Ethics Study Questions for Republic 343a-369

1. According to Thrasymachus, what does his analogy of the herdsman prove about what rulers are really trying to do (343)?

2. What is his view of the comparative profitability of justice and injustice (343-344)?

3. What is Socrates’ view of this (344)?

4. According to Socrates, what does the analogy of the shepherd prove about the proper interest of the ruler (345)?

5. Why is wage-earning not the true and proper interest of any art (346)?

6. Why would decent men in an ideal state be unwilling to rule (347)?

7. Under what conditions would a man of integrity accept power (347)?

(Book 2)

8. What are the three classes of goods outlined by Glaucon (357)?

9. In which class does Socrates place justice and why does Glaucon disagree with this classification (358)?

10. What does Glaucon want to learn from Socrates about justice and injustice (358)?

11. What view of justice does Glaucon as a devil's advocate present in his discourse on the Social Contract (359)?

12. What does the story of Gyges seemingly illustrate about justice (359-360)?

13. Why does Glaucon want to remove all considerations of reward from the analysis of justice and actually have the hypothetical just man suffer because of his justice (361)?

14. According to Adeimantus, what arguments are usually put forward to children to convince them to be just (363)?

15. What views of justice and injustice are presented by the poets (364)?

16. What effect will these arguments and views have on young men (365)?

17. What task does Adeimantus propose for Socrates (367)?

18. Where does Socrates propose to look for justice first? Why (368)?