Arias Rivera 1

Frida Arias Rivera

Kain

PHIL 11A

28 September 2018

Take Home Exam 1

Plato’s concept of a “just” state is primarily explained in his book the Republic. Plato’s

just society is built off of the self that establishes and maintains the republic. The just state is

made up of three levels in society. There are the guardians, who are philosophers, and Plato

explains, should govern the city. There are the auxiliaries who are the soldiers who defend the

state. Finally, the bottom class is made up of the producers which would be the craftsmen,

farmers, etc. Each specialization of class helps maintain the just state so long as those individuals

are following the rules of the state. Justice is defined as “the having and doing of one’s own and

what belongs to oneself.” In the fable of the Ring of Gyges, it is shown that people are more

focused on appearing to be just rather than truly being just, but it is truly being just that you will

be able to live a good life.

The idea that people are more likely to act without fairness solely out of fear of

punishment sets the premise for justices for the people. However, if justice is good in itself, and

if the people believe that they will face consequences for their misbehavior, people will not act

unjustly and possibly find their justice within themselves, but it is not enough to simply behave

justly. In the just state, Plato hopes to have his citizens develop their just self; he believes that the

just self can serve the community and be a benefit too not being ruled by desires but rather

morals and well being. This will cause the state to be just if everyone is able to respect what is in

place. Justice is more than a political being but rather the state of a person’s soul.
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As for the just self, Socrates gives a metaphor of a chariot and its horses: the chariot

being reason as the one in control, appetite being stubborn, and spiritedness which is noble and

used by reason to help control the stubborn horse. When the chariot controls self-desires, one can

be truly just. If a person does not listen to reason, the stubborn horse will be in charge. I agree

with this; however, i think that there are levels to how just a person can be. A truly just person

will only ever listen to reason and ignore all self-desires. No person I have met can actually

ignore all self-desires, it is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, listening to one's desires does not

make them a bad person, it just makes them humans. Platos just self is rare. The argument that a

well-ordered society overcomes the desire for individual freedom goes with the idea that the just

self will help create a just society. It is stated that should follow the rule of authority even if it is

against your morals because as long as the city as a whole is happy, the individual self-does not

matter. I think that when looking at it from a mass view, it is better to have the whole be satisfied

because it will allow for control and order in the society. However, when individual needs are

neglected, it can cause an uproar from the community of people that are bothered by the same

problem, whether the government has control over it or not.

Going back to the just state itself the Guardian class is considerably the most privileged.

The Guardians were believed to be the most suitable to govern the city because of the education

they received. Guardians are given rigorous education programs which teaches them the values

needed to rule the state such as wisdom and honor. This causes a disadvantage to those of lower

class because it does not give a chance for an equal opportunity to all those in the state. While

Plato believes that not all levels of society need the same education, I think that there should be

at least the same opportunity all in order to help keep the state at peace. Moreover, if the same

type of person is in charge, it could cause frustrations from the people of lower classes. While
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there are sets of duties that each class must fulfill, it could be beneficial for classes to work with

each other in struggles that they face in order to make the state as a whole, better. A person with

enough wisdom might be able to create a solution to the problem but I feel that this would cause

rapid burn out and performance quality will drop, thus the wellbeing of the state will be

negatively impacted.

I found it interesting that Plato believes women of the guardian class to be equal to men

due to the ideas that they can bring and the level of intelligence they are able to offer. While they

are able to bring new perspectives to the wellbeing of the state, the same could be said to the

other classes that do not receive education in wisdom and honor. While the lower classes do not

play the most important role in the state, it still places a significant role that must be catered to

with the same privileges as the upper class. There are undiscovered potentials and strengths in all

people that could help the states overall wellbeing.

Another aspect of Plato’s just state involves the family dynamic. I cannot agree with the

idea that there should be no families but rather the city is the family and everyone is loved

equally. I believe that everyone should be loved and care for but the idea contradicts itself with

the idea children being segregated. The stronger and superior children should be kept with

children similar to them while the “inferior,” in simple terms, should not be raised. There is

danger in discarding those who children are seen as inferior. Not only are they not given the

opportunity to reach their full potential but they are seen as a burden to society. While the state

as a whole will be genetically “stronger,” it is hypocritical to not love all children according to

his just state.

Plato clearly establishes that this society is unattainable but I still do not agree with most

of it is just. I believe that the ideology is flawed in the sense that Plato’s justice, to me, would
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need to involve equality. I disagree with Plato’s definition of justice. Justice to me is more of a

societal term rather than personal. Justice to Plato is seen as a part of someone's soul. And while

it can contribute to making the state a better place, it is difficult for everyone to be just. It is

simple to have justices in one's self but it is difficult for everyone in the society to be just

together.