Final Research Paper

Jordan Morris

PHI 360

Dr. Thomas

10 May 2016

The Hunter Of Justice and Usage of Imagery in Plato’s Republic

Arguably one of the most important books about philosophy, Plato’s Republic has been taught, analyzed, and studied for thousands of years. Throughout history, philosophers, rulers, scholars, and politicians have never ceased to turn toward the Greek philosopher, Plato, to find the answers to basic questions and principals that continue to perplex mankind. Plato’s ideas revolutionized the subject of philosophy, and his works laid the foundation for many of the modern philosophical principals widely held today. The philosophical tradition of his work, the Republic, has become one of the cornerstones for political philosophy as well as philosophical history. It is in the Republic, Plato uses the character of Socrates, a well-known philosopher, traveling with his companions, to define, examine, analyze, and explain philosophical ideas and theories, and ultimately, the dialogue produced by Plato using Socrates becomes all encompassing.

Touching on various subjects such as politics, justice, nature of mankind, spirituality, and camaraderie, The Republic is a source of great power and understanding for anyone who nobly tackles its grand composition. While it continues to gain a following throughout its life, the Republic has become a source of serious debates and dissention of opinion. Scholars have agreed and disagreed on the messages that are present throughout the dialogue. In my opinion, Plato’s intentions, while conveyed through his character of Socrates, need to be decided by each reader of the Republic. I fervently believe that The Republic can mean many things for many people, and whatever one takes away from such a masterpiece will be an important piece of knowledge that will be carried throughout a lifetime. Through my interpretation of The Republic, I have come to realize various aspects that are deemed as important and appreciate the marvelous metaphors and imagery that Plato creates within the dialogue. One of the most important images within The Republic is the idea of justice as an animal and mankind as the hunter. Throughout Plato’s work, his character of Socrates is constantly and consistently hunting for justice in an effort to expose it and its truths to his cohorts. While this image is easy enough to understand on the basic level, I believe it goes further to symbolize something bigger, or a higher ideal, such as the strive for perfection or Good, which is also addressed within The Republic. Ultimately, I believe that Plato uses this image of a man as a hunter and justice as an animal to show mankind’s constant “hunt” for perfection and Good. Throughout this paper, I will address this hunting image of justice, and I will show the importance of imagery how it and how images are used to symbolize higher ideas within the Republic.

In order to understand justice and the relationship of mankind and justice to that of an animal and hunter, one must first understand Plato’s foundational argument concerning justice. Plato’s Socrates first begins his journey by attempting to explain the concept of justice after being accosted by his cohorts. On a journey to Piraeus, Socrates is taken to a discussion with Cephalus, an older man, concerning the progress of life and the knowledge acquired throughout his lifetime. The subject of justice is brought up, and Socrates poses his question to discern what justice is. Has to what is justice and is met by various degrees of dissent and aggravation, as his companions each pose a different answer. Cephalus believes justice is, “speaking the truth and giving back what one takes” (Plato 7). Polemarchus believes justice to be, “doing good to friends and harm to enemies” (Plato 8). “Thrasymachus offers the opinion that justice is, “nothing other than the advantage of the stronger” (Plato 15) and that injustice far surpasses justice, saying, “injustice, when it comes into being on a sufficient scale, is mightier and freer, and more masterful than justice (Plato 21-22). With these varying opinions of justice and sincere questioning, Plato’s Socrates, listens sincerely to his companions, claiming that, “It’s more fitting for you to speak; for you are the one who says he knows and can tell.” It is with Socrates’s observance of his companions first that adds a certain distinction to the analogy of Socrates as a hunter. Hunters are patient. They wait on their prey. This situation depicts Socrates as a hunter that is waiting for the opportune time to “attack” the justice that he seeks. After hearing from his companions, and waiting for the appropriate moment to begin his hunt to “catch” and expose justice, Socrates offers his opinion as to the definition of justice, which is ground in the light of virtue. Socrates states that the soul needs virtue in order to function justly, and, therefore, “justice is virtue of the soul” (Plato 33). With this in mind, Socrates continues his progress in hunting justice and the ultimate strive for perfection.

