POSC 201 JMU HAMMOND EXAM 1 UPDATED
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. Plato's "Republic" 2 questions:
Answer:
1) What is Justice? 2) Why be Just?
Question:
2. Plato's "Republic" 2 models for the study and prac-tice of politics
Answer:
1) Politics is essentially about power (Thrasymachus); 2) Politics is essentially about
something other than power (Socrates)
Question:
3. Plato's "Republic" Definitions of Jus-tice/ Socrates re-ponse
Answer:
Cephalus: Legal obligations, honesty, pay their debts Socrates's response: justice is translegal (justice
doesn't equal lawful) Polymarchus: owes good things to friends and harm to enemies Socrates's
response: how do you know who is a friend and who is an enemy? Thrasymachus: advantages of the
stronger Socrates: 1) view promotes injustice as a virtue; 2) in order to reach any of the goals
Thrasymachus earlier praised as desirable one needs to be at least moderately just in the sense of
adhering to this set of rules; 3) t justice is a virtue of the soul, and virtue of the soul means health of
the soul, justice is desirable because it means health of the soul. Glaucon: Justice is an
agreement/convention on a mean between 2 extremes. Adeimantus: Injustice is always more
profitable than justice. Socrates:There are two kinds of political justice—the justice belonging to a
city or state—and individual—the justice of a particular man; introduces the foun-dational principle
of human society: the principle of specialization. The principle of specialization states that each
person must perform the role for which he is naturally best suited and that he must not meddle in any
other business; build the "City in theory/True city"
Question:
4. Plato's "Republic" Overall definition of justice
Answer:
There are three parts of the soul: Appetitive, Spirited, and Rational. Justice is the harmony of all three
parts working for the rational element of the soul. Justifies this by the form of the polis (the ideal
city). Justice is neither the right of the strong nor the advantage of the stronger, but the right of the
best and the advantage of the whole community.
Question:
5. Plato's "Repub-lic" the myth of Gyges
, Answer:
the legend of the ring of Gyges- he asks us to imagine that a just man is given a ring which makes him
invisible. Once in possession of this ring, the man can act unjustly with no fear of reprisal. No one
can deny, Glaucon claims, that even the most just man would behave unjustly if he had this ring. He
would indulge all of his materialistic, power-hungry, and erotically lustful urges. This tale proves that
people are only just because they are afraid of punishment for injustice. No one is just because justice
is desirable in itself.
Question:
6. Plato's "Republic" the myth of the metals
Answer:
The story goes that once upon time, Mother Nature invented all human beings and mixed different
metals—gold, silver, bronze or iron—into their characters. Gold: philosopher-rulers, rational aspect
of soul, cardinal virtue of wisdom; Silver: auxiliaries-warriors, spirited part of soul, cardinal virtue of
courage; bronze: pro-ducers-distributors, appetitive aspect of the soul, cardinal virtue of temperance
Question:
7. Plato's "Republic" parable of the captain
Answer:
ship at sea; the owner = citizens, the crew = political leaders that want to steer the ship; claim they
have knowledge to steer the ship and are very persuasive; mutiny and take possession of the ship; plot
for getting the ship out of the captain's hands into their own whether by force or persuasion
Question:
8. Plato's "Republic" Dye and the wool
Answer:
You know, I said, that dyers, when they want to dye wool for making the true sea-purple, begin by
selecting their white colour first; this they prepare and dress with much care and pains, in order that
the white ground may take the purple hue in full perfection. The dyeing then proceeds; and whatever
is dyed in this manner becomes a fast colour, and no washing either with lyes or without them can
take away the bloom. But, when the ground has not been duly prepared, you will have noticed how
poor is the look either of purple or of any other colour = must train their soldiers in this manner and
work them to perfection and prepare them perfectly
Question:
9. Plato's "Republic" simile of the large and powerful ani-mal
Answer:
sophists teach convictions of the masses- calls it wisdom; passions or appetitive of a huge, strong
beast- wisdom = things that soothe or rouse the strong beast; want to teach crowd to win arguments,
what the crowd likes is called "good"
Question:
10. Plato's "Republic" Divided line and simile of the sun
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. Plato's "Republic" 2 questions:
Answer:
1) What is Justice? 2) Why be Just?
