Page 6 - GROUP-2-E-Magazine

S O C R A T E S E T H I C S

V S P O L I T I C S

- P T . 2

Socrates argues in the Republic that justice should be respected
both for its own sake and for its implications. Scholars disagree

about how important politics are in the Republic. This chapter

argues that in Socrates' defense of justice, the account of the
ideal city plays the role of linking justice as a systemic state of

the soul and just conduct.It poses the doubt that the defense is

question-begging, and it explains why this is not the case. The
chapter addresses several methodological implications linked to

the debate in Plato scholarship over the relative positions of
ethics and politics in the Republic's argument. Socrates lays out

the most intellectually demanding criteria for understanding

what justice is in the Republic's middle pages. Socrates
approached the definition of the law from a different

perspective. The ruler's goal should not be to obtain gratification
or fulfill personal whims and desires, but to ensure the welfare

of the common people. The ruler must keep a watchful eye on

the needs of the people, and he should never attempt to satisfy
his own needs. Violation of equality will lead to anarchy,

confusion and disruption to the daily operations of the police.

The equality of Socrates is geometrical equality. "By geometrical
equality Socrates means political justice and fairness or right

decision in terms of political virtue as distinct from mere

numerical or arithmetic equality."