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Book 2 from The Republic
About The Republic Book 2
Plato (427–347 BCE) was a pivotal figure in ancient Greek philosophy, whose works have profoundly influenced Western thought. A student of Socrates and teacher to Aristotle, Plato founded the Academy in Athens, one of the earliest institutions of higher learning. His dialogues explore a wide range of subjects, including ethics, politics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
“The Republic” stands among Plato’s most significant works, delving into the nature of justice and the ideal state. Book 2 of “The Republic” initiates a deeper exploration into these themes. Here, Plato introduces the perspectives of Glaucon and Adeimantus, who challenge Socrates to defend the value of justice, not just for its consequences but as an intrinsic good. This sets the stage for a comprehensive examination of justice, both in the individual and in society.
In this book, Socrates proposes constructing an ideal city (“Kallipolis”) to mirror the soul’s structure, aiming to identify justice within both. This methodological approach leads to discussions on the origins of society, the division of labor, and the roles of various classes within the city. The foundational ideas presented in Book 2 pave the way for the subsequent exploration of justice and the just life throughout the dialogue.
Before you read
As you approach Book 2 of “The Republic,” consider the following:
- The Nature of Justice: Reflect on your understanding of justice. Is it valued for its own sake, for its consequences, or both?
- Human Motivation: Think about what drives individuals to act justly or unjustly. Are people inherently inclined toward justice, or is it a social construct?
- Societal Structures: Contemplate how societies are formed and organized. What principles underpin the division of roles and labor within a community?
Engaging with these considerations will enrich your reading and comprehension of the philosophical arguments presented.
Guiding Questions
- What are the main arguments Glaucon and Adeimantus present regarding the value of justice?
- How does Socrates propose to uncover the nature of justice through the construction of an ideal city?
- What is the significance of the “Ring of Gyges” myth introduced in this book?
- How does the concept of the ideal city relate to the individual’s soul, according to Socrates?
Why Be Good? The City and the Soul
Plato’s Republic, Book 2
Warm-Up: Live Like No One’s Watching
Imagine you are standing at an empty intersection, waiting to cross the street. No one else is standing nearby, and there are no cars in sight. But there is a bright red ‘Do Not Cross’ sign illuminated. Do you wait for the signal to change to ‘Walk’?
This isn’t just a question about pedestrian safety. There is a deeper challenge: Do you follow the rules if you can get away with breaking them? Would everyone break the rules if they could? Why do we ultimately do what society tells us is the right thing to do?
Plato’s Republic tries to answer this question: as he puts it, ‘Why should we be just rather than unjust?’ In an extended argument over several books of the Republic, Plato explores human psychology, art and its role in education, and the best form of government, among other topics. Book 2 of the Republic provides the framing and motivation for answering this question about justice, and introduces several of the important concepts he will rely on throughout the text.
Introduction
Plato (425-348 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher from Athens, and perhaps the most influential figure in the Western philosophical tradition. He founded the Academy, one of the first schools for philosophy (which at the time included rhetoric and science). Plato was a student of Socrates, and he wrote about many of his philosophical predecessors; he also had a profound influence on his student, Aristotle. Plato wrote nearly 30 dialogues on a variety of topics, which created the foundation for the discipline of philosophy as we know it. His work on ethics and metaphysics is especially important. In particular his Theory of Forms. As the early 20thcentury philosopher A.N. Whitehead famously opined, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
The Republic is perhaps Plato’s most famous and influential work. The main focus of the Republic is the question ‘What is justice?’, centering it on ethics and political philosophy. But the Republic also expresses many of Plato’s ideas about aesthetics, metaphysics (including his Theory of Forms), and psychology, among other topics. The entire ten-book text can be found here.
Book 2 of Plato’s Republic is a transitional chapter, which continues the debate about justice from Book 1 and introduces important ideas that are deployed later in the text. In Book 2, we see Socrates take up the challenge of explaining why it is good to be just rather than unjust, but we have to wait until Book 4 to see a first full answer to that question. Book 2 should therefore be read as part of the Republic’s extended argument, rather than as a self-contained chapter.
