Glaucon's Question Ignored: Republic 519a-521b

Journal Title: Akropolis: Journal of Hellenic Studies - Year 2018, Vol 2, Issue

Abstract

At Republic 519a-521b, Socrates claims that each guardian  must return from his/her contemplation to run Kallipolis. Quite reasonably, Glaucon objects that they would be making the guardian's life worse than it could be. This is sometimes referred to as “the happy philosopher problem”. But rather than answering Glaucon, Socrates admonishes him that their focus is instead on the role of the class of guardians and the happiness of the whole city. It turns out this admonition is the last in a string of similar admonitions that Socrates gives to his interlocutors. This paper examines Socrates' admonition to Glaucon, and its relation to Socrates’ other warnings  to focus on the happiness of the city. By examining these admonitions, we can defend Socrates' dismissal of Glaucon's question and the happy philosopher question at 519d. The paper concludes by examining a few strategies for interpreting Socrates’ reluctance to engage Glaucon’s question.

Authors and Affiliations

James Butler

Keywords

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Glaucon's Question Ignored: Republic 519a-521b

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Pseudo-Denys l’Aréopagite, Les Noms divins (I-IV); Les Noms divins (V-XI- II) & La Théologie mystique, introduction, traduction et notes de Ysabel de Andia, (Sources chrétiennes 578-579), Paris: Les éditions du Cerf, 2016

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  • EP ID EP463821
  • DOI 10.35296/jhs.v2i0.21
  • Views 129
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

James Butler (2018). Glaucon's Question Ignored: Republic 519a-521b. Akropolis: Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2(), 46-66. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-463821