Justice is one of the most complex ethical categories, affecting a wide scope of human relations. The content of this concept reflects the economic, political and legal conditions of social life and their development trends.
Particular attention to consideration of justice was paid by Socrates, who called it the subject more precious than all the gold and sought to prove the existence of a single and common notion of justice, linking it with morality and knowledge. Injustice is unnatural, because it is the result of ignorance and delusion. Claiming connection between virtue and wisdom, praising the beauty of the mind, consciousness, he made a logical basis for the understanding of justice. Socrates argued: "Justice and any other virtue is wisdom. Righteous deeds and, in general, all the actions based on virtue, are beautiful and good.''
Socrates had a strong influence on the formation of the ideas of his pupil Plato. In his arguments, Plato considered justice to the most beautiful, the greatest good, which should be enjoyed. Thanks to Plato, its further development received the political and legal aspects of justice. Extracted the concept of justice from the principle of the space, according to which, every person and every thing has its place and goal, assigned to impersonal universal law, Plato drew an analogy between the interconnections in nature and in human society. He argued that the maintenance of a given order and harmony, as in the relationship with nature and so in the human community is true wisdom.
In his keynote essay "Republic", where attention was paid to the importance of the study of the concept of justice, he considered the state in terms of manifestations of specific functions that have arisen on the basis of division of labor. So, get acquainted with this essay, we can analyze the text and find a few definitions of justice, by one of the main characters of Plato's Republic - Socrates.
The first book of Plato's Republic begins with a friendly conversation between Socrates and a graybeard Cephalus. Their dialogue is devoted to the old age. On this occasion, it has been observed that a person who has spent a life righteous and holy, enjoying the calm and cheerful old age. And the question has appeared : what is called righteousness or truth?
After this conversation Cephalus leaves, but discussions on this topic are continuing between Socrates and Polemarchus, Cephalus's son. He determines the truth in such way, that he calls it virtue, giving everyone their own. But Socrates sees that his definition of an equitable man does not imply a fairly discretion; because in such case, the thing entrusted to us for saving by the man of sense should be returned to him, if he becomes crazy. It would mean to act justly.
Therefore Polemarchus, changed his mind, now sees justice in doing good to friends and doing evil to enemies. It would mean to act justly. But Socrates rejects this definition too. Offering Polemarchus question after question, he quietly leads his interlocutor to the contrary conclusion, that the just man would be unfair if he harmed someone.
After that, Socrates starts a conversation with the sophist Thrasymachus, who claims that justice is nothing more than the action, useful for courageously and admirably person. But Socrates also refutes this opinion with lots of evidence. He teaches that a just person, managing public affairs and having power in the state, should not look for his personal but for the common good, or for the welfare of those, who he manages.
For such point of view, Thrasymachus strongly reproaches Socrates, considering such type of acting very silly. And, in order to make his concept more ponderable, he begins to extrol injustices with the great praises, saying that the last one brings a person much more benefit than the first one.
Socrates certainly does not agree with this statement and reveals details that injustice is neither useful nor happier than justice.
In conclusion, Socrates says that to achieve true happiness in philosophy life, it is necessary to keep all aspects of the soul in a harmonious relationship. In accordance with the law of justice, intelligent part of the soul should dominate irritable and desirable parts. And he explains this by similarity.
Let us imagine a kind of monster, surrounded on all sides by both meek and wild animal heads. It can produce any new head arbitrarily from itself and replace it with others. Also, lets imagine that this monster of huge size has fused with the nature of a lion and a human. All these three animals will be given a figure of a man; so that for everyone who looks at them it appears like they are looking at the image of a man.
Having drawn this image, Socrates argues as follows. Who says that the injustice is useful, and justice does not benefit? That one, thereby, assumes that the huge monster of lion should be nourished and cherished. And the human should be weaken and tortured with hunger, to make him well-obeyed for the monster's or the lion's intentions, or even make him help them, whenever these wild beasts began to satisfy their desires, or enmity against each other, bite, tear and devour the human.
Conversely, one who believes that the justice should be honored and ready to devote all the value of his life to justice, that person will judge very different way. This person will strive, that the man in the human figure, internally connected to the animal and the lion, prevails over other animals, tames the savage beast with the help of a lion, feeds his meek heads and restrains cruel heads, and by destroying the violent desires of animals, he may dwell in the peace and calmness.
So, injustice, even if it is hid from human persecution and laws, not only brings no benefit, but also if it is not noticed and punished, it becomes worse and more ruinous.
Knowing this, the sage all his entire life will try to acquire resources for the temperance, fairness, common sense. And the care of the body will be allowed to him only with one purpose that through the agreement of all its parts, support and elevate the perfect harmony, which should be in the soul of every man.Thereby, during the discussion in book IX of Plato's Republic, the argument of Thrasymachus was disproved and it was concluded that only the righteous man can have blessed life, and the man in the unjust deserves the most unfortunate life.
It can be concluded, that the correctness of life, both as part of Republic and as an individual, it is precisely that every man should perform the task assigned to him. One should study science and govern the state. Other should faithfully execute the laws and bravely defend homeland. The third should take care of the necessary material means and obey the rulers. The perfection of the state is in harmonizing of these three components of the state, which Plato calls justice.
References
1. Benjamin Jowett. (2005). Republic by Plato. Retrieved from Everyman's Library
