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Platonic Justice and the Republic

Platonic Justice and the Republic Most contemporary studies of Plato's theory of justice in the Republic distinguish between the justice of the polis and that of the individual. Usually, however, these analyses predicate justice of the individual, what here I shall call "Platonic justice," only of the philosopher ruler. The ordinary citizen is allowed an inferior sort of justice because he lacks the necessary knowledge. Underlying this denial of Platonic justice to the citizens of the ideal polis is the conviction that for Plato men are by nature unequal. Evidence for this claim is the well known passage ushering in Socrates' account of the origin of the polis which proclaims the inequality of men as the basis for the principle of the division of labor (370a-b) . In a seldom discussed passage, however, Socrates offers a description or definition of man that strongly implies a generic equality (353d-e). Leading up to this account of human nature is Socrates' under- standing of what constitutes a definition or description of a class of objects; that which each class member can do uniquely or better than a member of any other class of objects. His analysis stipulates that the appropriate description or function of a class applies http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought Brill

Platonic Justice and the Republic

Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought , Volume 6 (2): 11 – Jan 1, 1987

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0142-257x
eISSN
2051-2996
DOI
10.1163/20512996-90000296
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Most contemporary studies of Plato's theory of justice in the Republic distinguish between the justice of the polis and that of the individual. Usually, however, these analyses predicate justice of the individual, what here I shall call "Platonic justice," only of the philosopher ruler. The ordinary citizen is allowed an inferior sort of justice because he lacks the necessary knowledge. Underlying this denial of Platonic justice to the citizens of the ideal polis is the conviction that for Plato men are by nature unequal. Evidence for this claim is the well known passage ushering in Socrates' account of the origin of the polis which proclaims the inequality of men as the basis for the principle of the division of labor (370a-b) . In a seldom discussed passage, however, Socrates offers a description or definition of man that strongly implies a generic equality (353d-e). Leading up to this account of human nature is Socrates' under- standing of what constitutes a definition or description of a class of objects; that which each class member can do uniquely or better than a member of any other class of objects. His analysis stipulates that the appropriate description or function of a class applies

Journal

Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek Political ThoughtBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1987

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