THE NATURE OF JUSTICE; THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

Critical Literature Review

The analogy of the Cave, also referred to as Parable of the Cave is used by Plato in his work, “the Public to illustrate the nature and want of education”. The work is written by Socrates and Glaucon (Plato’s brother) as a dialogue. Plato wrote about people who were denied justice after being chained facing a blank wall in their entire life. Plato explains that philosophers are like to free prisoners who come to understand that the shadow on the wall does not make reality. The analogy of the Cave tries to explain the philosopher’s roles in society. Further, Plato writes about the nature of justice and individuals in the society. Other writers like Hobbes, Cicero, Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas wrote the about the topic arguing differently from Plato. The difference in age, background, time and place of birth makes different people have a different opinion over one idea.

Plato’s arguments

Plato refers justice as the balance between desire, appetite and the reason that rules over desire and appetite. Further, he explains that desire motivates individuals to act while appetite derives people to act outside reason. He explains that understanding justice in terms of society can assist in clearly defining the nature of justice for individuals (Plato 2010, 50). He believes that a society is best because it provides specialization benefits, the division of labor and meets peoples' needs. He discloses that the problem with a small society is that, some people in the society may want to live a luxurious life; people outside the society may need to take advantage of the benefits in the society and many people in that society will need to guard the benefit. Plato also brings across the idea of a luxurious society which has a division of labor, provides peoples' needs like military protection and health. The luxurious society provides luxuries to the people and in turn people tend to be corrupt in the provision of services in order to maintain the luxuries. The third society (the ideal society) is able to overcome the challenges in the first and second societies (Plato 2010, 51).

According to Plato (2010, 54) ideal society has the following components; few luxuries, meets people needs, there is a division of labor and military protection. In those societies, people have to balance their luxuries in order to have an outstanding military protection. Each society has different class and groups of people who participate differently in building up the society. In each society farmers, business people, military representatives, rulers’ representative and slaves work towards the development of the society. Slaves are subjected to hard labor, and they do not take part in the running of the state affairs.  Plato argues that the slaves in the society do not have rights, and they are denied justice. Justice should not be applied to one class and fail to apply in another class. He claims that individual justice is fulfilled when the three elements are balanced.

Plato’s argument on the issues of justice cannot apply in the current world (Plato 2010, 54). In many states, justice is what interests the stronger party. Justice does not apply to the poor but only to the rich. People use their money to change the implemented laws. In a case involving a poor and rich person definitely, the rich person wins the case. The top government officials have the right to change the constitution of a country to suit their demands and interest. Justice lies in the hands of the powerful and the rich. Plato wrote on the allegory of the cave bringing up the idea of freedom of prisoners. He explained about how people are chained that they cannot see the shadow in the same way the poor are chained that they cannot understand their rights (Plato 2010, 51). In the current world, the rights of the poor depend on the rich people’s interest. For example, if the government wants to construct a building in a poor person's land, it will buy the land by force even if the poor person does not agree with the terms. When the government discovers certain mineral in a local citizen’s land it grasps the land instead of the owner of the land to sell the minerals to the government. Arguing against Plato, justice cannot be established for the poor community, but it will always be enjoyed by the rich and powerful people (Plato 2010, 50).

Cicero’s arguments

Cicero’s argument about justice differs from Plato and other write who wrote on the nature of justice. He claims that justice and law are derived from what man has gained from nature, function of man and what unites humanity. Justice obliges individual to live and contribute the development of the welfare of the society. In view, of Cicero law is meant to reform the vice and to initiate virtue (Radford 2006, 40). Cicero explained that each state has established the laws to make sure all people live in harmony and get military protection. Each state Ament’s law to ensure people receive their rights and enjoy the resources. According to Cicero’s argument each person in a society lives according to the set laws and in respect of the constitution which ensures fulfillment of peoples' rights.

Cicero’s argument contradicts Plato’s view of natural justice because Plato argues that justice is the balance between personal elements and the societies need, while Cicero argues that justice is the fulfillment of the natural law. The laws are made by people, and they amend in respect of their rights while not minding about the poor (Radford 2006, 42).  Cicero’s argument about the law being the tool to correct the wrong is not permissible because people who are in power will always change the existing laws to suit their interest. Politics always contradicts the laws. Politicians deny people rights by changing the amended laws. People in top government offices will not accept to serve a jail term, and this makes them corrupt the law courts in order to remain innocent even after committing crimes. Arguing against Cicero the laws are not made to rectify those who do wrong, they are made to punish the poor and make the rich express their power (Radford 2006, 43).

Aristotle’s arguments

Aristotle was a philosopher from Greece and he also wrote about the nature of justice. In his works, he wrote about nature and natural law. He explained that law changes per state and what can be termed as a crime in one country to another may not be a crime. Natural justice is a form of political justice and takes place in a place where there is political stability. He claimed that countries with political crises and instability cannot enjoy justice. People deprive other their justice in respect of their political interest (Lloyd 2008, 52). Each person has his own set laws but still there is the common law which guides all people. Individual laws can contract common law and this shows that natural justice is what one has been told is right. Individuals struggle to do what is right in order to avoid trouble and conflicting with the state.

