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Platos Theory of Justice

Bev and Aby


Justice is
Harmony.
Justice is (book 4, 434c)

Harmony.
(book 4, 434c)

Justice is Doing
Justice is Doing
ones own job.
ones own job. (book 4, 443b)
(book 4, 443b)
Two main analogies to examine the definition of
Justice.
Soul
Appetitive
Rational
Spirited
State
The workers
The soldiers
The rulers
APPETITIVE
The part with which it lusts, hungers,
thirsts, and gets excited.
Part of the soul that can be hungry for
immoral gratification and has no rational
consciousness in its desires.
Leads us to the need of defining another
part in the soul.
RATIONAL
The one that can keep the appetite
restrained.
Enables the soul to differentiate between
good and bad.
The part that calculates, makes
balanced decisions.
Having the good part of the whole soul
as its interest.
SPIRITED
Courageous
Vigorous
Strong willed
It is naturally allies with the rational, if it
hasnt been corrupted by upbringing.
Described by Plato as the courageous
ally of the Rational which has control
over the Appetitive part of the soul.
WORKERS
Are the people that are best fitted to
practice a specific form of labor.
The part of the society whose role is to
provide food, clothes and other
necessities the state will require.
Are required to be moderate and
obedient to their ruler.
SOLDIERS
Are the people best fitted to fight.
They hold firmly to the patriotic attitude
needed in order to defend the state from
foreign and domestic enemies
MUST posses the virtue of courage and be
well educated in order to stay LOYAL, and
not harm the citizens.
Are naturally stronger
RULER
Are the people who are fitted with the
burden of ruling their state.
Posses the virtue of WISDOM.
Must not seek glory and fame of being a
ruler.
They understand the rules and will do
everything within their power to preserve
it.
The division of the people
into pre-determined types in
the state is assumed to be
done truthfully, according to
their natural abilities.
Noble Lie
The idea that mother nature creates
people out of three materials.

Gold Fitted to rule


Silver Fitted to defend and guard
Bronze Fitted to work
Plato claims that justice is the same in
the soul and in the state. The
resemblance suggest that both the
workers and the appetitive share the
virtue of moderation for they have to be
moderate in their desires. Both the
guardians and the spirited share the
virtue of courage in order to guard the
whole. Finally both the ruler and rational
share the virtue of wisdom in order to
control the workers and the appetitive,
with the help of the guardians/ spirited.
With one goal, that is for the good of the
whole state/ soul.
In the analogy of the state, Plato supports the definition of justice as
Doing ones own work. It now becomes obvious that in order for justice
to remain in the state, each person has to do his own work and not
meddle with anothers
Plato responds with his belief that justice will not exit in its full until the
philosophers became kings and the kings became philosophers. What Plato
claims is that a king could rule in a just manner, therefore maintain justice,
only if he has knowledge of the forms.
Reaches an
understanding far beyond
I the stage of thought, an True form
N understanding of the true Goodness Stage of understanding
V forms.
I
S Intelligible realm, Numbers
I Hypothesis Stage of thought
consists of
B mathematical Universe
L entities Souls
E

Animals
can see the
Trees Stage of belief
objects as they
Tables
really are
V Cars
(confined to the
I Birds
visible aspect)
S Etc.
I
B Paintings
Images, shadows Stage of imagination
L Sculpture
and the mere Reflection
E
reflections of the Theater
objects they portray Fiction

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