New Polity Shadows of Justice | A Close Reading of Plato's Republic
Jul 25, 2024
Delve into Plato's 'Republic' through discussions on justice, mythical elements, Allegory of the Cave, and the Philosopher-King. Explore the tension between relative and absolute justice, shadows of justice, and true justice. Uncover the intricacies of societal structures, power dynamics, unity, and the noble lie for a just society.
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Naive Justice is a Tautology
- Justice initially seems to mean doing good to friends and harm to enemies, but even 'harm' can be reinterpreted as a form of long-term good like rehabilitation.
- This naive definition leads to a tautology, making it unclear who counts as friend or enemy under justice.
Justice Flows From Power
- Thrasymachus grounds justice as whatever benefits the stronger, showing justice as a product of power rather than a transcendent good.
- This means that law and morality flow from power structures, making justice relative and contingent on the ruling regime.
Power and Justice: Infinite Regress
- The powerful may not always know their own interests, and when they act against them, they lose their power legitimacy.
- This leads to an infinite regress where different power groups impose their version of justice, complicating any absolute ground for it.