Question:
2. Plato's "Republic" 2 models for the study and prac-tice of politics
Answer:
1) Politics is essentially about power (Thrasymachus); 2) Politics is essentially about
something other than power (Socrates)
Question:
3. Plato's "Republic" Definitions of Jus-tice/ Socrates re-ponse
Answer:
Cephalus: Legal obligations, honesty, pay their debts Socrates's response: justice is translegal (justice
doesn't equal lawful) Polymarchus: owes good things to friends and harm to enemies Socrates's
response: how do you know who is a friend and who is an enemy? Thrasymachus: advantages of the
stronger Socrates: 1) view promotes injustice as a virtue; 2) in order to reach any of the goals
Thrasymachus earlier praised as desirable one needs to be at least moderately just in the sense of
adhering to this set of rules; 3) t justice is a virtue of the soul, and virtue of the soul means health of
the soul, justice is desirable because it means health of the soul. Glaucon: Justice is an
agreement/convention on a mean between 2 extremes. Adeimantus: Injustice is always more
profitable than justice. Socrates:There are two kinds of political justice—the justice belonging to a
city or state—and individual—the justice of a particular man; introduces the foun-dational principle
of human society: the principle of specialization. The principle of specialization states that each
person must perform the role for which he is naturally best suited and that he must not meddle in any
other business; build the "City in theory/True city"
Question:
4. Plato's "Republic" Overall definition of justice
Answer:
There are three parts of the soul: Appetitive, Spirited, and Rational. Justice is the harmony of all three
parts working for the rational element of the soul. Justifies this by the form of the polis (the ideal
city). Justice is neither the right of the strong nor the advantage of the stronger, but the right of the
best and the advantage of the whole community.
Question:
5. Plato's "Repub-lic" the myth of Gyges
, Answer:
the legend of the ring of Gyges- he asks us to imagine that a just man is given a ring which makes him
invisible. Once in possession of this ring, the man can act unjustly with no fear of reprisal. No one
can deny, Glaucon claims, that even the most just man would behave unjustly if he had this ring. He
would indulge all of his materialistic, power-hungry, and erotically lustful urges. This tale proves that
people are only just because they are afraid of punishment for injustice. No one is just because justice
is desirable in itself.
Question:
6. Plato's "Republic" the myth of the metals
Answer:
The story goes that once upon time, Mother Nature invented all human beings and mixed different
metals—gold, silver, bronze or iron—into their characters. Gold: philosopher-rulers, rational aspect
of soul, cardinal virtue of wisdom; Silver: auxiliaries-warriors, spirited part of soul, cardinal virtue of
courage; bronze: pro-ducers-distributors, appetitive aspect of the soul, cardinal virtue of temperance
Question:
7. Plato's "Republic" parable of the captain
Answer:
ship at sea; the owner = citizens, the crew = political leaders that want to steer the ship; claim they
have knowledge to steer the ship and are very persuasive; mutiny and take possession of the ship; plot
for getting the ship out of the captain's hands into their own whether by force or persuasion
Question:
8. Plato's "Republic" Dye and the wool
Answer:
You know, I said, that dyers, when they want to dye wool for making the true sea-purple, begin by
selecting their white colour first; this they prepare and dress with much care and pains, in order that
the white ground may take the purple hue in full perfection. The dyeing then proceeds; and whatever
is dyed in this manner becomes a fast colour, and no washing either with lyes or without them can
take away the bloom. But, when the ground has not been duly prepared, you will have noticed how
poor is the look either of purple or of any other colour = must train their soldiers in this manner and
work them to perfection and prepare them perfectly
Question:
9. Plato's "Republic" simile of the large and powerful ani-mal
Answer:
sophists teach convictions of the masses- calls it wisdom; passions or appetitive of a huge, strong
beast- wisdom = things that soothe or rouse the strong beast; want to teach crowd to win arguments,
what the crowd likes is called "good"
Question:
10. Plato's "Republic" Divided line and simile of the sun
