Why should we be just?

About the lecture

In this module, we examine the fundamental question of Plato's Republic: "Why should we be just?" The module begins with a brief outline of the historical context of the Republic as well as introducing the key interlocutors: Socrates, Glaucon and Adeimantus. We then look at Glaucon's challenge to Socrates; is it better to (actually) be just, or simply to appear to be just (while in fact being unjust)? The challenge is encapsulated in two thought-experiments: the story of Gyges, the man who discovers a ring of invisibility and uses it to get away with murder (literally) and the story of the innocent man who is being punished for a crime he did not commit. The final part of the module considers how Socrates might respond to Glaucon's challenge.

About the lecturer

Nakul is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. In addition to Plato's Euthyphro and Meno, he also teaches Plato's Republic as well as Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.