Summary Notes: Socrates

Socrates (469-399 B.C.) “Is one of the most remarkable far-famed charac­ters in the intellectual
history of mankind.For over two and a half millennia there has been a ring of glory about his
name and aura of enigma surrounding his personality” (V. S. Nersesyants—Political Thought of
Ancient Greece, p. 93). This was Socrates. Even Karl Marx highly eulogised him.
Though Socrates was not chiefly a political thinker or politician he dealt with a number of
subjects, which may conveniently be included into the subject-matter of politics or political
philosophy. His main concerns were law, justice and polis. His method of analysis was dialectic.
Dialectic is question and answer form. The discussion about any subject could proceed until a
final opinion was arrived at he held discussions with his disciples.
If we study the political ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle we shall find that Socrates created
a tremendous impact upon the latter two giants of Greek philoso­phy.
Socrates views on Law
-He was a great admirer of truth and moral values. He argued that like natural physical law, there
is a natural moral law.hus according to Socrates, virtue is knowledge’ and whatever is not
virtuous is sin’.
-He divided law into unwritten divine law and written human law. He cautioned us by pointing
out that there was no discrepancy between these two sets of laws.
-The reasonability of a particular law is judged by human insight and only those laws would be
deemed proper which are in accordance with the principles of law of nature and are supported by
human reasoning. Thus natural law is a specie of law which and times.
-However, Socrates did not deny the authority of the positive law but he pleaded for the necessity
of natural law for security and stability of the community.

Scorates views on Justice

-He based his conception of justice on the principle: “The man who is good is just”.
-Socrates advocated the idea that justice was good, and that meant that injustice was equal to
evil. Furthermore, he emphasized that good was a natural deed and not what man thinks he
needs. In addition, he said that a person’s nature was an inner self that needed fulfillment, thus
the desire to do good was natural.
-Providing the explanation of relationship between good and justice, Socrates presented the
example of an ill seeking treatment, and who gets a cure and, is finally happy. He also gives the
example of another man, who is completely healthy and is, therefore, happier. The point he
makes here is that justice is the cure for evil, and that a man who never commits an evil deed do
not need to be punished, and thus, happier than a man punished for his misdeeds
-Socrates explains the role of justice in man’s life by stating that men should do harm to enemies
when they are evil, and be just to those who are good.
-Summing up his idea of justice, Socrates declares that to be a poor man who is just is better than
being a rich man with wealth acquired through injustice, because injustice taints the soul.
-Justice was the root of all the laws. If a law is not justified by justice, it is useless. If anything is
not approved by justice it cannot be legal.
-To him, justice may be of two kinds, namely, (1) natural justice; and (2) legal justice. The rules
of natural justice are uniformly applicable to all the places but the notion of legal justice may
differ from place to place depending upon the existing with time and place.