Giang Pham (she/her)
Professor Margaret Koker (she/her)
Sep 28, 2023
LEARNING JOURNAL W3-4: 427d-445e
In this section, Socrates and Glaucon discuss the four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,
moderation, and justice. They argue that these virtues are essential for both the individual and
the society to flourish.
Socrates begins by defining wisdom as the knowledge of the good. He then argues that the
rulers of the ideal city should be wise since they are responsible for the well-being of the
entire city. Knowing what is best for the city as a whole, not just for one particular group of
residents, is wisdom. The city must be united if it is to function effectively, and it can only be
united if its rulers prioritize the welfare of the entire community over the good of a single
segment at the expense of the entire. Given its destabilizing implications, Socrates has
already suggested that good rulers will work to reduce economic disparity. Economic
inequality is inevitable and may even be advantageous, but when it becomes excessive, the
poor and rich cities become at war with one another instead of one united metropolis. Just as
the ideal city’s founders aimed not to make any one group outstandingly happy but to make
the whole so, as far as possible, its rulers must aim at the good of the city as a whole.
Next, Socrates defines courage as the willingness to stand up for what is right, even in the
face of danger. He argues that the auxiliaries, who are the soldiers and defenders of the city,
should be courageous. A remarkable similarity between courage and wisdom is that both are
cognitive processes at their core. According to Socrates, courage is the capacity to uphold the
correct and legally mandated beliefs about what should be feared and what should not. I think
that the guardians' wisdom is a form of knowledge, but the auxiliary's bravery is a matter of
faith rather than knowledge.
Moderation is then defined as the balance between extremes. Socrates argues that both the
rulers and the auxiliaries should be moderate in their desires and appetites. Contrary to
courage and intelligence, moderation does not distinguish any one class in the city; rather, it
permeates the entire community. Socrates begins by pointing out the obvious link between
self-control and moderation (also known as temperance).
Finally, Socrates defines justice as the harmony of the three other virtues: wisdom, courage,
and moderation. He argues that a just city is one in which each class of citizens performs its
proper function and lives in accordance with the virtues. Socrates and Glaucon conclude their
discussion of virtue by arguing that the just person is the happiest person. They argue that the
just person is able to live in harmony with themselves and with others and that this harmony
leads to a life of true happiness. Plato's ideal city is a just city, one in which each class of
citizens performs its proper function and lives in accordance with the virtues. Recall that
justice is every part of a whole fulfilling its assigned role and not meddling in the duties of
the other parts. In order to determine whether a man’s parts are performing their proper roles,
we must first identify the parts that comprise man. According to Socrates, man is composed
of three parts – the rational and irrational parts that have already been discussed, and the
spirited part, which is the passionate ally of the rational part.
