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HERES A PROBLEM RIGHT FROM PLATO:
In talhing about Justice in his masterpiece the REPUBLIC, Plato deals with the question of Justice. One of the participants states that justice is only good because of its consequences while the character of Socrates says that Justice is a good in and of itself! What do you think? Is Justice a good in and of itself? Now consider this parable which counters the idea that Justice is a good in and of itself: The story of Gygeses - Gygeses was a sheep herder in ancient times. One day while herding his sheep (or doing whatever sheep herders do - Im no expert) an earthquake occurred! After the earthquake was finished, a gorge was left in the Earth. Gygeses looked in the gorge and saw a wooden horse! Gygeses climed down the gorge and looked in the horse and saw a statue which had a golden ring! Gygeses climbed into the horse and took the golden ring! A week or so later as Gygeses was doing his sheep herding job, He turned the ring on his finger and magically he dissappeared!!!! He knew he had dissappeared because he was standing near a river and when he went to heard his sheep they coundn't see him! By simply turning the ring a certain direction, he could dissappear and reappear at will! Thus taking this new found power into accout and knowing he would never be caught, Gygeses went into the city! He began to do as he wished by taking what he wanted! Eventually, He took the powers of the ring and used them to seduce the queen and murder her husband! Gygeses since society no longer constrained him, became ruler of the country! Thus, following from this story, Justice is not good in and of itself because if it was, Gygeses would of continued to act justly even though society no longer constrained him! Justice according to this notion, is only good because it restrains us from acting out our passions because we fear the consequences! Justice is basically a restraint! Do you agree withy this theory! Plato didn't! Following from this parable, one must ask oneself, is Man/Women naturally good or do I only act good because if I didn't I would be an outcast in society? What if you had the ring? What would you do? Remember, society no longer constrains you so why follow the laws of society! Assume you were born with this magical ring and didn't have to learn the restraints of society from the beginning. Wouldn't this have an affect?