trustworthy person and who is not, but Socrates replied that no person should ever intentionally harm another. With these assertions, Polemarchus stepped back and decided to support Socrates in his quest to find out what justice

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