As the hunter, Socrates begins to seek justice and attain perfection, he uses a series of metaphors and illusions to better illustrate this journey. As the reader of the Republic departs from book one, it is beneficial to notice and explain the difference between Book 1 and the rest of the Republic. As Christopher Rowe explains in his article concerning Plato’s philosophical thought,

“Book I, towards the end, turns from attempting to define justice into a defense of it against an attack mounted by the fierce and redoubtable theoretician of rhetoric, Thrasymachus; then right at the end, Socrates reflects that he really needed to define it first, and Book 2 makes a new start with Glaucon and Adeimantus restating the case for injustice, and Socrates embarking on a new and apparently more successful search for the nature of justice” (Rowe 41).

It is with the beginning of Book 2 that Plato’s Socrates begins his active hunt/search for justice, and while this argument begins, one needs to note the underlying notion, which also serves to support the idea of Socrates as a hunter of justice. Rowe suggests that, “the main part of the Republic starts from the need to convince others of something” (Rowe 43). A hunter wants the ultimate prize, and in Socrates case, it is perfection. He wants to show it off and prove to others that he has achieved the ultimate goal. This motivation drives him to continue his hunt and find justice and perfection before his companions.

Plato’s Socrates begins Book 2 of the Republic by suggesting to his companions that they look to a city as an example to find justice, instead of the individual. Socrates suggests this due to the difficulty of focusing on the minute and particular saying, “we’re not clever men…perhaps there would be more justice in the bigger and its would be easier to observe closely…considering the likeness of the bigger in the idea of the littler” (Plato 45). Plato’s Socrates constructs the city in order to illustrate the “search” and offer an example of this in a palpable, tangible city. Socrates says that cities are formed, “when one man takes on another for one need and another for another need, and, since many things are needed, many men gather in one settlement as partners and helpers” (Plato 46). With a clear definition of what and where we he is looking, Socrates begins attempting to find justice by constructing different forms of cities to address his companions’ different notions of justice. First, Socrates constructs the “healthy city” which is the city with basic necessities and citizens living simply. The healthy city is met with complaints by his companions, so in order to prove his point, Socrates offers a definition for a “luxurious city,” which is more complex and similar to their familiar cities. Socrates illustrates that this type of city will be wrought with luxury, desires, and passions, and in order to protect the city and the people within the city, there needs to be a set of guards in place. Socrates proposes that the city must have protectors, or Guardians, who will protect the city from outsiders as well as protect justice inside the city. The Guardians are necessary in this city because of its passionate and luxurious nature, so to find justice it will, “require additional measures to cure, or check, the ‘fever’” (Rowe 43). With a clear city in mind, Socrates introduces this notion of guardians as “hunters’ of justice, like himself, and continues to explain their importance in the search for justice and perfection.

The Guardians become a central figure concerning justice in the Republic, and Socrates takes special care in defining the type of individual who will be a Guardian of the city. The character and nature of these individuals are of the upmost priority if they are to be “hunters” of justice. He first describes the Guardians as, “the man who’s going to be a fine and good guardian of the city for us will in his nature be philosophic, spirited, swift, and strong” (Plato 53). All of these qualities are specific and play a defining role in finding out what justice is as well as how to achieve perfection. Socrates makes it extremely clear that these Guardians must be educated and trained specifically in order to exercise the previously mentioned qualities and seek justice. First, Socrates advocates a firm basis of education that is free from poetry because it clouds the minds of the guardians when they are young and easily influenced as to what is real and what is unreal. Socrates claims,

 “a young thing can’t judge what is hidden sense and what is not; but what he takes into his opinions at that age has a tendency to become hard to eradicate and unchangeable. Perhaps its for this reason that we must do everything to insure that what they hear first, with respect to virtue, must be the finest told tales for them to hear” (Plato 56).

