Plato’s “Republic” Book I.2: The Primacy of Justice over Injustice (347-356)
Details
This meeting is to finish the first book since I realized that becauseuse y’all talked so much we did not even get to the most important part of the whole book. This starts at Stephanys page 347 (which in my edition is page 31), where Socrates says “Then now Thrasymachus, there is no longer any doubt that neither arts nor governments provide for their own interests…”
After this part Socrates presents a further argument, that justice is more primary or fundamental than injustice.
He then poses the question whether the just and only the just are truly happy.
These two points are so important that I think we should spend an entire meeting on them. Read ahead to Book II because there he presents two thought experiments to test whether justice is the same as or necessary for “happiness“ (whatever that is ).
By the way, this part stands alone and makes sense even if you have not read the preceding textt.
PS: the pages given above are the Stepanus pages, which some editions leave out.