Adeimantus intervenes and said that being a ruler is unfair since there is no official approval of wealth or a will, no time to travel to a place of your choice, keep your lover happiness or perform actions that brings happiness to the people being ruled.
Socrates argues that their main objective in transforming this city is to make everybody in the city happy and economically productive rather than making only some specified group of people happy in the expense of others. He says that they are guardians and they need to find justice and do away with injustices practices among the various classes in the city.
Socrates then says to adeimantus that the city will neither have wealth nor experience poverty since there is no money which can make the city either rich or poor. Adeimantus on the other hand rejects the notion that a city with money or wealth cannot protects itself, however Socrates makes him aware that the city has the most qualified warriors and highlights that the bordering city would be willing and happy to offer assistance if we promised them that we will not have wares with them. Socrates reduces the size of the city because he is afraid that it cannot be controlled and governed. The city in fact does not need laws since guardians can be the ones who formulate and implement policies because of their high degree of education, therefore the decisions should be left on the hands of rulers. This indeed is the complete and fair city according to Socrates. He later explains the four virtues in the city. These virtues include; wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.
- Wisdom. It is entirely possessed by the guardians because the guardians have much knowledge concerning the management and governance of the city. In case it was a democracy, this virtue would not interpret into the virtue of the city. But due to the fact that they are in control, their wisdom becomes the city's virtue.
- Courage .it lies with the auxiliaries. It is only their brave that matters as a virtue of the entire city since they are individuals who solely who fight for it. A brave farmer, trader, or ruler would have no use to the city hence do the city no good.
- Moderation. It is the mutual understanding and agreement on who should take over and be entrusted with the task of ruling the city.
- Justice. It is the act of specialization. The law and regulation which usually states that an individual should perform the task which suits him or her.
Individual justice therefore is the Justice which is in the mind as compared to the one in the city. City justice involves the appropriate power connections among parts, with single part occupying its correct responsibility. In the individual, the "parts" are not categories of society; but rather they are components of the soul also known as sources of desire.
Socrates then says that the soul is divided into three parts. These parts include; the soul –mind, justice parallels poll and justice.
- Rational part of the soul is that parts which lusts immediately the truth, knowledge-loving, guardians or Rulers. It is that part of the soul which reasons first and detects thirst.
- Spirited part of the soul is part that lusts after honour. It is more connected auxiliaries. It occurs by the example of the animal and children. This is the part of the soul which does not reason. It acts in the absence of reason.
- Appetitive part of the soul is that part which lusts after almost everything else, such as food, any kind of drink, sex, and above all money. It is most common among the renowned producers and manufactures.
Drink and important drink example. Thirst is generally an animal drive with man not an exception. In other words, no specific drink, important drink on the other hand is desire or appetitive. It could either be rational or where an unhealthy drink rejects appetitive urges to drink.
In a normal human being, the rational component of the soul disqualifies the other component. With the gifted functioning as an assistant to maintain the appetitive in line. When compared to the city where those who love the truth especially the guardians rule and govern, with those who love honour auxiliaries standing as their assistants to maintain those who deeply love money especially producers and manufactures in a line. Therefore for one part of the soul to "rule" the others, it needs to connect with the whole soul to accomplish the desires of that part. For example in a soul ruled spirit , the whole soul focuses at accomplishing honour, whereas any soul controlled by appetite is filled with basic needs such as food, sex, and even material goods or wealth. In a normal soul, the soul is focused solely toward achieving anything that those who love knowledge and desires can be produced by reason produces.
Justice is not a combination of actions, but rather component of the soul. Any person who is Just is governed by the love of truth and he or she is won’t be in the positions of lust, selfish, or intense lust for honour. In this way he or she won’t be bad. Therefore just soul is the healthiest soul.
Work Cited.
Karpowicz, “Korab. Plato’s Political Philosophy”. Retrieved on 3rd May 2013 from.http://www.iep.utm.edu/platopol/
Takala. “ Plato on leadership”. 2004. Retrieved on 3rd May 2003 from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1005789531144#page-2
Aaron, Tucker. “Leadership by the Socratic Method”. Retrieved on 3rd May 2013 from http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj07/sum07/tucker.html
