how does plato define justice in the republic
Republic (Plato)
For over two and a half millennia , scholars have differed on the aptness of the city - soul analogy Socrates uses to find justice in Books II through V . The Republic is a dramatic dialogue , not a treatise . Socrates ' definition of justice is never unconditionally stated , only versions of justice within each city are `` found '' and evaluated in Books II through Book V. Socrates constantly refers the definition of justice back to the conditions of the city for which it is created . He builds a series of myths , or noble lies , to make the cities appear just , and these conditions moderate life within the communities . The `` earth born '' myth makes all men believe that they are born from the earth and have predestined natures within their veins . Accordingly , Socrates defines justice as `` working at that which he is naturally best suited '' , and `` to do one 's own business and not to be a busybody '' ( 433a -- 433b ) and goes on to say that justice sustains and perfects the other three cardinal virtues : Temperance , Wisdom , and Courage , and that justice is the cause and condition of their existence . Socrates does not include justice as a virtue within the city , suggesting that justice does not exist within the human soul either , rather it is the result of a `` well ordered '' soul . A result of this conception of justice separates people into three types ; that of the soldier , that of the producer , and that of a ruler . If a ruler can create just laws , and if the warriors can carry out the orders of the rulers , and if the producers can obey this authority , then a society will be just . 
For over two and a half millennia , scholars have differed on the aptness of the city - soul analogy Socrates uses to find justice in Books II through V . The Republic is a dramatic dialogue , not a treatise . Socrates ' definition of justice is never unconditionally stated , only versions of justice within each city are `` found '' and evaluated in Books II through Book V. Socrates constantly refers the definition of justice back to the conditions of the city for which it is created . He builds a series of myths , or noble lies , to make the cities appear just , and these conditions moderate life within the communities . The `` earth born '' myth makes all men believe that they are born from the earth and have predestined natures within their veins . Accordingly , Socrates defines justice as `` working at that which he is naturally best suited '' , and `` to do one 's own business and not to be a busybody '' ( 433a -- 433b ) and goes on to say that justice sustains and perfects the other three cardinal virtues : Temperance , Wisdom , and Courage , and that justice is the cause and condition of their existence . Socrates does not include justice as a virtue within the city , suggesting that justice does not exist within the human soul either , rather it is the result of a `` well ordered '' soul . A result of this conception of justice separates people into three types ; that of the soldier , that of the producer , and that of a ruler . If a ruler can create just laws , and if the warriors can carry out the orders of the rulers , and if the producers can obey this authority , then a society will be just .
For over two and a half millennia , scholars have differed on the aptness of the city - soul analogy Socrates uses to find justice in Books II through V .Socrates ' definition of justice is never unconditionally stated , only versions of justice within each city are `` found '' and evaluated in Books II through Book V. Socrates constantly refers the definition of justice back to the conditions of the city for which it is created .Accordingly , Socrates defines justice as `` working at that which he is naturally best suited '' , and `` to do one 's own business and not to be a busybody '' ( 433a -- 433b ) and goes on to say that justice sustains and perfects the other three cardinal virtues : Temperance , Wisdom , and Courage , and that justice is the cause and condition of their existence . Socrates does not include justice as a virtue within the city , suggesting that justice does not exist within the human soul either , rather it is the result of a `` well ordered '' soul .
For over two and a half millennia , scholars have differed on the aptness of the city - soul analogy Socrates uses to find justice in Books II through V . Socrates ' definition of justice is never unconditionally stated , only versions of justice within each city are `` found '' and evaluated in Books II through Book V. Socrates constantly refers the definition of justice back to the conditions of the city for which it is created . Accordingly , Socrates defines justice as `` working at that which he is naturally best suited '' , and `` to do one 's own business and not to be a busybody '' ( 433a -- 433b ) and goes on to say that justice sustains and perfects the other three cardinal virtues : Temperance , Wisdom , and Courage , and that justice is the cause and condition of their existence . Socrates does not include justice as a virtue within the city , suggesting that justice does not exist within the human soul either , rather it is the result of a `` well ordered '' soul .