I. Introduction
"In reality for a long time past we have been talking of justice, and have failed to recognize her," claims Plato in The Republic (153). Plato, being the brilliant philosopher that he is deals with justice and its virtues day in and day out. He is constantly questioning in a society where inquiries are not welcome. Throughout both The Republic and The Trial and Death of Socrates, Plato looks at justice from a number of different aspects. In reading them, one will be able to evaluate Plato's notion of justice, whether or not Socrates is a just person, and how Socrates compares to our society.
II. Plato's notion of Justice
Throughout "On Virtue in the State and in the Soul" from Plato's The Republic, Socrates is searching for
the definition of justice. He decided that he and his friend, Glaucon, would have to determine the three
other virtues courage, temperance, and wisdom first. After they did this, justice would be defined by what ever was
left.
The topic of wisdom was their first "stop" on their quest for justice. Plato's belief is that wisdom is held by
the guardians, a small part of society, that "have the only knowledge worthy to be called wisdom" (Republic 147).
However, they are not the only ones with knowledge. The smiths are very knowledgeable as well, but their
intelligence is strictly focused on their particular trades. In fact, the carpenter or the blacksmith is most likely
smarter than the guardians when it comes to their respective fields, but wisdom comes from knowledge "not about
any particular thing in the State, but about the whole, and considers how a State can best deal with itself and with
other States" (Republic 146). Furthermore, in order to obtain Plato's view of justice, one must be knowledgeable in
all aspects of life as opposed to a specialist in only one or two fields.
Courag...