In the Introduction of Plato’s Republic, a very important theme is depicted. It is the argument of whether it is beneficial for a person to lead a good and just existence. The greatly argued position that justice does not pay, is argued by three men Thrasymachus, Glaucon, and Adeimantus. By incorporating all three men into a collective effort I believe I can give a more flattering depiction of injustice. First, we must explore the basis of the moral skepticism argument in The Republic, given by Thrasymachus. Thrasymachus’ view follows the disbelief in morality that was common during the time. The principle part of his argument is, the interests of the stronger (or ruling) party in a society are what defines justice. I believe this is true because many societies think of justice as having to with law and order. If that is so, it is only fair to say that since the laws are made by a ruling power, it must define justice. He also points out the ability that rulers had to exploit justice in their own interests. I believe the right of a ruling power is a valid argument under the pretense that following the rules is defined by society as just.Beyond this basic, yet essential description of moral skepticism, Thrasymachus’ argument begins to fall off. Socrates makes a few very strong refutes, which will be discussed later, and seems to dishearten the argumentative spirit of Thrasymachus. The argument begins to fall apart when he is forced to restate his main point. The restatement is that “ordinary morality is simply the behavior imposed by exploiter on exploited, and thus is ‘someone else’s interest’ ” (342 e). In this version of his original point, he also touches on a very important fact that, in everyday life, the pursuit of self-interest is natural and just. Thrasymachus depicts this point by undeniable fact that in a professional sense no one wants to work for free, and that they...
