Analysis of Book I The Republic of Plato
... However, as the Republic demonstrates, justice is a very complex and subjective abstract that is imperative to the comprehension of the human condition. In Book I of the Republic, Socrates engages three primary players in a series of debates in an effort to arrive at the true meaning of justice and its implications on the individual. ... According to Cephalus, who is the oldest and most pious of all of the characters presented in Book I, “The possession of money contributes a great deal to not cheating or lying to any man against one’s will, and moreover, to not departing for that other place frightened because one owes some sacrifices to a god or money to a human being,” (331b). ... Polemarchus, son of Cephalus, stands in stark contrast to his father in his analysis of justice. ... Upon finding a consensus with Polemarchus regarding the true definition of justice, Socrates seems to ally himself with him: “We shall do battle then as partners, you and I…,” (335e). ... The purpose of the Republic is to find a positive definition of justice and a picture of an ideal political regime that manifests a perfectly just society. ... In conclusion, this profound introduction to the Republic and Socrates’ philosophical journey to finding the true meaning of justice, serves to present one of the most difficult problems that will be faced in attempting to define justice: is justice’s principal concern for the just individual or the common good? Through analysis of the arguments that the main characters make pertaining to their interpretations of justice, it is obvious that it is easy to argue on behalf of justice benefiting one side or the other.