In his book titled The Republic Plato arises many questions concerning the philosophy of life. One of the most difficult subjects that he touches is the definition of justice. He tries to explain to his fellow friends how is the good man supposed to behave, and which is better to be just or unjust but that answer becomes very complicated and leads Plato to examine that rather complex subject in great detail. He demolishes the three popular definitions of justice that are brought up, which imply that justice is “paying one’s debts,” “helping friends and harming enemies,” and “whatever is to the advantage of the stronger” and argues that these definitions are not complete. He promises to find a better explanation of justice that would satisfy everyone. Plato argues that in order to find justice in an individual one must find a justice in a city as a whole first, because ideal form or structure of the perfect city resembles the ideal form of the good person. Once we know what justice is it will be easy to see the injustice. In order to define justice correctly he starts to create his ideal polis, a perfect city, where justice must play a major part. Yet, the city that Plato creates develops in two stages; first, the healthy city where there are only the things that are needed for survival and a luxurious city where people have more then they need.Plato decides that a polis begins because we cannot all be self-sufficient. It arises out of the wants of man. His first want is food; his second a shelter; his third a clothing. The sense of these needs and the possibility of satisfying them by exchange, draw individuals together on the same spot; and this is the beginning of a State, which we take the liberty to invent, although it is the necessity to live in a larger community that actually invents the polis. In order for the community to satisfy its basic needs, it will need a farmer to pro...
