18 October 2020

Plato, on Virtue and Justice

Throughout his Republic, Plato  introduces us to his thoughts on justice and virtue--both in the political and personal sense--through Socrates, . He believes that justice itself stems from harmony within the soul, a balance between rationale, spirit, and appetite. Just as he frames the importance of specialization in society, so it is with the soul. Each of the three parts have roles to play, depending on the individual. The “perfectly just” man is ruled by the rational aspect, allowing wisdom to guide his actions, and his mind. As he slowly degrades, the rational part of his soul loses supremacy, while the appetite begins to take precedence. And thus, we arrive at Plato’s warning against vice, in the form of the Tyrant. Socrates states that every human has “some terrible, savage, and lawless form of desire.”^[1] In the just man, such urges only “wake up in sleep.”^[2] In Plato’s Tyrant, however, waking hours are spent under the control of appetite, and in abandonment of “the rest of the soul, all that belongs to the calculating, tame, ruling part.”^[3] If a just man is able to stave off violent delights, the Tyrant is not only unable to subdue these evils, but also strives for them, clutching vice in his desperate embrace.

        The purpose of Socrates’ vivid description of the Tyrant is to display the importance of justice. To understand how the illustration supports the Philosopher's valuation of justice, we must first understand the nature of justice as Socrates sees it, the ordered, harmonious soul, and in turn the effects of achieving it. Purity in the soul is the result of a balance in which, according to Socrates, “all the soul follows the philosophic [aspect]” so that “each part may mind its own business and be just and, in particular, enjoy its own pleasures, the best pleasures, and, to the greatest possible extent, the truest pleasures.”^[4] He is specifically touching upon general happiness, or “pleasures”, which can be experienced within each aspect of the soul. An individual with such a soul can also find the “truest pleasures,” those beyond the material pleasures or marshall glory. In the case of Socrates, such delights could take the form of philosophical discoveries about the world and about oneself. Deep emotional connection to others is perhaps the most important of such happinesses. These pleasures are “true” in that they aren’t fleeting. They do not simply fade with time, in their effects on the soul, and more generally on the person themselves. Substantial personal growth, then, is only possible through true pleasure. Such is the value of justice. The Tyrant allows us to observe justice’s significance in that he displays the consequences of abandoning it. In the ordered soul, each aspect plays its role, which can lead to the “true pleasures” described above. In the disordered soul, exemplified by the Tyrant, “one of the other parts gets control”, the result being that “it can't discover its own pleasure and compels the others to pursue an alien and untrue pleasure.” The “other parts” refer to the appetite and the spirit, which are unable to discover any “true pleasure” when in control of the soul. Furthermore, they prevent any other parts of the soul from making headway towards such an end, instead inciting them to chase “untrue pleasure,” in the forms of lust for women, wealth, or blood. Now Socrates' argument becomes clear. If justice is order in the soul, then it is justice which allows us to reach the “true pleasures,” the plateaus of life that stand in permanence. The Tyrant puts such a value on justice because by lack thereof, he is not only unable to ever achieve true pleasure, but has no wish to, for the aspect of his soul which controls his desires prevents him from seeing value in personal growth or deep happiness. The “untrue pleasures” become the object of his being, carnal delight the end to which he wishes to arrive.

        We can now observe the effectiveness of Socrates' argument in the face of Glaucon’s original propositions from Book II. Glaucon’s belief is that the unjust man will fare far better in life, for he will have no qualms about using false pretense to make himself “seem just.” With this general public perception, he will rise in government, and accumulate power and wealth. Conversely, the just man will wish to be just, not just seem just. “Seeming just” would incur gifts, and celebrations, for all those around him would wish to celebrate the man that he seems to be. The truly just man would cast aside these falsehoods, because he would have to make it clear that he is not being just for the sake of gifts and honors, but because he is simply just. If he was “stripped of everything save justice,”^[5] then all that would remain is destitution. Socrates' argument successfully dismantles Glaucon’s claims. The weakness of Glaucon’s argument is that he does not consider the men themselves, and what passes through their minds and hearts as a result of their respective situations. Socrates correctly asserts that such a path would put an individual in a constant state of fear, for his life would be based entirely on the upholding the pretense of seeming good. His drive would be purely the amassment of wealth and power, and the fear of losing them. Those around him would be dependent on his status, sycophants, willing to do anything for his favor. This false love would contribute to the unjust man’s feeling of isolation, and mistrust of others. Glaucon fails to realize that such inclinations and relationships are not “true pleasures,” and are thus without any positive long lasting impact upon the person. They instead alienate a person’s ability from achieving true happiness and wellbeing, drawing their desires away from meaningful pursuits and instead forcing their soul to exist in a constant state of fear, tension and longing. As such, there would be no value to unjustness, only burden. A life of true punishment. For while you can fool others into believing in the fulfillment and happiness of the unjust life, you cannot fool yourself.

        Socrates’ argument has vast implications pertaining to how justice can affect the course of our lives. The pursuit of perfect justice, or perfect harmony in the soul, is itself the only way to prevent its degradation. To settle for even moderate justness would imply that one is not always under the control of the rational, philosophical aspect of the soul, but is instead occasionally allowing appetite and spirit to guide their beings. However, if Socrates’ argument is to be held true, in the act of sometimes giving oneself to appetite or spirit, one is only increasing their chances of giving in again. For the false pleasures that arise from glory, wealth, and lust have an intense power over the mind, one that can force the other parts of the soul to operate with the intent of satisfying further desires. A person will become increasingly attached to vice, until it becomes the object of life itself. This exponential effect is itself the degradation described by Socrates, the manner in which the Aristocrat falls into Tyranny. The only way to prevent yourself from venturing down such a path is to always reside under the influence of rational thought, and to let it guide other parts of being. Through such practice, one can achieve “true pleasure,” which entails personal discovery, deep intellectual love, and growth. Thus, we can see the true thesis of Socrates’ argument. The pursuit of perfect justice is the only path to true, long lasting happiness, that which makes life worth living.

Bibliography:

Plato, and Allan Bloom. 1968. The Republic. New York: Basic Books.