ANT212H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Thrasymachus, Rastafari, Hindu Nationalism
Document Summary
Here are some translations of a famous passage from plato"s republic. Socrates is debating the nature of justice with a sophist named thrasymachus, whose arguments we will consider next week. Socrates has just concluded an argument which purports to show that justice is virtue and wisdom. This question, he says, has still to be answered. So, socrates is suggesting that the discussion of justice is really part of a bigger problem the problem of how we should live. That is, even if we know what justice is we must still ask whether, in fact, it makes sense to be just, whether the just person lives a better live that the unjust person. Justice here, at least for most of the athenians who take part in this discussion, is a key virtue that incorporates attributes such as honesty, reliability, and a concern for others. Does the good person live a better life than one who is selfish, dishonest, unreliable etc.
