A concise yet complete summary of all mandatory chapters (except for two chapters: Rousseau & Hegel) from the book History of Political Theory of Klosko. You can find notes of the lectures (Dutch) here: https://www.stuvia.nl/doc/489702/geschiedenis-van-het-politieke-denken-nantwerpen-hoorcolleges
History of Political Thought I - Chapter 3: Plato: The
Defense of Justice
The Republic
- Plato wrote a book on his political theory, called the Republic; this name may be misleading as
Plato is in reality no fan of republican or democratic government.
The case for injustice
- The arguments Plato gives about the nature and benefits of justice are provided in the form of a
lengthy response to a series of questions posed by Glaucon and Adeimantus.
- Book II of the work begins with Glaucon’s request to examine the benefits of justice. He first
classifies goods as things that contribute to our happiness, either immediately or indirectly.
Building on this logic, there are three types of good things:
- A) Things that are immediately beneficial but without remote consequences, B) things that are
immediately beneficial and have remote consequences that are also beneficial,C) things that
though harmful immediately, have beneficial remote consequences.
- Glaucon asks Socrates to categorize justice into one of these types. Whereas Socrates argues for b,
Glaucon argues for c.
- Glaucon argues that justice, like medical treatment, is something to be avoided if possible. He
argues that the only reason to be just is to gain the favor of other people, and thereby advocates
for the unjust life. His argument consists of three components.
- Nature and origin of justice: It is important to first make a distinction between nature and
convention. Whereas it is in our nature to possess a desire for undue gain, we agree on
contracts so that others will not take advantage of us. It is important to realize this agreement
is entered into only because of weakness.
- All who are just are so unwillingly: For this argument, Glaucon points at the legend of Gyges,
who took whatever he wanted once he became invisible and realized no one would perceive
his acts.
- The above two points make sense, because injustice is better than justice: for this point,
Glaucon hypothesizes what would happen if the just and the unjust men could somehow
exchange reputations. By thinking about this, Glaucon points out that it is the reputation
related to justice that matters, but not justice itself.
- Adeimantus adds upon the argument of Glaucon and states that if one finds only grading
acceptance of justice in the common opinion, and additional the gods do not enforce justice. For
this reason, there is no real reason to comply if one can avoid it.
- Thrasymachus: claims that justice is for suckers.
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The analogy between city and soul
- in order to defend justice, Plato will make use of the analogy between city and soul. This is a
central part of Plato’s work.
- The reason why this analogy can be made is partly because in the time of Plato there were strong
connections between the individual and society, with the people being shaped by the societies in
which they live and the cities subsequently being the way they are because of the kind of people
they contain.
- According to Plato, people can be made just only by being raised in a just society.
- For a moral reformer, then, the inquiry into the nature of the just city is an exploration of the
type of city in which just souls can be formed.
- the central argument made in the Republic centers around three main questions:
- What is justice?
- How does it pay?
- The question of moral reform: how can people be made just?
Virtue in the city
- the central feature of Plato’s just city is a principle of rigid differentiation of function, analogous to
the division of labor, between the three classes of which the city is composed, namely:
- the Rulers: philosopher-kings
- the Auxiliaries: soldiers who support the Rulers
- the Productive Class: the rest except for slaves (which are not counted to be part of the
population at all)
- the first two classes, in a just city, would be educated
- Rulers: they need to be educated because their ruling will go unchecked, so they must be
prevented from making decisions based on self-interest.
- Auxiliaries: it needs to be ensured that these will serve as the Ruler’s loyal subordinates.
- if the education does its job, this would lead to a smoothly functioning city.
- Plato accommodates four traditional virtues in his just city (and soul), namely wisdom, courage,
temperance, and justice.
- Wisdom is embodied by the Rulers, whereas courage is embodied by the Auxiliaries.
Temperance is a virtue that should be present in all classes, and it entails that the are content
with their place in society and remain in their class. When this all is the case, justice will occur.
- Justice, then, is according to Plato, ‘to perform one’s own task and not meddle with that of
others’. The concept of justice is a more simple one than is temperance, in that it simply refers to
people within a class performing the tasks belonging to that class.
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- If the Rulers rule well, this will ensure the smooth functioning of the city and allow the other
virtues to exist as well.
Virtue in the soul
- according to Plato, the soul consists of several elements, of which the following three are thought
to be relevant for the understanding of justice:
- the appetites: short-term wishes and needs.
- the spirit: emotional side of an individual’s image of himself; naturally allied with the reasoning
part. The spirit can manifest itself in anger or shame. It is manifested in the virtue of courage,
and in honor, according to Plato.
- the reason: tries to keep in check the appetites.
- comparing the elements of the soul with the classes of the city, Plato draws the following
similarities:
- Rulers= Reason
- Auxiliaries= spirit
- Productive Class= appetites
- the four virtues are divided over the elements in the same manner as they are over de classes in the
city.
- Just like in the city, Plato proposes that justice in the soul is revealed to be a ‘principle of
specialization’.
- According to Glaucon, Adeimantus, and Thrasymachus, justice centers on kinds of behaviour. In
addition, justice is mostly seen from a negative point of view, as restraining people from doing.
- Socrates proposes justice is about sometimes totally different: justice is about the way one’s soul
is ordered.
Benefits of justice
- After having explained his analogy of city and soul, Plato moves on to compare this city-soul
combination with four different unjust cities and corresponding unjust souls. In order from bad to
worst:
- Timarchic: second best form of state. The just city turns to timarchy when the Auxiliaries elevate
themselves to the position of rulers, just like in Sparta.
- Oligarchic: A timarchy turns into an oligarchy when the auxiliaries give in to their desire for
wealth and rule explicitly in its pursuit. As this city develops, it fosters economic inequality.
Because of its polarized class structure, oligarchy is inherently unstable, and one slight shock
can make it turn into a democracy.
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