The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic, 2016a

45 Injustice is Sick
See 444a-445e. If justice is all three parts of the soul keeping to their proper jobs,
then, Socrates argues, injustice is “their meddling and interfering with one
another’s jobs, the rebellion of a part of the soul against the whole in order to rule
it inappropriately.” And this is mentally unhealthy. For if health is a matter of
having “the elements that are in the body in their natural relations of mastering and
being mastered by one another,” then injustice, by analogy, is sickness of the soul.
Glaucon, impressed by this conclusion, thinks his challenge has nearly been met;
but Socrates thinks more needs to be said. He turns to identifying and discussing
five kinds of cities and five analogous kinds of souls. One pair they have already
dealt with, the just city and soul. This constitution they call “aristocracy,” which
means, literally, “ruled by the best.” The four pairs of unjust cities and souls,
however, are not going to be discussed until Book VIII. The conversation is first
going to return to some details concerning the just city, and then, about two thirds
of the way into Book V, take an important detour that will run through Books VI
and VII.
What is illness? Is Socrates right about it being a matter of certain elements
of the body being improperly ruled by other elements in the body?
What is mental illness? Are foolishness, cowardice, licentiousness, and the
other vices kinds of mental illness?
Are all unjust people mentally ill? (Notice this is not the question of
whether all mentally ill people are unjust.)
What does Socrates have yet to prove to meet Glaucon’s challenge? Has he
proven that justice is desirable for its own sake? Has he proven that being
just is more desirable than being tortured to death is undesirable?
If you were going to interrupt the discussion at this point, what question or
objection would you put to Socrates?
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