PHL 201

Justice?

Is it better for a person to be just or unjust? Intuitively one would answer just,
but why this is the case is not as easily answered. This is the question that Socrates and
Glaucon attempt to answer in the second book of the Republic. Before Glaucon posits
his answer, he first distinguishes what type of good he believes justice is. Goods can be
differentiated into three distinct categories. The first consist of intrinsic goods, a good of
this kind is good in itself. It is not valued for its consequences or any other reason, but
for its own sake. The second type of goods are extrinsic goods, a good in this category
is the opposite of an intrinsic one. These goods are valued merely because they lead to
other things that one desires. The third category are the types of goods that encompass
both intrinsic and extrinsic qualities. A good of this kind is good in and of itself, as well
as because of its desirable consequences.
Many people hate their jobs, but nonetheless the garbage man shows up every
morning and slaves away until he makes it to quitting time. The garbage man does this
day after day not because he genuinely enjoys the art of picking up trash, but because

of the paycheck he receives every two weeks. The garbage mans job is instrumental in
him achieving what he wants.
Extrinsic goods do not have to be as unappealing as picking up trash, yet
Glaucon defines them as things that are whilst burdensome, beneficial as well. While
the garbage man is at his job doing extrinsically good work, his son it sitting in a college
class room. He is there to learn and gain knowledge, as well as earn a degree that will
allow him to avoid doing a monotonously dirty job the rest of his life. Knowledge can be
labeled as both an intrinsic and extrinsic good. Having knowledge is valued in itself, but
also leads to other goods, a well paying career for example.
Growing up with a garbage man as a father does not lead to a very happy
childhood. The garbage mans son told himself that he would never drop out of school
like his father, so after staying in school all those years and gaining vast amounts of
knowledge he finally became a doctor. With his high paying doctors salary the doctor is
now able to afford all the luxuries and privileges that his childhood was deprived of. The
garbage mans son is happy, and happiness is good in and of itself.
Glaucon sees justice as being solely extrinsic. When people are being just they
are dealing with its burden so they can reap the rewards of being just, particularly not
having injustices come upon them. The origin of justice, according to Glaucon, comes
from the realization that the suffering of injustice far outweighs the goodness of being

just. Since people have no way of being unjust without having injustices performed
against them, they came to an agreement to be just and to not impose injustices upon
others. Justice is the middle ground between the two. If one had the power, they would
certainly be an unjust individual. While having no power and only receiving injustices is
among the most lamentable things that could happen to a person.
To further support his argument, Glaucon tells the story of the Ring of Gyges. If
a man had the power to do as he wishes without the slightest threat of injustice, for
example having a magic ring that turns the wearer invisible, Glaucon suggests that the
wearer would not do just things, but on the contrary would do the most unjust things and
anyone who would do otherwise would be laughed at and mocked in private by his
peers. Furthermore, if one ring was given to a just man and another to an unjust man,
the two men would be found doing the very same things. The just man without the threat
of injustice would be indistinguishable from the unjust man. In a more formal way
Glaucons argument can be stated as the following:
i.

If the nature of justice is revealed by its contractual origin, then people will
rightly practice justice only unwillingly and to the extent that they must in
order to escape the lawless state.

ii.

The nature of justice is revealed by its contractual origin.

iii.

Thus, people practice justice only unwillingly and to the extent that they
must in order to escape the lawless state.

iv.

If people practice justice only unwillingly and to the extent that they must
in order to escape the lawless state, then justice is an extrinsic good.

v.

Therefore, justice is an extrinsic good.

Glaucons argument for justice being merely extrinsically good is not one of
sound quality, and arguably does not even have validity. Granted that the nature of
justice is in fact revealed by its contractual origin, it does not necessarily follow that
people will rightly practice justice only unwillingly. The Ring of Gyges story does not
have an all encompassing quality. Since this is a thought experiment, it is easy to think
of someone who would use the ring to do only just things. For example, superheros in
comic books have inhuman powers that can keep them from the consequences of
performing injustices. Some of them rightfully decide to do very unjust things, but
many others use their powers for good. So Glaucons example of not being able to
distinguish between the just man with the ring and the unjust man with the ring is not
sound. It is very plausible for the two to become archenemies and battle each other on a
weekly bases to one day have either justice or injustice prevail (saw that episode, the
good guy always wins).

Additionally, Glaucon makes a very common fallacy in his reasoning. Even if

most people are just merely for its extrinsic quality, it does not follow that justice is in fact
an extrinsic good. If many people believe something to be so, this does make it so. This
is an argumentum ad populum, an appeal to popular opinion, and is a very common
type of fallacy today and apparently in ancient Greece as well.