By having a firm foundation that is free from all falsehood and licentious prose, these Guardians are able to continue to grow and become a proper “hunter” of justice. He continues to explain the necessary education of the Guardians, and states that they should be well immersed in, “the forms of moderation, courage, liberality, magnificence, and all their kin, and again, their opposites, everywhere they turn up, and notice that they are in whatever they are in” (Plato 81). It is with these key virtues that the Guardians are able to better protect as well as seek out justice because they are trained, just as a hunter, to recognize what they are seeking and what tools are needed for their “hunt. ”

Socrates continues to emphasize that the education include gymnastics, so the Guardians are physically fit and able to withstand illnesses. Socrates explains why, stating,

“it doesn’t look to me as thought it’s a sound body that by its virtue makes the soul good, but the opposite: a good soul by its own virtue makes the body as good as it can be… we gave adequate care to the intellect and turned over to it the concern for the precise details about the body” (Plato 82).

Therefore, body must be paid just as much attention as the mind in order for a guardian to be fully well rounded.  A physically fit, and healthy body are indicative of an active hunter, and this is another example that the Guardians are analogous to hunters. 

            After Socrates has elaborated as to what “tools” and proper education Guardians need to have in order to pursue justice, as he is doing, he further strengthens his motives and claims of Guardians as the hunters of justice, stating, after his completion of founding the city in speech, “we can somehow see where the justice might be” (Plato 105). It is with this statement that Socrates explains that there is justice present in a city, and it is the responsibility of the Guardians to “hunt” and keep the justice among the people and the city because they have had the proper education and training, similarly to hunters having to be trained in order to properly execute a hunt. Socrates states, “it’s the guardian’s skill,” (Plato 106), and it is with this that they are able to search for justice in the city. He further affirms the imagery of the hunt saying,

“so then Glaucon, we must, like hunters, now station ourselves in a circle around the thicket and pay attention so that justice doesn’t slip through somewhere and disappear into obscurity. Clearly it’s somewhere hereabouts. Look to it and make every effort to catch sight of it; you might somehow see it” (Plato 110).

 In order to finally find justice, Socrates states that it is necessary for the other key virtues: wisdom, courage, and moderation, to be found first in order to understand the true form of justice. This is because these virtues are in competition with that of justice. Socrates states, “justice is the minding of one’s own business…with respect to the city’s virtue, this power that consists in each man’s minding his own business in the city is a rival to wisdom, moderation, and courage” (Plato 111-112). Therefore, it is necessary to find these other virtues before justice can be found.

Socrates states, “after having considered moderation, courage, and prudence, this is what’s left over in the city; it provided the power by which all these others came into being; and…justice would be what’s left over from the three if we found them” (111). After the Guardians have found all the other virtues, justice will be the single, elusive “prey” that is left to be caught during the “hunt.”

            The whole search for justice in the city is analogous to the search for a bigger picture, which is justice within the individual. Socrates explains that, “the just man will not be any different from the just city, with respect to the form itself of justice, but will be like it” (Plato 113). In order to better explain justice, Plato constructed a city so justice could be “hunted” easily, but, in fact, justice can be hunted and seen within the individual soul, and will, in turn, cause a just city.  Socrates explains that the soul and the city are divided into three separate, analogous parts. The calculating part of the soul is likened to the Guardians of the city, the spirited part of the soul is liked to the auxiliaries of the city, and the desiring part of the soul is equal to the workers of the city. With these comparative images, Socrates is able to illustrate how justice and the Good are attained, or “caught”. Essentially, the city needs to be ruled by the guardians, and the soul ruled by the calculating part of the soul. Each are types/ shadows of the other.  Christopher Rowe further explains that, “the rational part of the soul is naturally oriented toward the good, that conventionally just behavior is part of that good, and that reason is capable of determining that it is…justice is the arête, goodness, of the soul that we need justice for good living, that justice is wisdom” (Rowe 52). Therefore, in order to have a just city and just soul, the calculating pat and Guardians must be in charge.

