Dialogue on The Republic, Session 2: Social Constitution

Continuing our discussion on The Republic, on October 17, 2021 participants from the Toronto Philosophy and Calgary Philosophy Meetup groups examined part of Book II in which Glaucon challenges his friends to seek the definition of justice in itself, without reference to outcomes. When Socrates proposes they look for justice first in a city and then in the individual, to observe the ways in which the smaller is similar to the larger, they proceed to create a theoretical society to examine its operation for evidence of justice. Our dialogue touched on many interesting points and raised some fascinating ideas and questions. We related some aspects of the theoretical city, which Socrates describes as unhealthy and feverish, to the allegory of the cave that was featured in our previous episode. One participant described the city of luxuries as a materialist civilization, and others asked whether shame or the desire for social acceptance drives us to justice. Is it in our nature to be unjust and labor to a state of justice? If we possessed the power of the Ring of Gyges, to make ourselves invisible, would we naturally be inclined to do injustice knowing that we could escape punishment – or would we find that justice itself is the reward for being just? Are we each suited to one skill in life and is justice to mind our own business? Do our guardians protect us from a sense of loyalty, or with a view to justice? We will resume our dialogue on The Republic in the next episode, with more on the guardians and then the four virtues and the nature of the soul.