Glaucon's View Of Justice

Morality and justice are among the most important philosophical constructs that have continued to influence thinking, as well as approach to contemporary issues. Different philosophers have studied justice through definition, application in society, and the associated arguments. Socrates, for instance, argued that people prefer justice intrinsically because it has better promises and consequences than injustice. The Ring of Gyges is a critical review and challenge of Socrates’ version of justice, as put forward by Glaucon. Glaucon challenges Socrates’ view of justice from the perspective of whether justice is unavoidable in society or it is “good in itself.” This paper presents an analysis of Glaucon and Socrates views of justice, as well …show more content…
The shepherd Gyges finds the ring and uses its power to seduce the king and then taking administrative control, after killing the king. It implies that the Shepherd Gyges prefers the ring because of its powers (its own sake) and the associated benefits (for the sake of its consequences). However, the associated consequences are not desirable since they lead to the death of the king. The implication is that both just and unjust men would act unjustly if they had identical rings. Glaucon also uses the understanding of the perfectly just and perfectly unjust man to support his claims. Unfortunately, the perfectly unjust man replaces the position of the perfectly just man in society. The perfectly unjust man has the power to carry out misdeeds, as well as the skills necessary to reinforce his reputation in society, and the society views him as the just man. On the other hand, the just man is regarded as being …show more content…
Most governments or administrative units pass laws that focus on promoting justice in society. If Glaucon’s argument is true, then these laws represent the desire by lawmakers to promote evil for their own benefits. However, most of the laws that govern the land are influenced by the positive desire to protect the ‘weak’ in society against possible exploitation by those in power, which would otherwise qualify as injustice. In addition, justice is not an unavoidable natural way of benefiting from misdeeds, as argued by Glaucon. Therefore, it then follows that Socratic justice is more plausible because it asserts that the presence of laws in any society is a representation of the society’s investment in reason and the desire to protect itself from the influence of selfish interests and