Platos Republic

Explain clearly what you think Glaucon is requesting of Socrates when he (Glaucon ) says I 'm going to speak at length in praise of the unjust life , and , in doing , so , I 'll show you the way I want to hear you praising justice and denouncing injustice ' That is , under your interpretation of the text , what is it that Glaucon wants to hear

To the mind of a young thinker , Glaucon , Socrates ' arguments in the Book I of the Republic is beyond acceptable . Book II of the Republic is a continuation of the

previous discussion on the meaning of justice as Socrates had with Thrasymachus . It highlights the argument between Glaucon and Socrates on the definition of justice and injustice . The speech delivered by Glaucon was a provocation , a challenge . It was actually aimed against the view maintained by Socrates beginning near the end of Book I . Apparently , Glaucon challenges Socrates to provide him with a definition of justice which would overcome his own definition and convince him to accept justice on its own value . He does this by going through his long discourses on what injustice is and how it applies to the present society and experience , allowing Socrates to rebut his premises by way of counter arguments and examples . Glaucon wanted Socrates to prove that justice is not only desirable but that it belongs to the highest class of desirable things . These things are those desired both for their own sake and their consequences

For the sake or argument , the thesis that Glaucon maintained in Book II of the Republic from which he draws his definition of justice is basically taken up from of that of the Sophist Thrasymachus ' definition To Glaucon , right is the necessity of the weaker and not the interest of the stronger . In sum , he provides that might is still right , but the might is the weakness of the many combined against the strength of the few . Glaucon believed that justice is the compromise between advantage and fear , a social contract . He maintains that people are aware that being unjust is bound to their advantage but they also fear being the victim of injustice . In short , if people can act unjustly without suffering any negative consequences thereof , then they would do unjustly against others without necessarily thinking about the suffering it may do others

Socrates , on the other hand , argues that Justice is a good , a virtue not unlike good health and forms of human knowledge that are good in and of themselves . He says that acting unjustly toward others produces interpersonal conflict while acting justly toward others promotes interpersonal harmony . To him , justice promotes happiness , and injustice conversely results to unhappiness . Thus , he attempts to prove that justice is not only good because of its consequences , but that it is intrinsically good . He argues that the attainment of the good is not consequent on the rewards such as money , honor , prestige that it might entail . Socrates attempts to define justice by describing how it may enable the development of social harmony and cooperation . Finally , he believes that justice produces a harmony between the three elements of the individual soul , and between the three s of society

Glaucon 's argument is that injustice is superior to justice , and he clearly is skeptical of Socrates ' definition of injustice . What Glaucon wants to hear , therefore , is Socrate 's convincing rebuttal and counter-arguments on what justice is based on his (Glaucon 's ) definition of what injustice is

In your opinion , does Socrates succeed in praising justice and denouncing injustice in the ways that Glaucon says he wants to hear ? If so , why ? If not , why not

In this early part of the Republic , Glaucon have presented a provocative argument on what justice and injustice is and how injustice is far more superior than justice itself . However , towards the end of Book II Glaucon , probably owing to his youth and insufficient experience , still seemed unimpressed or unconvinced of Socrates ' discussion of justice

It can be seen in the latter sections of Book II that Socrates , to be able to defend justice over injustice , explains justice by way of analogies . Socrates tried to explain justice in terms of the bigger picture (the state ) before moving in to the smaller (the individual Through his discourse and analogies , however , Glaucon gets lost in the meanings and relations of terms and nature of things and presents his difficulty in perceiving parts of Socrates ' arguments . Glaucon admits that he is confused , for example , when Socrates is trying to elucidate the character of the ideal Guardian and says that a well-bred dog has the qualities of a philosopher . As Socrates continued explaining that a family dog and a philosopher share a common trait , and that common trait is knowledge : The dog knows an acquaintance and does not attack , but the dog does not know a stranger and attacks , Glaucon admits of not having realized that of a dog

These are only a few instances when Glaucon may be said to have lacked the experience and knowledge that Socrates as a more experienced and more eloquent philosopher had . This is owing to the fact that Glaucon was a youth . Not that he was younger and lacked the eloquence , but because there simply are instances when a more senior philosopher who has seen more in his lifetime and experience are able to argue on a more solid , if not basically hypothetical foundation

Glaucon was a budding thinker . He was skeptical about issues and he simply cannot accept arguments without convincing him first with the most concrete explanations and dispositions . Because of his inability to perceive parts of Socrates ' arguments , he cannot easily succumb to Socrates ' definition of justice and its superiority over injustice as proposed by Glaucon . It would therefore come to a great length of further dispositions and arguments before he can be convinced of Socrates ' argument . This can be attributed to the fact that his arguments amore grounded on practical experiences and his view of society at that time . His examples are mere manifestations of what was in the present state of society he was moving in

As can be seen in the closing of Book II and in the later parts of Republic , Glaucon still maintains his arguments on the superiority of injustice over justice . Up to Book IX , Glaucon still challenges Socrates ' arguments

Reference

Jowett , B . Republic by Plato . Retrieved February 15 , 2008 , from MIT 's the Internet Classics Archives Website http /classics .mit .edu /Plato /republic .html ...