Abstract:
Book II of Plato's Republic opens with Glaucon's challenge to Socrates, where the latter must prove that the just man is in all ways possible better than the unjust one. Glaucon asks Socrates to advocate justice for it's own sake and to censor injustice. Glaucon's discourse can be divided into three parts. The first is dedicated to the origin and nature of justice; the second argues that justice is something necessary, but is not a good. In the third part, he tries to prove that the unjust life is better than the just one. This work focuses on the first speech and on how Glaucon defends justice by means of a contract.
Keywords
Plato's Republic; Glaucon's challenge; Justice; Contractualism; Political philosophy; Ancient philosophy