Study Guide
Plato - The Republic (Book I)
1. Why does Cephalus quote the poet Sophocles? What does Cephalus think of
what Sophocles says? (329b)
2. What is the first definition of justice that Socrates questions? How
is the example of the borrowed weapons related? (331c)
3. The first definition of justice gets modified slightly to be "doing good
to friends and harm to enemies" (332d). What problem develops for this definition?
(-334b)
4. What does Polemarchus say justice is useful for in peacetime? (333a)
5. Socrates argues that on Polemarchus' conception of justice, it would turn
out that it is sometimes just to harm friends and just to help enemies. (334e)
How does Socrates reach this conclusion? What modification of the definition
of 'friend' does Polemarchus suggest as a result? (335a)
6. What is Socrates' argument against it being just to harm one's enemies?
(335)
7. What is Thrasymachus' opinion of Socrates? What does he want Socrates
to do? How does Socrates respond? (336-337)
8. What is Thrasymachus' definition of justice? (338c)
9. What is Thrasymachus' further explanation of his definition of justice?
(339a)
10. What problem develops for Thrasymachus' initial definition of justice
if he admits that 1) the rulers sometimes make mistakes about what is to
their advantage, while at the same time claiming that 2) it is just for the
people to obey whatever the rulers say?
11. How does Socrates reach the conclusion that the rulers always rule for
the advantage of those they rule? (340a-342e)
12. What is Thrasymachus' response to Socrates' argument that the rulers
always rule for the advantage of those they rule? (343)
13. According to Socrates, why do decent men agree to rule others? (347b)
14. Socrates shifts his focus to Thrasymachus' claim that injustice is more
profitable than justice. (348b) How does Socrates try to show the just man
to be good and wise and the unjust man to be bad and unlearned? (348c-350d)
15. What is the point of the arguments about the virtue of the eyes, ears,
etc.? (353b-353e)
16. What is Socrates' final conclusion at the end of Book I? What questions
remain unanswered?