the republic of plato

What is justice? How is it established and maintained, both in societies and in individuals? What are the characteristics of a just city, a just man and a just regime? And perhaps most poignantly, what does justice profit us in the end? In his Republic, Plato seeks to offer a definition of what justice truly is, and to examine whether or not it benefits the human soul. To do this, he takes a piercingly detailed look at the inner workings of a city, a man, a regime, and human nature.

Plato’s strategy throughout the dialogue is to examine justice on a large scale in societies and cities, and proceed by relating this political justice of society to the individual justice of a single man. His first step is to envision an ideal city, in which justice is given full authority. 

This city is constructed of three classes of people—the leaders, the auxiliaries (guardians), and the craftsmen. The leaders, known as “philosopher kings”, guide the city in truth and wisdom and prepare the young for future leadership. The auxiliaries, who are second in authority, are tasked with guarding and protecting the city, while the craftsmen are at the lowest level of society and perform the city’s most basic tasks. 

Each sphere of the society is entirely distinct from the others, and the individuals in the spheres are not permitted to work in multiple spheres. For example, a leader cannot also be a shoe maker, for he will fall short in both his responsibilities. Each individual has a unique task, and his sole responsibility is to carry out that task to the best of his ability. The spheres are to mind their own business, to not intermingle, to perform their specific function and not reach beyond themselves. Why is this severe caste system imposed? While it admittedly limits the pleasures and possibilities of each group, it ensures that the city is led by those who are most fit to lead, guarded by those who are most fit to guard, and provided for by those who are most fit to provide. It is in this way that the city is most effectively governed, protected and served. It is in this way that justice in the city will be preserved.

Establishing that a city is “just when each of the three classes of natures present in it minded it’s own business and, again, moderate, courages, and wise because of certain other affections and habits of these same classes”, Plato turns to evaluate the characteristics of a just man and define individual justice. His tactic is to parallel the soul of a man to the spheres of the city, explaining that a single man has “these same forms in his soul” and “thanks to the same affections in the city, rightly lays claim to the same names”. 

What are these three affections of the soul? Plato distinguishes them as the calculating part, the spirited part, and the desiring part. The calculating part in a soul strives for knowledge—it is wise, eager to learn and capable of deciding between good and evil. The spirited part thirsts for honor and urges a man to action, while the desiring part is that which “loves, hungers, thirsts and is agitated by other desires”. 

These affections directly relate to the spheres of the city. The calculating affection to the leaders, the spirited affection to the auxiliaries and the desiring affection to the craftsmen. As a caste system exists in a just city, so it exists in a just soul. The calculating part, which understands what is beneficial for “each part and for the whole composed of the community of these three parts” is fit to lead, while the spirited part must be “obedient to it and its ally”. These two work together to tame and guide the desiring part and ensure that the man lives moderately and is not pulled away from justice by his desires. If a man refuses to develop or acknowledge his calculating part, but rather acts on what his spirited or desiring affections urge, his various wants will enslave him and he will leave the path of justice. 

Individual justice is defined as the man who does not let the “three classes in the soul meddle with each other” but “arranges himself…and harmonizes the three parts, exactly like three notes in a harmonic scale, lowest, highest and middle”. It is in doing this that he trains himself to be“moderate, harmonized” and just in all his actions. As the just city was revealed to be one in which each class minded its own business and submitted to wise leadership, so the just soul is one in which each part is orderly and obeys the calculating affection.

The just man lives in moderation and harmony, both within himself and with his neighbors. But what does this justice profit him? Does he receive any physical, intellectual or emotional gain from his private justice? To examine this question, Plato turns his gaze to the five forms of a regime, the five parallel forms of soul, and the three primary forms of human beings—each form standing at a different level of virtue or vice. By looking at the defining characteristics and physical and metaphysical statuses of these forms, the extent to which true justice profits a man is made clear.

The first and noblest form of regime is the aristocracy or kingship. It is a city lead by those who are most fit to lead, the “philosopher kings”. They love wisdom and truth and put “what is right and the honors coming from it above all, while taking what is just as the greatest and most necessary, and serving and fostering it”. They rule over a city of like-minded calculating philosopher-leaders, spirited auxiliaries, and money-making craftsmen. Like the aristocracy, the aristocratic man is lead by his calculating affection. He is ruled by the wisest part of his soul, taming both his spirit and his desires and protecting himself from being enslaved by them. He is neither rich nor poor materially, but has a great wealth of knowledge and wisdom that allows him to live a life that is free and full of the true pleasures that come from learning. Aristocratic souls are part of the first class of human beings, those who love wisdom, learning and truth. 

