THE REPUPLIC: BOOK 1 REVIEW

The major point of this book is all about what justice really means. Actually, it’s very
easy for me defining that word. Because I have heard and understand what it really means. And
in this book, there’s a different arguments about justice. Maybe because everyone has it does
what we call different understanding. And sometimes we can realize and put a question mark in
our mind, what justice really means for us. Because the tendency of every individual is that we
foresee that justice is that what’s in the right side or who is speaking the very truth of the
situation which leads us to wrong view. The author of this book wants the reader to understand
and analyze that everyone has its different view about justice.
And the book begins with this, there’s a guy named Cephalus which is Polymarchu’s
father, Cephalus is closed model of a just individual. For one main reason that he acquired his
wealth and his fortune through the sweat of his brow. He worked hard for his money. That’s why
it’s very important to every individual to work hard to earn money for a living. Because what we
plant is what we are going to harvest. And yet, it’s incredible to observe that he has a detached
and laid-back attitude about it because most people who acquire money through hard work are
obsessed with it. It’s like they are making money as their master, which is really wrong. Because
money can’t buy everything in this world. It can’t satisfy life, in my own view. So that’s why
he’s close to justice because of his attitude. Why is he not quite there yet? Because he talks about
how hope nurtures his soul and basically gives him hope. It gives them hope for perhaps an
afterlife maybe he’s not just being just for its own sake but for some reward in the future. So
that’s why he’s not quite there yet.
And then the first argument from Polemarchus and he tells Socrates that justice is the act
of doing well to friends and doing evil to enemies. Actually that’s what every individual do to
others. It’s a good argument but if everyone has at least one friend and one enemy and everyone
are at least a friend and enemy to someone else. So if we all did well to our friends and we all did
evil to our enemies, we all have some kind of mixture of good and evil done to us. And that
would just spread more evil into the world. This is actually what we do not like. I will not agree
of the argument of Polemarchus about justice. It is not justice when we only choose to do well to
those who are good to us and to do evil to the one who do evil to us. You do evil to them just
because they are your enemies? So where is the justice in that? And it doesn’t mean that because
they are your friends you can always do well with them. After all, we all are not perfect and one
way or another we can always hurt someone even if you do not mean to do them no harm. So in
effect, if that will be the case, you will instead acquire more enemies than friends. What is
justice is when you know when to forgive others as all of us makes mistakes. The golden rule
says “Do to others what you want others do unto you” and so therefore, that being said, if you
forgive others they would in turn forgive you because that is what they would want you to do to
them, if ever they would also make mistakes with you and in the process you gain more friends
than enemy.
The second argument is that Socrates next complaint against Polemarchus account of
justice again depends on the bogus assumption that justice is a craft. In this complaint, Socrates
leans on the fact that craft persons have the capacity to do the opposite. Aside from a doctor, we
also draw example from our very own national heroes. During the time of the Spanish regime
our national heroes were deemed rebel to the government yet they become our heroes for the just
reason that what they did may have been rebellious to the government but they believe that they
were acting justly as the circumstance permit. Therefore, though their rebellion against the
government is not right their plea for freedom and justice for the people are justifiable abd
therefore they are hailed as heroes.
So the third argument against this doing good to friends and evil to enemies is that by
doing evil to anyone we cripple our justice capacity. So we don’t want to do evil to anyone. And
that argument throws that one out. And then Thrasymachus is really angry and says to Socrates
and Polemarchus that they are wrong. For Thrasymachus, justice is nothing, more than the
interest of the stronger. And then they examine that argument. And through the clever
examination of Socrates, they find out that justice is not the interest of the stronger. For instance,
a government must serve the best interest of its people. And if the people under the rule are
weak, they might get pissed off and overthrow the government eventually. That’s not good for
the government and that’s not in their interest. Basically, if the people are weak, the country is
going to be weak, and the system is going to be weak. We don’t want that and we want to
strengthen all the people under the rule in a just government. Sometimes, corrupt officials in the
government paid money to those who volunteer to take evils to reform evils that aren’t their
responsibility. That’s another reason why justice is not in the interest of the stronger. And that
means even if you are in the position you can always get justice. And that what always happened
in the government, they can get justice because of their money and their position. And as we can
see, how about those who are weak, those who are poor and those who are not in the position
how can they get justice? Does that means only selected people are the one who can get justice?
Particularly, the strong, the wealthy and the influential people. Where can we see justice in that?
Justice stands for equality no matter your status in life be, we are to respect each other for every
role we play in society, may it be big or menial are all important and helps the government to
move forward. A good example to this is how each part of our body functions. The thumb
though a very small part of the whole body if lost can cripple the whole body of its function and
so it is with our role in society. Justice is not about the strong ruling the weak but rather that the
strong serves the weak and the weak serves the strong, all for the betterment of the society.
And then Socrates argues that injury leads to injustice. Why? Because most of the time
the people who are poor, unlearned and without influence are taken advantage off. They always
seemed to be the one who suffers injustice because they tolerate it, they do not fight for it, for
what is their right. There are 2 reasons why this happens: One. They cannot afford to hire
themselves a good lawyer to fight for them while those in power can afford. It is because of this
that they do not bother to fight for their right. It seems futile for them to do so. And two, they
are just ignorance of their rights and so tolerate maltreatment and injustice are more easy for
them. Knowing and understanding our rights is important, it is the key that we can be treated
justly even to those who are in power. And---it is also important to have courage to fight for
what you know is right.
Fourth argument, Socrates ask Polemarchus, “Is it ever the part of a just person to harm
anyone at all?” First and for most, a just person if he is purely just do not seek to harm anyone.
His judgement is made base on his good conscience and therefore, a just person is not conceive
out of the influence of friends or circumstance but to one judgement of things. It is therefore up
to that person if he allows to be corrupted or not because no matter what temptation brings if you
have settled it in your heart to do what is right in the sight of God then nothing can make you do
what is unjust.
 In this book, Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymarchus are arguing about
what justice means. All of them are somehow right and all of them are somehow wrong. Why?
Because when we base justice according to human definition of justice it can lead to confusion.
Justice is authored by the Almighty God himself and what better to define justice as how justice
is defined by God. It is only through looking closely to God’s laws are we able to truly grasp
what justice really meant.
The positive side of this book is that it opens the mind of the reader what justice really is.
Because of those arguments, the reader can analyze and think that every individual has different
point of view which leads us sometimes into misunderstanding. And also it answered the
question in our mind why sometimes we cannot get justice.