            Once Plato furthers our understanding of who and how justice will be hunted, he launches into other images concerning seeking justice and how it can be found. In Book 6, Plato presents the image of a ship of state, and compares the city/soul analogy to parts of a ship. Socrates explains that on a ship there are three parts, the ship owner, sailors, and the true pilot, or stargazer. He describes their inherent natures stating that, “though the ship owner surpasses everyone on board in height and strength, he is rather deaf and likewise somewhat shortsighted, and his knowledge of seamanship is pretty much on the same level…the sailors are quarreling with one another about the piloting, each supposing he out to pilot, although he has never learned the art…the true pilot it is necessary to pay careful attention to year, seasons, heaven, stars, winds, and everything that’s proper to the art…the true pilot will really be called a stargazer” (Plato 168). With a ship, like a city and soul, each of these parts has their distinctive duties.  The only way for a ship to run successfully is to have the stargazer as the true pilot, and analogously, in order for a city to be good, the philosophers must be the rulers. The ship, and the city, will only succeed if the right and proper leader is in control.  This “ship of state” imagery is another example of Socrates using an image to explain how to successfully “hunt” justice, as well as pointing to achieving true Goodness.

            Perhaps the most famous imagery of the Republic is of the cave. Plato’s character, Socrates, introduces a cave and describes it in detail as a sort of underground prison with one opening entrance that holds individuals as prisoners chained to the inside of the cave walls. Socrates says, “they are in it from childhood with their legs and necks in bound so that they are fixed, seeing only in front of them, unable because of the bong to turn their heads all the way around” (Plato 193). These prisoners are forced to remain at the bottom of the cave to watch shadows on a blank wall and are left to determine exactly what the images are in reality, without any prior knowledge. Exposure to only shadows deceives the prisoner’s view of the object, and they are ultimately misled as to what is actually the truth and reality.  Socrates states, “such men would hold that the truth is nothing other than the shadow of artificial things” (Plato 194). Once freed from the cave, after an initial stage of shock, the prisoners slowly begin to realize what the shadows depicted, and in turn learn the truth.  Plato uses an image of a cave to symbolize mankind’s ignorance when at the bottom of the cave, and then enlightenment when he is freed from the cave and given the ability to see the truth in the world. Plato uses the image of the cave to show, “make an image of our nature in its education and want of education” (Plato 193). With this motivation, Plato is showing that mankind has a natural want of education and knowledge of the truth. Just as a hunter seeks its prey, mankind will not only long to be free, but be educated and know the truth of the world. Plato is again using imagery to point to the higher goal. The “hunt” for knowledge symbolizes the “hunt” for justice, which is in itself an image for the hunt of truth and the Good.

With these many images that can be compared to “hunting justice,” Plato is emphasizing an important aspect that is present within the whole of the Republic. As I have proposed with the hunting illustration, Nicholas Smith suggests that imagery; especially, agonistic imagery is echoed throughout the Republic (Smith 129). This notion of aggressiveness, as is depicted in the hunting imagery, is used by Plato to point to a different message, an underlying theme. With these images, Plato is attempting to show something higher, and move the reader in a direction from the original object to something different. Smith states, “Plato’s Republic is a work of images, which reveals itself and its goals by moving from image to the original of that image—which is then itself revealed as but an image of some still higher original” (Smith 131). A shift as such is clear in Book 4 of the Republic because it is in Book 4 that search for justice changes. Smith explains,

“Plato provides us with faulty approximations of justice, in Book 1, which he then replaces with a far better conception of justice in the state (in Books II-IV), which is itself given only to provide an image of justice in the soul, which, of course, is itself but an image of the Form of Justice” (Smith 131-132). 

Rowe holds a similar interpretation to Plato’s shifting from his argument in Book 1. Rowe states that Socrates identifies virtues in Book I, “with wisdom, whereas in Republic 4 wisdom is said to be one thing, and justice, courage, and self-control are said to be other things” (Rowe 47). This split of virtues, according to Rowe is used to elaborate on the idea of justice, and show how certain factors can influence the effectiveness of virtues, and therefore, in accordance with Smith is Socrates attempting to show a higher form with a different image. Smith surmises this notion saying,

“reading the Republic… provides the intelligent reader with images of the truth, which are plainly identified as such by their author, and which serve to draw the mind away from the ephemera of the senses towards the higher realities the images themselves only approximate” (Smith 133).

Therefore, images within the Republic are vehicles that serve to show something more important and higher than that image.

