ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Socrates Vs Glaucon

615 Words3 Pages

For generations there has been a debate of whether injustice or justice exceeds over the other. Is the quality of being fair and reasonable more superior than a lack of fairness or tyranny? I certainly would assume so. However, we are presented with an argument by Glaucon; that an unjust life is more pleasant than a just life. Despite Socrates persuasion in book I, Glaucon is not convinced that a just life is more desirable than an unjust. A just life is more desirable and reasonable than an unjust, because the tyrannical man never has a taste of true friendship, is in continual danger for one’s life, and is never fully satisfied with his pleasures. For these reasons a life of tyrannical man is not preferable than the life of a just man. …show more content…

If a tyrannical man goes through life without true friends, how can he ever be happy. A tyrannical man loses those relationships in his youth due to lawless desires. The tyrannical man is the son of a democratic father. His father does not have lawless desires but does wallow in unnecessary desires. Although the father is not lawless, the son is exposed to men of lawless desires throughout his youth. Socrates explains that once a tyrannical man pursues lawless desires, he craves for more. “When what belongs to his father and mother gives out on such a man and there’s already quite a swarm of pleasures densely gathered in him, being taking hold of the wall of someone’s house or the cloak of someone who goes out late at night, and next sweep out some temple.” (574 d) He has a continual liking to perform criminal acts that will not rest. The tyrannical man is not trusted by the people, in fear they might be taken advantage of. “Therefore, they live their whole life without ever being friends of anyone, always one man’s master or another’s slave. The tyrannical man never has a taste of freedom or true friendship.” (576 a) This is Socrates point of showing Glaucon that living an unjust life is not more pleasant than a

Show More
Related
342 Words | 2 Pages

the Republic, Socrates argues that justice ought to be valued both for its own sake and for the sake of its consequences (358a1–3). His interlocutors Glaucon and Adeimantus have reported a number of arguments to the effect that the value of justice lies purely in the rewards and reputation that are the usual consequence of being seen to be just, and have asked Socrates to say what justice is and to show that justice is always intrinsically better than is acting contrary to justice when doing so would win you more non-moral goods. Glaucon presents these arguments as renewing Thrasymachus’ Book 1 position that justice is “another’s good” (358b–c, cf. 343c), which Thrasymachus had associated with the claim that the rulers in any constitution frame

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

While his friend Crito advocates for his escape, Socrates believes that disobeying the law would be morally wrong and undermine the state's authority and laws. As Socrates asserts, "Do you think it possible for a city to continue in existence and not be turned upside down if the legal judgments pronounced in it have no force but are nullified and destroyed by private individuals?" Socrates believes that by living in Athens and enjoying its benefits, he has entered into a social contract that obligates him to follow the city's laws, even if they are unjust. Socrates believed that fleeing prison or disobeying the law violated his principles and society's social contract. He believed breaching the law would harm society and weaken the state because the state's goal was to promote the common good, and laws protected everyone's interests.

Read More
650 Words | 3 Pages

Inherently, not all people have the capability to live morally upright lives. Virtues are learned traits, and while a person may have a good disposition, his choices, which he makes based on learned information, affect the kind of life he lives. Therefore, there are just people and unjust people, as there are just actions and unjust actions. The ancient philosopher Aristotle wrote about an ideal city called “The Polis,” in which citizens lived a certain way in order to achieve a common good. Although Aristotle believed that everyone should live the good life (one of happiness), he also believed that in order to achieve the good life, people should get what they deserved, even if it meant injustice was a necessary consequence for some.

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

And in response Simonides argues that there are some ways that the tyrant can redeem himself and get the love and attention that he craves and tries to advice him and show him these ways. In general, tyrants are sovereign rulers who rule over unwilling subjects by force. They have control over almost everything and everyone in the state, meaning there is no consideration for law. Tyrants always think of themselves

Read More
1434 Words | 6 Pages

Therefore, since Athens has a part to play in corrupting Socrates’s life as well as his mistaken visual of the truth, Socrates must understand that by obeying the state, he has done injustice to his soul for it will not be in true harmony. Furthermore he will be doing an injustice to the state because Plato would have established that, objectively, Athens laws are unjust and even if Socrates thinks that they are just, it is only because Socrates has been corrupted by