Key Concepts
Intrinsic Value – Value a thing has independently or inherently. Intrinsically valuable things are worth pursuing for their own sake. For example, you just have fun because it’s fun: you don’t have fun in order to get something else. Most ancient philosophers thought happiness was intrinsically valuable.
Extrinsic Value – Value a thing has that is dependent on something else. Extrinsically valuable things are worth pursuing because they get you something else that is valuable. Money, for instance, is only useful because it can be exchanged for other things.
Principle of Specialization – The idea that work is more efficient and more effective if each worker specializes in exactly one task. For example, a factory assembly line or kitchen staff will have each employee do only one small part of the larger process.
Is it Better to be Bad?
Book 1 of the Republic ends with Socrates winning an argument with Thrasymachus, concluding that just people are happy and unjust people unhappy. Yet Book 2 shows us that Plato is not done yet. Two other characters, Glaucon and his brother Adeimantus (Plato’s brothers in real life), immediately challenge Socrates to keep going.
Book 2, 357a-358a
So he said to me: Socrates, do you wish really to persuade us, or only to seem to have persuaded us, that to be just is always better than to be unjust?
I should wish really to persuade you, I replied, if I could.
Then you certainly have not succeeded. Let me ask you now:—How would you arrange goods—are there not some which we welcome for their own sakes, and independently of their consequences, as, for example, harmless pleasures and enjoyments, which delight us at the time, although nothing follows from them?
I agree in thinking that there is such a class, I replied.
Is there not also a second class of goods, such as knowledge, sight, health, which are desirable not only in themselves, but also for their results?
Certainly, I said.
And would you not recognize a third class, such as gymnastic, and the care of the sick, and the physician’s art; also the various ways of money-making—these do us good but we regard them as disagreeable; and no one would choose them for their own sakes, but only for the sake of some reward or result which flows from them?
There is, I said, this third class also. But why do you ask?
Because I want to know in which of the three classes you would place justice?
In the highest class, I replied,—among those goods which he who would be happy desires both for their own sake and for the sake of their results.
Then the many are of another mind; they think that justice is to be reckoned in the troublesome class, among goods which are to be pursued for the sake of rewards and of reputation, but in themselves are disagreeable and rather to be avoided.
Here, Glaucon introduces three categories of valuable things: some have intrinsic value, some have extrinsic value, and some have both. The challenge is to show that justice belongs to the first or third category, rather than the second. The worry is that, if justice only has extrinsic value, then it could be abandoned if we can get the same valuable things in other ways, or if there are other things that are more valuable. In other words, people may only act justly because of the rewards and punishments involved, not because of justice itself. The challenge is: can Socrates justify justice?
Main Idea
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Value
The distinction between intrinsic value and extrinsic value depends on where the value is located. If something is intrinsically valuable, it has its value by itself, on its own. If something is extrinsically valuable, then its value ultimately depends on something else. For example, if you have a job, you typically do that job in order to get paid, because you need that money for other things (like food or rent). If your job stopped paying you for work, you would probably stop doing the work. Likewise, if you won the lottery and no longer needed extra money, you would probably stop doing the work. This shows that your job is only extrinsically valuable: it’s only good to you to the extent it gets you something else. Compare this with a hobby you enjoy: you do it for fun, with no ulterior motive or extra incentives (it might even be costly in time or resources). Hobbies are intrinsically valuable because it is the hobby itself you enjoy, not the consequences. Note that these are not exclusive categories: the same activity may have both kinds of value. For example, a college class can be both extrinsically valuable (it gets you a degree you need for a better job), but also intrinsically valuable (it is interesting and good for you to learn).
About this reading
Why Be Good? The City and the Soul Plato’s Republic, Book 2 was retrieved from The Philosophy Teaching Library. This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.
