For many years, dating back to the first birth of man there has been the ultimate question of what makes a man just. This question has been pondered by numerous great philosophers. The question is varied to answer because of a multitude of opinions due to the nature of human diversity. Whether or not there is an objective answer to the question still remains a mystery. Plato and Epicurus have both given their detailed opinions of what makes one just. Plato believes that justness is something that comes from a more internal location dealing with the soul this disagrees with the idea that Epicurus holds which is justness is more of a physical or external matter. In this paper I will prove that Plato’s ideas on this subject are the more appropriate and more truthful. The ideas that Plato instills are both detailed and distinctive, on the other hand he believes that actions do not necessarily justify a person but rather, he states that justness is more of an internal virtue. The idea he is trying to convey is that justness comes from the interpretation of the soul rather than the physical functions. The reasoning behind this is that if the soul remains just, then the resulting actions will reflect just ends. Once the fact that the soul must be just is accepted, the question arises of what qualifies the soul as just will need to be answered. To answer this question, we must again refer to Plato’s reasoning behind the topic of the soul. When Plato suggests that the soul must be justified in order to spawn just actions, he means they have to be able to distinguish between a couple of different things. The first thing is the personal will or reasoning of the just man must be able to control his earthly desires and passions to avoid falling into temptation and losing control or becoming lost within those desires. While he does have to halter to the appeal of these desires, so to speak, there is some extent as to which...
