If you selected this article in the hopes of finding a compelling discussion about the famous DC Comic characters who are in the “The Justice League”, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. However, if your head is spinning from talking about justice, then this is the blog for you! You see, I picture Socrates as a kind of Christopher Columbus in the search for justice: he is searching diligently even if he may not end up where he plans. I am going to be discussing and clarifying the definitions of justice Plato has thus far introduced in The Republic.
The first definition of justice we are introduced to is “speaking the truth and paying your debts” (8). To me, this is a very cut and dry explanation of justice; it allows no leeway for special circumstances. Socrates gives an example of this kind of circumstance using a man who, while in his right mind, gave his friend arms and then asks for them back when he isn’t in his right mind (8). Who would give their friend something that could possibly harm them? But that’s what this definition of justice calls people to do. So Socrates refines the definition of justice in order to account for special circumstances.
Socrates then says that “Justice is the art which gives good to friends and evil to enemies” (9). It’s the old “eye for an eye” philosophy. As long as you’re my friend, justice decrees that I must do good to you; however, if I consider you my enemy, I may justly give you evil. This makes justice subjective which should not be the case. In a fundamental property like justice, people should be treated the same regardless of any relationships, whether amiable or not.
So if justice isn’t merely action based on the relationship between the two parties, what is it? Socrates, after establishing that justice is good and that the only way to exemplify good is to have a good soul, he says “Justice is the excellence of the soul” (26). What is on the inside will eventually show up on the outside. “You are what you eat”-if you eat a bunch of junk food, your body is going to show it. To me, this definition seems to be the closest to the truth so far. A person must be excellent on the inside to perform good, just, actions.
As Socrates and his company narrows down the true definition for justice, the focus goes from outward to inward. It is after discussing the various components of the State and individuals that Socrates makes this statement: “The just man does not permit the several elements within him to interfere with one another, or any of them to do the work of others,-he sets in order his own inner life, and is his own master and his own law, and at peace with himself; and when he has bound together the three principles within him, which may be compared to the higher, lower, and middle notes of the scale, and the intermediate intervals-when he has bound all these together, and is no longer many, but has become one entirely temperate and perfectly adjusted nature, then he proceeds to act, if he has to act, whether in a matter of property, or in the treatment of the body, or in some affair of politics or private business; always thinking and calling that which preserves and co-operates with this harmonious condition, just and good action, and the knowledge which presides over it, wisdom, and that which at any time impairs this condition, he will call unjust action, and the opinion which presides over it ignorance” (90). To be just, you must have control over yourself. It is after everything within you is in perfect harmony that you can act justly, no matter the situation. Everything is in its place, and it is in this state that you can reason and think clearly. Anything that fits into this state is considered just, while anything that disrupts the system is deemed unjust. Peace within allows for peace outside which decreases the probability of decisions being made that rely on the personal relationships between people. Justice shouldn’t be dependant upon another person, and harmony within allows freedom from that dependency.
I hope that this blog aided in you understanding of Socrates’ discussion of justice with the various philosophers in his company. And I look forward to discussing “The Justice League’s” next adventure with you!
I think you did an excellent job summarizing Plato's way of defining justice. Justice should not be dependent on emotional decision making which tends to be fallacious or unpredictable. Justice certainly comes from a desire deep within to differentiate right from wrong and punish the wrongdoer.
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