The initial debate about justice between Socrates and Polemarchus is incredible. It really shows that you have to know the foundation for your beliefs. Socrates quickly flusters Polemarchus to the point that he makes the comment, "...I no longer know what I did mean..." Socrates remains cool throughout. It's also clear to me that the arguments of Socrates seem to always revert towards an idealistic view. Such as justice. With all his talk about pilots and doctors, he seeks to nullify Thrasymachus' view of rulers. Yet it's important that the definition he establishes of these titles hinges upon how the holders of these titles "should" act. Socrates doesn't appear to take into account how flawed humans actually act even though human fallibility is mentioned many times.
P. S. I commented on Brydon's queso postito.
Yeah, it really interests and really annoys me how futile their conversation sometimes seems. Yes, we can debate logical concepts until the cows come home, but how is that beneficial if there is no practical application other than to stretch your mind?
ReplyDeleteI think the philosophy in the Republic is intentionally vague. If he spells out exactly how to carry out perfect justice, would it really be just? I might only be Socrates version of justice. This might be something we have to work out on our own.
ReplyDeleteSocrates isn't cool... He is annoying! He's like all kids were when they asked "WHY" to every answer to the preceding question. If he were to give declarative insight, rather than strictly questioning, I would think him cool, because he's obviously a smart guy.
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