Me and Cephalus Case

Book One - What is Just? What is Right? What is Due?

June 12, 2006

Humans are very diverse. We come in every size, shape, and can be found all over the world. We were all born with what the Declaration of Independence calls a natural right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." One aspect of our humanity that connects us all is that we are all searching for answers to questions like how do we run our lives, how are we going to pursue happiness, and what will be right and just in a situation.

The questions of how to run our lives is something that we see strewn throughout literature. In Douglas Adam's book the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the characters are looking for the answer to the ultimate question. In Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," he asks which road he should take, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both..." Finally, in Plato's Republic Book One, what is just and what is right are the questions the characters wrestle with and explore.

Right away in Book One of Plato's Republic, we meet Socrates, in the city of Piraeus. It is a port town, with many different groups and ideas that are considered outlandish by mainstream Greek culture. The city is known for its innovation. It was seen as a haven for new discussions to take place and new ideas to be tossed around. There were a variety of opinions on how a person should approach life and the decisions that are faced.

While on his way out of Piraeus, Socrates was spotted by his friend Polemarchus. He persuaded Socrates to come back to his house. They wanted to have a discussion. The house was all set so the discussion could start as soon as they got there.

Socrates first starts talking with Cephalus, Polemachus' father. Socrates is interested in finding out from Cephalus what it is like to be in "the threshold of old age." Cephalus talks about how when he was younger he had much more of an appetite for vices like sex, "drinking bouts", and feasts. Now that he is older he realizes that these activities were not the best. Cephalus refers to the activities as "savage masters."

Socrates then brings up money. He wonders if money is at the root of Cephalus' contentment. Cephalus says, he has not been content but lives in fear. He has started to think more about the after life and his fear of eternity in Hades. He has spent many sleepless nights worrying about the unjust deeds that he has performed and his unpaid debts. He emphasizes the importance of leading a good, holy, and just life, which brings a person much hope.

Cephalus points out that living a high and moral life is great but that there is also a need for money. He says that wealth is not the highest thing but it is an important tool in living an intelligent life. The amount of money that a person has contributes to how they go about living. Their natural question is if they are supposed to be living right and just lives, what is justice?

Cephalus weakly defines justice as being "the truth and giving back what a man has taken from another." Socrates asks if a weapon should be given back to an angry friend, even if it is the friend's property. What would be just? It is not just to give it back. Cephalus' definition of justice does not stand up.

Polemarchus quickly jumps in with his definition of justice, "giving to each man what is owed to him." If this definition is taken more in the general sense, it seems to be much more accurate. Socrates seems to take it with much more of a limited scope, more in a physical or monetary sense. It can be debated what Polemarchus meant by the definition.

Socrates takes on the definition by comparing it to the art of medicine or cooking. If a man is a cook, seasoning is what is owed to the meat. If a man is a doctor, then medicine and becoming