Question

Read this excerpt from Plato's Republic and then consider this question:

Glaucon argues that people will always act unethically if there is no chance of being caught. Do you agree or disagree?

Note: Gyges' ring is like the ring that Frodo carried in The Lord of the Rings. It gives invisibility.

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The Ring of Gyges, from Book II of Plato’s Republic.

Instructor’s note: This is part of a dialogue between Socrates (who represents Plato’s view) and Glaucon (Plato’s older brother). Earlier in the dialogue, Socrates has given an argument about the nature and importance of justice. The character Glaucon disagrees with Socrates, and this excerpt is Glaucon’s speech regarding the nature of justice.

Now that those who practice justice do so involuntarily and because they have not the power to be unjust, will best appear if we imagine something of this kind: having given both to the just and the unjust power to do what they will, let us watch and see whither desire will lead them; then we shall discover in the very act the just and unjust man to be proceeding along the same road, following their interest, which all natures deem to be their good, and are only diverted into the path of justice by the force of law. The liberty which we are supposing may be most completely given to them in the form of such a power as is said to have been possessed by Gyges the ancestor of Croesus the Lydian.

According to the tradition, Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia; there was a great storm, and an earthquake made an opening in the earth at the place where he was feeding his flock. Amazed at the sight, he descended into the opening, where, among other marvels, he beheld a hollow brazen horse, having doors, at which he stooping and looking in saw a dead body of stature, as appeared to him, more than human, and having nothing on but a gold ring; this he took from the finger of the dead and reascended. Now the shepherds met together, according to custom, that they might send their monthly report about the flocks to the king; into their assembly he came having the ring on his finger, and as he was sitting among them he chanced to turn the collet of the ring inside his hand, when instantly he became invisible to the rest of the company and they began to speak of him as if he were no longer present. He was astonished at this, and again touching the ring he turned the collet outwards and reappeared; he made several trials of the ring, and always with the same result-when he turned the collet inwards he became invisible, when outwards he reappeared. Whereupon he contrived to be chosen one of the messengers who were sent to the court; where as soon as he arrived he seduced the queen, and with her help conspired against the king and slew him, and took the kingdom.

Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a God among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever anyone thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust. For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right. If you could imagine any one obtaining this power of becoming invisible, and never doing any wrong or touching what was another's, he would be thought by the lookers-on to be a most wretched idiot, although they would praise him to one another's faces, and keep up appearances with one another from a fear that they too might suffer injustice.

Answer 1

Glaucon contended that commonly people are selfish and unjustifiable, and that justice isn't acceptable in itself; rather justice is a considerable decent (it is just esteemed for the gainful results). Glaucon recounted to the account of The Ring of Gyges to outline his point that justice is consistently self-intrigued.

Glaucon contended that, ordinarily, doing injustice is acceptable however the law can constrain you to act against that. As indicated by Glaucon, justice is normally awful and injustice is normally acceptable. Nobody willing is just; hence on the off chance that you enabled individuals to be out of line without suffering any punishment then they would all do it.

On the off chance that you had the power to do anything you desired without any results and without discipline, everyone would decide to be unfair and delight their own wants, nobody would stress over whether they are in effect just or low. The account of The Ring of Gyges reveals to us that in the event that we had such a power nobody would have the option to be trusted and hence, it gives us that justice is consistently self-intrigued and in this manner truly not justice but rather a type of injustice.

I agree with Glaucon . We have read the stories about the story of a hobbit with the ring , the tale of Gollum with the ring and furthermore in English writing , the tale of Griffin who was a scientist and became invisible by drinking a chemical reaction. In the stories or in the real life also , if given a power with no consequence, person will misuse it first . His actions will be focused to his concerns only or the family or the kins . Nobody would think about the world or the people in need when given the power like this . It is true that by nature , we humans are selfish , we care about ourselves first . Even if we do some moral work to help others , we always want something in return , rather unconsciously. There is no selfless service by us .

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