Read More
1382 Words | 6 Pages

Socrates bases this view of justice on the worth of living a good life. “And is life worth living for us with that part of us corrupted by unjust actions” (47e) If we corrupt our soul with injustice, our life would not be worth living, therefore one must never commit an injustice. “When one has come to an agreement that is just with someone, one should fulfill it.”(49e) It is this agreement with the Laws that Socrates would be violating, if he were to

Read More
1720 Words | 7 Pages

Evodie Saadoun Trevor Kallimani Hist 210 13th October 2015 Women in the American Revolution There is a proverb that says, “The woman is born free and remains equal to men in rights”. Since the eighteenth century, women still try to be equal to men and try to be independent. During the American Revolution, women were dependent on their husband. This meant they had to cook, clean and take care of their children. They were not allowed to do what they wanted.

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

In discussing nature and self interest, Socrates rebuts by asserting that genuine justice is its reward. He contends that leading a just life fosters peace and satisfaction, irrespective of incentives or repercussions. Socrates believes that those who uphold justice are nurturing their souls and attuning themselves with the order of the universe. In opposition to Glaucon's perspective on justice as a means to an end, Socrates portrays justice as a

Read More
661 Words | 3 Pages

The perfectly unjust life, is more pleasant than the perfectly just life. Glaucon describes both the just and unjust man with examples of the completely unjust man, who indulges all his desires, is respected and rewarded with all his need while no one is the wiser of all his wrong doings and is seen as someone who can do no wrong. The completely just man, on the other spectrum, is scorned and looked down upon and even hated for doing good this is because the perfectly just person does not do just things for recognition but solely for the sake in doing

Read More
1177 Words | 5 Pages

Justice is not the conception of the strong, while the weak are ruled by unjust rulers how Thrasymachus thought. Instead the ruler, rules accordingly establishing just laws even if they seem unfair. Rulers are infallible, thus creating just laws because if a ruler were to make an unjust law for the strong that would place the weak at an advantage creating a flaw in the argument. The ruler would want to create laws that are filled wisdom so that nobody would want to choose the life where an unjust men would be more profitable than a just men. In addition, Socrates demonstrates that an unjust men will not be able to live a more virtuous lifestyle than a just men due to the lack of learning that the unjust men has no recollection of, thus the just men will not be able to get the better of another just men.

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

Socrates in his dialogue was pushing further with the idea that it is worse to do injustice than to suffer injustice, a clime which was objected by Polus. For Polus says that many people who do injustice are happy, but Socrates insists otherwise. Socrates focuses on Eudaimonia, which means happiness, as the main objective to reach. Thus the people who do injustice like kings and tyrants are unhappy. Socrates then asks Polus which is more shameful doing injustice or suffering it, and Polus replies that doing injustice is more shameful.

Read More
1336 Words | 6 Pages

The period between 1685 and 1815 is known as the Age of Enlightenment. This period brought new ideas and beliefs to Europe. The new ideas would help people at the time question what was going on in Europe for over one hundred years. The ideas that came from the enlightenment would still be changing people’s minds well into the 21st century. These ideas and beliefs would cause a revolution in France, causing the French Revolution (1789 to 1799).

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

Plato's Republic is centered on one simple question: is it always better to be just than unjust? This is something that Socrates addresses both in terms of political communities and the individual person. Plato argues that being just is advantageous to the individual independent of any societal benefits that the individual may incur in virtue of being just. I feel as if Plato’s argument is problematic. There are not enough compelling reasons to make this argument.

Read More
1666 Words | 7 Pages

King addresses the characteristics of unjust laws in 3 points. First point being that just laws are always harmonious with natural morale law. Second point being that a just law is one that uplifts human personality as opposed to degrading human personality. Lastly, a just law can only be created in the most democratic manner possible and if it is not, the minority automatically has the right to disobey the law because they had no say in the creation of the law. As for the first point, a natural morale law must be measured by our natural human sense.

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

They do not have time to enjoy their life because of they always on self-defend for things they do wrong. In Plato’s dialogue Gorgias, Socrates takes this position to an extreme. He argues that it is much better to suffer wrong than to do it; that a good man who has his eyes gouged out and is tortured to death is more fortunate than a corrupt person who has used wealth and power

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Socrates Vs Glaucon

Related Topics

Open Document