Following after aristocracy is the timarchic regime, where those who love honor and victory reign. This regime, and the men who resemble it, are athletic and warlike and love victories and honors above all else. Led by his spirited part rather than his calculating part, the timarchic man is a lover “of ruling and of honor, not basing his claim to rule on speaking or anything of the sort, but on warlike deeds and everything connected with war.” He is neither musical nor philosophical and has an underlying love of money, but still maintains a respect for justice and a desire for virtue throughout his life. Those who are timarchic in nature make up the second form of humans, the victory-loving class.

The oligarchic, democratic, and tyrannic regimes are ruled by those who love money, freedom and power respectively. They are guided by their various desires and have forsaken the search for justice. Addicted to their own pleasures, these men do not consider what is right or honorable but live solely for the whim of the moment. They may be wealthy, free or powerful in appearance, but their souls are poverty stricken, enslaved by greed and starved of knowledge. While the oligarchic and democratic men still have some lingering respect for virtue, the tyrannic man has given himself over entirely to his insatiable search for satisfaction. There is no truth in his thoughts, and his soul is held captive by his own desires. He is “a real slave to the greatest fawning and slavery…with his desires getting no kind of satisfaction…he is in most need of the most things and poor in truth…his entire life is full of fear, overflowing with convulsions and pains”. Together, these five forms of regime and soul make up the third class of humans: those who love gain.

These three primary classes of human beings, the wisdom-loving, victory-loving and gain-loving, give us clear insight into how personal justice affects both the physical and metaphysical state of a man. The just, wisdom-loving man lives moderately and is found to be content in his spirit and healthy in body and mind. The victory-loving and gain-loving man, lead by their desires rather than their calculations, live in various degrees of injustice. Lavish in their lifestyles and immoderate in their habits, they are found to be be unhealthy, dissatisfied and fearful men whose souls are essentially enslaved and tortured by their desires. It is clear to see that “of the three pleasures, the most pleasant would belong to that part of the soul with which we learn; and the man among us in whom this part rules has the most pleasant life.”

While each of the three classes of human beings has their own desires, whether it is for wisdom, victory or gain—these desires to not bring equal amounts of profit to the soul. The lesser pleasures, love of money and love of honor, must be considered as cessation from pain rather than true enjoyment when compared with the almost divine joys related to the love of wisdom. It is only the wisdom-loving philosophers who know and experience the comprehensive pleasure of knowledge and the just life it brings. 

These detailed sketches of human nature make the answer to the question of whether or not justice profits us brilliantly clear. Justice is worthwhile in its own sake, for by it a soul is content, peaceful and wise. Injustice, on the other hand, tortures the soul and sinks it into the depths of misery and depravity.

closing thoughts

What is justice? What are the characteristics of a just man? Is justice doing good to one’s friends and harm to one’s enemies? Is it simply following the law without asking questions? Or is it a deeper moral issue that causes us to do what we know to be right, regardless of what we are told by others? And what does justice profit the man who lives by it? These questions pierce the heart of humanity and cause us to rethink some of our most basic and foundational beliefs. 

While some of Plato’s thoughts and structures with regard to justice are flawed, I believe he was able to truly perceive what justice looks like in the soul of a man and understand the benefits that a man receives from his own personal justice. Justice is being wise in all things. It is evaluating every action, word, and thought in the light of what we know to be true. It is taming our desires, learning to act based on our understanding of what is right rather than on what we want. It is living in moderation, seeking peace with our neighbors, and valuing wisdom and learning above all else. A man who lives this way is healthy because he has trained himself to consume a moderate diet and maintain a reasonably active lifestyle. He is not too wealthy and not too poor, for he has learned how to handle money wisely but has no love of it. He values wisdom and learning above all else and cultivates a deep understanding of the world around him. He is kind, loving and content, because his soul thirsts for truth and wisdom—the true pleasures that satisfy a hungry soul as nothing else can. 

This portrait of justice is beautiful and rings with truth. Though Plato was writing in the spiritual darkness of a nation without Christ, I believe he was able to use logic to discern an idea of what Biblical justice is and to come incredibly close to grasping the Truth. What is justice, if not doing what we know to be right? How do we live justly, if not by seeking wisdom and following our calculations above our desires? When our wisdom is founded in Christ and our mind, soul and conscience are enlightened by His grace, following what we know to be right in Him is the path to true Justice. 

While this perfect justice is unattainable and no man can live a perfectly righteous and just life, one Man did. When my immortal soul stands in judgement before a Holy God, my life will not be just enough for Him. My righteousness will be filthy compared to His holiness. But I will be covered by the righteousness of the one just Man who died for me. And this is what makes justice so incomparably precious. That while I am not saved by my just works, they are the evidence of my salvation. That while my meager justice is not enough to cover my sins, by living a righteous life I can hope to come before Him without shame, having lived a life that honored and glorified Him. This is justice, and this is the eternal benefit of a life devoted to it.