Plato's Introduction to the Question of Justice

by Devin Stauffer

Plato's Introduction to the Question of Justice uncovers the heart of the Platonic analysis of justice by focusing on the crucial opening sections of the Republic. Stauffer argues that the dialectical confrontations with ordinary opinion presented in these sections provide the basis for Plato's view of justice, and that they also help to show how Plato's thought remains relevant today, especially as a rival to Kantianism.

Genres: Philosophy

152 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2000

About the author

Devin Stauffer (born 1970) is an American philosopher and Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously he taught at Kenyon College and St. John's College in Annapolis. Stauffer is known for his works on classical and early modern political thought.

Reviews

[Andrew Fairweather]

A short book, but a decent one. Stauffer suggests that what Socratic virtue is is the virtue of self perfection through self overcoming, a “purification of the ordinary understanding of virtue that is required to make virtue, as far as we can reasonably wish, the untainted good it seeks to be.” This is why Socrates will ultimately equate justice with philosophy… truth be told, I don’t remember too many details beyond this.

[Lingui5t · Rating 2 out of 5]

It reads a bit like going line by line through Book One of the Republic and having to read a student's marginal notes who had been told he must comment on every line with either a doubt or a summary of the contents. This makes it drag on and make its relevance to a broad audience questionable.