Justice and ideas in Plato’s Republic

Abstract

Plato argues in the Republic that in both the city and the soul, justice is the well- functioning of their parts. There are now plenty of books about the well- functioning of organizations, cities, and one’s psyche, but their authors do not call it “justice”. One such book, published in French in 2017 (under the title Foutez-vous la paix!, by Fabrice Midal), goes even further and claims that to reach inner peace and psychic well-functioning we have to stop reasoning completely. Anyway, why does Plato insist that justice is, in both city and soul, the well-functioning of their parts? This is the main question I shall address in my essay.