Paper Summary:

A discussion on Plato's "The Republic" with special interest in the ideas of justice, pleasure and the make-up of the soul. The writer makes reference to other philosophers of the time, such as Thrasymachus and Annas, who discuss similar themes without necessarily agreeing with Socrates' opinions. The writer concludes that since Plato believes justice comes when the superiority of reason is present, it proves that the philosopher's life affords the greatest pleasure of all.

From the Paper:

"Annas makes the interesting suggestion that Plato understood that the Socratic method was insufficient for "dealing with the powerful claim of the moral skeptic, that there is really no reason to be just, and that one should, if one is rational and intelligent, look after one's own interests" (57). The claim that injustice produces a better life than justice could be so persuasive that Plato changed to a different style of argument for the rest of The Republic--as well as expanding Socrates' investigation of justice to include a solid defense of the just life as the better life."

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