POL200Y1 Lecture : lecture
Document Summary
At the end of book 4, socrates seems to have tied up the argument into a neat package. Socrates has succeeded at his own argument that justice is good for the human being that practices it. The justice to the individual is equal to his happiness. If justice means happiness to the city, it must mean the same for the individual. Socrates has won the argument with glaucon as well as he did with thrasymachus. Justice in the individual becomes an internal matter and the just man emerges as one who only does good for himself. The reason behind the actions of a just man remain unstated, but it is understood that they benefit him only. Yes, if we redefine happiness as justice and justice as happiness. The justice of the just man is without reference to his relations with other individuals. This doesn"t explain how we should treat others, and how treating them as such will benefit us.
