In Plato’s Republic IV: Justice in the City, Justice in the Soul
In Plato’s Republic IV: Justice in the City, Justice in the Soul, the author compares the city to the soul. He divides the city into three parts including wisdom, courage, and moderation, while the three elements of the soul include reason, spirit, and appetite. Socrates asserts that the character of the city is determined by the predominant role, which also implies that the dominant part of the soul defines an individual. In this analogy of the soul and the city, he posits that a just person is happier than an unjust one. In essence, he succeeds in explaining that a just city is equally happier than an unjust city. Socrates assumes that a clear, calculated, and exciting relationship exists between the values and the structural features of the city.
Justice as the Right Order of the City and the Soul
In his analogy, Socrates argues that justice is the right order of the city as it is to the soul. For instance, he argues that the same account of justice should apply to the individual and the city because the same account of any establishment X must apply to everything that is X. Additionally, Socrates believes that all the parts of the city or the soul are components of the whole body. Therefore, the justice of one part determines the justice and happiness of the individual. In this case, if the individuals in the city are just then the city will equally be.
Curiosity and Controversy Surrounding the Analogy
Nevertheless, this approach and analogy are somewhat curious and puzzling as a philosophical idea. Here Socrates seems to apply the analogy in different ways, which bring the controversy about its exact extent as well as its usefulness in attempting to define and defend justice regarding the individual.
