Quotation
Last reviewed:
“It is not the function of the just person to harm anyone.”
Plato · Platonism · Ancient · c. 375 BCE
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that justice cannot be a craft of helping friends and harming enemies, because harming someone makes them worse, and that is not what a just person is for. A competing reading notes how much is packed into 'harm': if it means making someone's soul worse, the ban may not rule out every penalty or defence. The conclusion is Republic I, 335d–e. It clears the ground; it does not yet state Plato's full account of justice.
Did Plato really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Close to G. M. A. Grube's translation of Republic 335e. Socrates is concluding an argument against Polemarchus, before Thrasymachus bursts in.
Where it comes from
Republic I, 335e
Approximate date: c. 375 BCE.
How to use it
A neighbourhood dispute that starts as 'we look after our own' slides easily into hurting the person next door because they are filed as the enemy. Socrates's claim is that this slide is not what justice is for. A fine, a boundary, or a locked door may still be discussed, and the part he blocks is treating damage to the other as the job.
A mindset reading
The habit is to ask whether a so-called just act aims at someone's deterioration. If harm means making a person worse in the relevant way, cheerleading that result is already off his map of justice. Do not smuggle every limit or punishment into the word before you have said what harm you mean.
Understand the philosophy
Socrates is answering Polemarchus, who defined justice as giving good to friends and harm to enemies. A function, ergon, is what a thing is for, as heat is for fire. He argues that harming people makes them more unjust, so it cannot be the work of justice. The key term is harm, blaptein; Thrasymachus will soon offer a harder, political challenge.
- justice
- ethics
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that justice cannot be a craft of helping friends and harming enemies, because harming someone makes them worse, and that is not what a just person is for. A competing reading notes how much is packed into 'harm': if it means making someone's soul worse, the ban may not rule out every penalty or defence. The conclusion is Republic I, 335d–e. It clears the ground; it does not yet state Plato's full account of justice.
Did Plato really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Close to G. M. A. Grube's translation of Republic 335e. Socrates is concluding an argument against Polemarchus, before Thrasymachus bursts in.
Which work is it in?
Republic I, 335e Approximate date: c. 375 BCE.