The History Book Club discussion

This is a spoiler thread so no html needs to be used

For those of you reading Plato's The Republic - one of the first questions that is asked or pondered is "what is justice"?

by Plato

In this thread we can discuss at length - What is Justice?

Socrates addresses this question both in terms of political communities and in terms of the individual person or soul.

The second question to discuss here on this thread is the following - "Is the just person happier than the unjust person?”

Or another question - What is the relation of justice to happiness?”

You may take part in this discussion even if you are not reading Plato's The Republic.

As a beginning:

Folks an overview of some of the questions that you might find discussed in Plato's Republic and this is just a small sampling - I will add more so that you are on the lookout for them and can ponder what you think Plato through Socrates and the Socratic Dialogues are discussing and asking you to think about.

Plato The Republic was probably written around 380 B.C.E.

This was the first great work in the Western Civilization that concerned itself with political philosophy and the most influential - it could be the most influential in philosophy in general - many of the topics are political - but they move into the realm of major philosophical interest areas.

This is therefore considered for many the first great work in the area of political philosophy - and the Socratic Dialogues with Plato talking through Socrates and others tries to discuss and respond to these questions?

1. What is Justice?
2. What is Education?
3. What is the Role that Education should play in a political system?
4. What is the best life that a human being can lead?
5. Is censorship of music and literature ever justified?
6. What sort of person should rule the state?
7. Is it ever permissible for a ruler to lie to its citizens?
8. Should citizens be allowed complete freedom when it comes to private property and sexual relationships?
9. Are all citizens equal before the law?
10. Should women have equal rights as men?
11. Should all citizens have equal access to healthcare?
12. Why should you be good?

The above is a small sample of the questions that are discussed. I will add others periodically so that you can reflect on them as we go along.


Albert Einstein's Opinion

You may take any excerpt from The Republic to discuss here as a springboard to the discussion of justice.

Some questions to think about:

“Is the just person happier than the unjust person?” or “what is the relation of justice to happiness?”