NAME:PRATEEK DUHAN

ENROLLMENT NO.: 08951103820

B.A.LL.B SEC.B
Email ID- Prateekduhan990@gmail.com
SUBMITTED TO: Dr. SMITA GUPTA
TOPIC: PLATO’S CONCEPT OF JUSTICE
INDEX
 INTRODUCTION
Plato, a Greek philosopher, is one of the most creative influential thinkers in political
philosophy. This outstanding Greek philosophers has left behind many important
works, out of which ‘the Republic’ is of great interest to all those interested in the
history of political ideas. Plato has been credited for laying the foundations of the
Greek political theory, as he explored, analyzed and covered a wide range of
philosophical perspectives and issues. In his philosophy Plato gives a prominent place
to the idea of justice. He gave the idea of Ideal state which possessed the theory of
justice. An ideal state for Plato possessed the four cardinal virtues of wisdom,
courage, self- control and justice. In this notion ‘Justice’ was doing one’s job for which
one was naturally fitted without interfering with other people. For Plato, ‘state was
Ideal, of which justice was the reality’. Justice was the principle on which the state had
to be founded and a contribution made towards the excellence of the city. The central
question of the ‘Republic’ was the meaning of justice or right conduct or morality
 Justice in the State and Individual
One’s search for the meaning of justice in Plato’s “Republic” would finally
lead to two definitions:
-“Justice is Harmony”, and
-“Justice is doing one’s own job”.
Plato was highly dissatisfied with the prevailing degenerating conditions in
Athens. The Athenian democracy was on the verge of ruin and was ultimately
responsible for Socrates’ death. This is why he gave the theory of justice.
In the theory of justice Plato said that every individual was a functional unit,
assigned a particular task with clear-cut obligations and privileges, which one
was expected to perform diligently and meticulously.
Moreover, since everybody would be involved in the performance of a socially
required function, it would minimize, if not altogether eliminate, the probability
of being a free rider and bring harmony in the society.
He gave two important theories under the theory of justice, namely:
A. Theory of Three Classes and Three Soul
• Plato explained his arguments for differing individual capacities with the help of
the theory of three classes and three souls, an idea borrowed from Pythagoras.
• He pointed out that every human soul had three qualities: rational, spirit and
appetite, with justice as the fourth virtue, architectonic in nature, balancing and
harmonizing the other three qualities.
• In each soul, one of these qualities would be the predominant faculty.
Individuals in whom the rational faculty was predominant would constitute the ruling
class, and the virtue of such a soul was wisdom.
 Those in whom spirit was the predominant quality were the warriors, and the virtue of
such souls was courage. Together, the rulers and soldiers would constitute the guardian
class.
 Individuals whose souls were appetitive exhibited a fondness for material things. These
were the artisans, the producing class.
B. Myth of Metals and of the Earth-born
The Myth of Metals and of the Earth-born rationalized the fact that all human
beings were born of earth, and their bodies were mixed with different metals; the
philosophic - rational ones were made of gold, the spirited- courageous ones of
silver, and the appetitive ones of bronze. The myth was necessary to sustain the
Ideal state, by convincing everyone of their rightful place in society, and the
obligations. It also suggested that in spite of their differences, all individuals were
born of the earth.
Justice in the individual meant that every individual was assigned a place in society
according to one’s natural aptitudes and skills. In other words, justice meant
departmental excellence. For Plato, resistant was the key to proper development
and societal harmony. In this sense, justice was social. A just individual was also a
good person. His purpose was to show ‘how ought we to live’ and tried to establish
the relationship between virtue and happiness.
Justice in the state meant that the three social classes performed the functions of
governing, defense, and production, without interfering with the functions of the
others. Justice was “one class, one duty; one man, one work”. Plato drew a parallel
between the three social classes and the three elements of the human soul. Each
soul had a corresponding social class. A just society recognized and educated every
individual talent according to the dominant element in one’s soul. Plato understood
injustice to mean interference and meddlesomeness. Any interchange in jobs
between the three social classes would bring harm to the state and was the worst
evil. On the contrary, if the rulers, warriors and artisans performed their respective
tasks, then such a state would be just. For Plato, human faculties were not
hereditary. An individual’s functional role in society was determined by his own
natural aptitudes, and not by parental lineage. To ensure that the parents did not
manipulate to get the best for their child, they were made to give up their child to
the state, which in turn would categorize and educate him in the appropriate
faculty that he was endowed with. This in itself was a revolutionary step,
considering that all ancient societies were stratified, and Athens was no exception.
 PLATONIC JUSTICE
• According to Plato, justice is not a legal concept but a moral one.
• Plato categorises Justice at two levels- individual justice and social justice.
• According to Plato, Justice represents itself on a larger and more definite scale in
a State.
• Individually, justice is a human virtue.
• Socially, justice is a political consciousness which makes state internally
harmonious and united.
• The foundation of the State is the principle that “one man should practise one
thing only and that to which his nature was best adapted.”
CHARACTERISTICS
• Justice is a virtue, a moral concept.
• State has a will and personality of its own.
• Organic conception, leading to first organic theory of State.
• A Universal theory.
• Individualism along with Idealism. Individual as a part of society.
CRITICISM
• Plato’s theory of justice lacks legal definition:- there is no law to guard
individual voluntary action and protect against the clash of interests.
• Subjective definition
• A system of duties. It makes the state bigger than the Individual.
• Functional specialisation leads to retarded development of the
individual, not all round development.
• Power is given absolutely to the philosopher king which can
degenerate into dictatorship and absolutism.
CONCLUSION
Plato was the first systematic political theorist, and a study of the
Western philosophical tradition begins with his masterpiece, the
Republic. The Republic dealt with the question of achieving justice in
society. In answering this question, it focused on other interrelated
themes, like the right kind of life, the nature of human beings, the
purpose and goals of political associations, the ideal type of political
system, the classification of constitutions, the need for good and the
nature and meaning of knowledge. So, in a world of rapid change with
history compressed Plato’s theory of justice has been both an
inspiration and a warning for subsequent efforts in Utopian projects
REFERENCES