            The use of imagery as a method to point toward a higher explanation or purpose can be seen as a progression, a sort of education, which is clearly deemed important to Plato’s Socrates, as was described in the education of the Guardians as well as the illumination of the prisoners that are freed from the cave. This progression to a new truth, or being educated, is equivalent to “hunting” justice. Plato believes in the soul’s natural ability to seek and become educated saying, and Socrates states,

“this power is in the soul of each, and that the instrument with which each learns—just as an eye is not able to turn toward the light from the dark without the whole body—must be turned around from that which is coming into being together with the whole soul until it is able to endure looking at that which is and the brightest part of that which is” (Plato 197).

Smith reaffirms this position saying that,

“education does not provide knowledge to a soul which lacks it, but instead develops and actualizes the power that is already there…in preparation for that ascent [to the truth], however, we may begin to ready ourselves by seeing how various layers of images can be made, through reasoning and argument, to give way to their originals, as we begin our philosophical pursuit of the ultimate object of our philosophical desires” (Smith 134).

Essentially, this education is what cultivates our rational/calculating parts of the soul, and allows us to propel our thoughts further than we could before our educational training. It is through this education that we are able to look beyond the image at hand and understand the underlying meaning. Smith continues to explain that the Republic fosters our education by,

“moving from image to original, which is then identifies as but another image of some higher original…if we do our jobs as Plato’s students well, make each new step, recognize each new problem-image, as a step closer to our goal…our journey through the dialogue, as it were, employs images as instruments and lenses through which we dimly—then more clearly—perceive our next set of argumentative goals” (Smith 134).

Ultimately, imagery, such as that of the idea of guardians as hunters of justice, the city in speech, the allegory of the cave, and the Ring of Gyges, and the Myth of Metals, are all used to illustrate a higher point, not just explain these images or subjects, but to illuminate the reader to an underlying, higher point that is being illustrated.

            As Plato created the Socratic character in the Republic, and crafted his noble arguments, one may wonder what is the overall goal of the Republic. Philosophers and scholars have debated and analyzed this question for centuries, and various answers have been proposed. In my opinion, I believe Plato wrote the Republic to serve as a type of model for a good, happy life, and this is evident through his continual dependence on imagery.  He uses descriptive imagery in order to relate his arguments to the reader and connect with them on a deeper level. Once a reader understands how the image works, they are pointed toward the true idea or concept that Plato wants to engrain within us. Harvey Yunis seems to be in accordance with this view as he states in his article, “Plato’s purpose as a philosophical writer was not merely to present compelling arguments about how one should live, but to present them in such a way that the reader would be most likely to be compelled by them to choose to live in a particular way” (Yunis 1). I believe that Plato wrote the Republic as a way to show what is justice, how if each individual “hunts” for justice, they are living a good life. Through his usage of images, Plato crafted a rhetorical masterpiece that exemplifies an ideal city and soul. His images appeal to his readers, and often have lasting effects to their underlying meanings. Throughout my college career, the image of the cave has followed me. At the beginning of college, I was at the bottom, exposed to nothing. Now, as I write my final words of my undergrad career, I feel as though I have “hunted” for justice, and have broken free from the cave. I understand this world so much better than I ever have before. Not only have I come out of the cave, but I have also become educated to many different aspects of this world. I will continually strive to seek justice throughout my life and use Plato’s Republic as an example or model for a Good life. Thank you, Plato. Your cause was noble and forever resonates through your students.

Works Cited

Plato. The Republic of Plato. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.

Rowe, Christopher. “The Place of the Republic in Plato’s Political Thought.” In The Cambridge Comparison to Plato’s Republic, edited by G. R. F. Ferrari, 27-54. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Smith, Nicholas D. Images, Education, and Paradox in Plato’s Republic. Apeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science. Vol. 32, No. 4 (December 1999): 125-141. Accessed May 9, 2016. http://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle.fullcontentlink:pdfeventlink/$002fj$002fapeiron.1999.32.4$002fapeiron.1999.32.4.125$002fapeiron.1999.32.4.125.pdf/apeiron.1999.32.4.125.pdf?t:ac=j$002fapeiron.1999.32.4$002fapeiron.1999.32.4.125$002fapeiron.1999.32.4.125.xml

Yunis, Harvey. “The Protreptic Rhetoric of the Republic.” In The Cambridge Comparison to Plato’s Republic, edited by G. R. F. Ferrari, 1-26. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.