Question

Characterize Plato's story of the Ring of Gyges. What is it meant to illustrate? What are Socrates' arguments for why one should be good, even if no one else witnesses it? Directly quote Socrates' words and interpret and explain them in your answer.

Answer 1

Characterize Plato's story of the Ring of Gyges.

In the story, Gyges used this power of invisibility to commit unjust acts; he seduced the queen and then worked with her to create a plan to kill the king, and finally took over the kingdom.

What is it meant to illustrate?

Plato illustrates here that the Ring of Gyges- invisibility and anonymity- is the only barrier between a just and an unjust person. He argues that we would all be unjust if we had a cloak of anonymity.

What are Socrates' arguments for why one should be good, even if no one else witnesses it? Directly quote Socrates' words and interpret and explain them in your answer.

Socrates argues that "the just (good) life is more pleasurable than the unjust life."

The view is not that pleasure is the good and that the just life is happier because it has more pleasure. It is that the just life is happier and that it also has more pleasure than the unjust life. So, one should be good, even if no one else witnesses it.