According to Aristotle justice is applied in countries with a stable political system, because they amend the laws and enforce them to ensure they are practiced (Henderson 2009, 53). Arguing contrary to Aristotle’s arguments, each individual sets his own laws and knows what is expected to be done. Individuals grow up knowing what should be done because they are told by their parents what is wrong and what is good. Each person believes that what he/she has been told is the right thing and he/she should practice that all the time. The laws change from one state to another, and this makes people be treated unjustly in one state but just in another state. For example, smoking marijuana is legal in Jamaica and illegal in America. When an individual moves from Jamaica to America he feels that he has been denied justice.

Common law cannot ensure justice to the people because it changes from country to country. Sometimes the laws go contrary with people’s understanding by not respecting what people or community think is right. There are some cultural practices, which are not acceptable before the court of law. For example, female genital mutilation has been burned in many countries, and those who practice it are prosecuted in a law court. This makes people whose culture accept it to feel deprived rights. In order for the law to ensure that all people have been treated justly it should respect people’s culture, customs, race and religion because what people have been told as right contradicts the laws.

Thomas Aquinas also wrote about justice from Christianity point of view (Heinze 2007, 21). He claimed that natural law is meant to ensure people justice and should be respected. He claimed that the natural law is practiced as peoples' participation in the eternal law. He claimed that an unjust law is not a law though is enforced. People always play in respect of the common law in order to avoid conflict and punishment just as they avoid committing sin in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. He added that unjust law deprives people their rights but the state enforces them. Another criticism of this topic was analyses by Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes stated that people will only say that they have justice when they are happy (Heinze 2007, 54). He claimed that the natural justice is the efforts made by rational human being in order to prosper and survive. He added that natural laws are made to help people to avoid what can destruct their life. This contract what other philosophers had claimed to be justice. Aristotle claimed that common law changes from state to state and this means that the laws are not made to help people to avoid trouble because the source of trouble do not change from state to state.

The topic “The nature of justice; the allegory of the Cave” has been discussed by philosophers but with different views. The writers about the issue come from different countries have different educational backgrounds, and this makes them argue differently about the same issue. People should always read and analyze the worker of those authors carefully before coming up with a conclusion.

  

References

                                                          Annotated Bibliography

Altman, W. F. (2009). Altruism and the Art of Writing: Plato, Cicero, and Leo Strauss. Humanitas (10667210), 22 (1/2), 69-98.

In this article, Altman evaluates the very essence justice in Plato’s work analyzing differing views the return of the guardian to the cave to enlighten others in the dark. While other scholars argue that Plato’s just man would not be just in the actual common sense of the word, and neither would he sacrifice his own happiness by returning to the cave to inform others, Altman argues that the return to the cave reflected justice in sense of the word. He concluded that the return to the cave represents the altruistic essence of justice which Plato seeks to explore and that the return to the cave was not and cannot be justified based on the other justices. This article is important in this essay as it evaluates the very essence of the justice concept from various angles within the allegory of the cave readings. This is important in offering support in the papers' arguments.

Heinze, E. (2007). Epinomia: Plato and the First Legal Theory. Ratio Juris, 20 (1), 97-135.

In this article, Heinze critically analyses the Plato’s contributions to the legal theory and the understanding of the law. With this, Heinze concludes that Plato condemns a society where people use legal processes to hurt others. In this sense, Plato saw democracy and freedom as enemies of justice. This paper is essential in this research topic as it provides a more critical view of what encompasses justice as based on Plato’s work. Further, within the current democratic experience, the research shows that are a lot of injustices.

Henderson, M., Gregory Oakes, M. M., & Smith, M. (2009). What Plato Knew About Enron? Journal of Business Ethics, 86 (4), 463-471.

In this article, Henderson, Gregory and Smith evaluate the Enron scandal based on Plato’s cave myth. In this, the scholars show that Enron’s experience is a true a true cave allegory factor. The paper concludes that a lot of people were in the cave concerning Enron’s practices and when they emerged from the darkness, Enron collapsed. Much injustice had been conducted by Enron’s executives against the public. This article is important especially in demonstrating the nature of justice between the rich and the poor in society, even in the current period.

Robert T. Radford. (2006). Cicero: A Study in the Origins of Republican Philosophy.         Amsterdam: Netherlands Publishers.

In this book Radford evaluates and researches on philosophical arguments of Cicero who himself as a politician and philosopher reflects how a government should be crafted and developed for the betterment of the society. In stark contrast with plato theories the book argue that humanity has to determine his own destiny. On this perspective, the book becomes fundamental in understanding the philosophical argument of the research and giving divergent viewpoints. 

Plato. (2010). The Allegory of the Cave. New York: Create Space Publishers.

In this book, Plato deeply assesses and addresses the myth of the Cave. In this bloats original concepts from the allegory are rehabilitated from their ancient Augustinian version and restored concepts of justice, freedom, truth and equality. This book is important in this research study as it provides a thorough grounding in philosophical foundations. This is important in evaluating this topic and even more important in understanding Plato’s thoughts on justice.

Lloyd, Weinred L. (2008). Natural Law and Justice. California: California University Press.

In this book, Weinreb evaluates influential communitarianisn aspects looking at how leaders make morally insufficient decisions. Weinreb evaluates aspects of justice and natural law that connect law and morality and also evaluates Plato’s approach to this based on his reasoning. Weinreb shows that law is the very essence through which justice is guarded. This book is important in this article as it reviews the various facets of justice to understand the very nature of justice which is essential in this research study.