Understanding Plato's Republic

Preface xi

1 Introduction: The Style, Main Argument, and Basic Ideas of the Republic 1

1 The Dialogue Style and the Characters 2

2 The Main Argument and Plot of the Republic 5

3 The Fundamental Ideas of the Republic 8

2 Is Justice the Interest of the Rulers? Is It Good for Us? The Challenge of Thrasymachus 15

1 Why does Thrasymachus Think that Justice is the Interest of the Rulers? 16

2 Socrates’ Refutations of Thrasymachus’ Premises 19

3 Is [the] Justice [of Thrasymachus] Good for Me? 24

4 Thrasymachus Unconvinced, Socrates Dissatisfied. What Has Gone Wrong? 31

3 Justice by Agreement. Is It Good Enough? The Challenge of Plato’s Brothers 36

1 What is Justice? Glaucon’s Theory of a Social Contract 36

2 Glaucon and Thrasymachus on what Justice is: Results and Methods 41

3 Why should I be Just? 44

4 What is a Just Society? Plato’s own Social Ideal 55

1 What is Justice? Socrates Divides the Question 55

2 What is a Just Society? The Problem of Justice, and How Socrates Tries to Solve It 59

3 The Functional Theory of Good and Virtue 63

4 Plato’s Defi nitions of Justice and the other Virtues of his Completely Good City 67

5 Return to Plato’s Methods for Discovering Justice 71

5 Plato’s Ideal of a Just and Good Person 76

1 The Analogy between a Just City and a Just Soul 77

2 Plato’s Analysis of the Human Psyche 79

3 Parts of the Human Psyche: Faculties or Agents? 81

4 Just, Temperate, Brave, and Wise Human Souls 89

5 Plato’s Ideal of Rationality 93

6 The Virtues and Vices of the City-soul Analogy 100

6 The Equality of Women: Plato’s Blindfold 107

1 The Blindfold of Justice 107

2 Does Plato’s Justice wear a Blindfold? 109

3 The Gender Blindfold of Plato’s Justice 110

4 Was Plato an Advocate of Women’s Rights? Was He a Feminist? 114

7 Knowledge and Governing Well: Opinions and Knowledge, Forms and the Good 120

1 Ideals as Standards and their Approximations 120

2 The Paradox of the Philosopher-king: Knowledge and Political Power 122

3 Knowledge and Opinions 124

4 Platonic Forms and Physical Particulars 127

5 Plato’s Theory of the Form of the Good 137

6 Knowledge of Good 143

7 How Elitist is Plato’s Completely Good City? 146

8 Plato’s Criticisms of Democracy and the Democratic Character 158

1 Political Equalities and Economic Inequalities 159

2 Platonic Knowledge and Democratic Ruling 165

3 Plato’s Criticisms of Democratic Freedoms 170

4 Plato’s Democratic Character: Freedom and Equality in the Human Psyche 174

5 Plato’s Criticisms of his Democratic Character 177

9 Plato’s Defense of his Social and Psychic Justice 187

1 Is Plato’s Social Justice Justice at all? 189

2 Is Plato’s Political Justice Better for me than the Justice of Thrasymachus or the Justice of Plato’s Brothers? 192

3 Is Plato’s Political Justice Good for All the Citizens? 194

4 Plato’s Defense of his Just Person: The Sachs Problem 202

5 The Defense of Justice as the Health of the Soul 208

6 The Defense of the Just Life as the Pleasantest 212

Bibliography 220

Index 227