Plato’s Republic, is a classic philosophical novel that covers many points and topics regarding philosophy, one of the main points includes justice. In this essay I will be answering the question of whether justice in the soul is choice worthy for its own sake. While this topic is quite complex, I will use a mixture of personal analysis as well as evidence from the book itself to assert that justice in the soul is the best choice for its own sake.
In the following paragraphs I will discuss what justice in the soul is, why justice in the soul is choice worthy and lastly to what extent this choice entails. Justice in the soul is not an easily understood concept. The definition of justice according to Socrates builds upon itself throughout the first four books of Plato’s novel. In book one, Socrates explains that justice allows us to be happy. He says that being just is a part of becoming happy and asserts that it is even happiness itself.
In book two, Glaucon adds more to the definition of justice and claims that justice is always the right choice, regardless of whatever benefits other choices might offer. The final piece of this definition comes in book four where Socrates shows us that justice allows people to be excellent, which in turn creates happiness. All of these exchanges come together to create one complete definition of justice in the soul. Based upon these three assertions, I believe that justice in the soul is essentially like our health.
Our happiness is created when things are just and when justice occurs, our virtues come into play, which in turn helps us find our true nature. In book four, section 444E, Socrates states that, “Virtue, then, so it seems, is a sort of health, a fine and good state of the soul; because vice seems to be a shameful disease and weakness. ” Socrates compares health to virtue because virtue is an essential part of happiness. If we have good virtue, ultimately we are just and when we are just, we create ur own happiness. Therefore, justice in the soul in the most basic sense is our existential health. By having good virtue and being just in our thinking and actions it allows our souls to thrive, because when we sin and are unjust it’s like getting a deadly disease that drains our bodies and our lives. Throughout the first four books, Socrates makes an effort to assert that justice, both as a generality and as well as justice in the soul, is the same as being excellent at being human and happy.
Using the definition of justice in the soul as well as details from the text, I believe that Socrates did find success in proving his point that excellence in being happy and being just is the same. Going further into my earlier point about the correlation between justice and happiness, the first evidence of his assertions is noticed in book one. Starting in section 343A, Socrates and Thrasymachus argue about the benefits of injustice. Thrasymachus continually lists the benefits of being unjust.
However, Socrates states that although there are many benefits to injustice, he is not persuaded by them. Socrates then goes on to talk about functions of both crafts and people and how being just or unjust creates wildly different scenarios. For example, if a craftsman does not focus on his craft and does not do his best work every time, he will no longer be excellent which makes him unjust. Near the end of book one, in section 354A, line 5, Socrates boldly claims that, “a just person is happy and an unjust one wretched. Thrasymachus agrees to this claim which leads Socrates to state that, “Injustice is never more profitable than justice. “(354A, lines 8&9). Just based upon these claims, one can assume that it is logical that being just creates happiness. An Important detail to note is his claim about the profitability of justice. While justice has no true monetary value by itself, the decisions made with justice in mind may not immediately “pay” as much as something unjust but over time, these unjust decisions actually hurt us and force us to choose to find solutions to fix these problems.
The stress brought upon ourselves from these decisions effects our health, both physically and mentally. Excellence in human function basically boils down to being the best you can be and doing good at whatever your talents may be. I believe that Socrates does a good job of explaining this through his descriptions of the functions of the human function and their respective virtue. These descriptions allowed me to make a connection between the value of justice and the effects human nature and virtue have on it.
Based on this analysis, I believe that Socrates has successfully proven that being just is the same as being excellent. Finally, we must address how serious we must take Socrates assertions. I believe that he was very successful in proving that we all have justice in the soul and that being just is just as good as being excellent at being human and happy, and I also believe that his assertions are something that can be taken to heart. While I do agree that injustice does have benefits, I also believe that justice outweighs those benefits.
Looking at justice from further back, one must realize that the effects of choosing to be just will not immediately show themselves. By being unjust you may experience immediate benefits, but overall being just is better. As Socrates explains throughout the first four books, justice is an essential piece of the formula for happiness. By being just and having virtue in what you do, you live better and live happier. Simply speaking from a logical standpoint, this makes sense. If we do the right thing and do everything to the best of our ability, then life becomes much easier and less stressful.
If we are constantly trying to take advantage of people and make massive amounts of money, we may be happy for the moment. Although over time all we have to show our friends and family are material goods rather than experiences which truly give us joy and happiness. Socrates speaks on this mainly in book one and four where he talks about how money can corrupt us. If the wrong people get too much money or make too little, it upsets the balance of our souls. His example included the craftsman who made a lot of money, which in turn made him care less about the quality of is goods.
He was being unjust and worried about how much money he had rather than being just and being excellent at what he did. This also comes into effect in book four where he speaks about the different types of people. There are certain people who must be poor, but just while the unjust spend the money and live more extravagant lives. This creates balance between the classes and justice is at the core of this balance. Overall, Socrates once again does a good job in describing the details surrounding justice and virtue and how important they truly are.
Based upon evidence created in the paragraphs above, justice in the soul is choice worthy for its own sake. Justice, in essence, is like a life force. Virtue and justice in the soul helps keep us alive, whereas injustice is like a terminal disease that slowly kills us. Justice may not always prove to be best in the short-term, but over time, justice will always prove to be more profitable than injustice. By investing in justice and your personal virtue, life itself becomes better. Therefore, I believe that justice in soul is choice worthy for its own sake.