ADJUDICATING JUSTICE – II
AS promised, today’s post follows on yesterdays. Talk is cheap as some would point out; action is something else altogether. Still, both come together in Plato’s famous (or infamous) REPUBLIC depending on your point of view. The 10-book “series” is is a Socratic dialogue, on justice, the just city-state, and the just human. According to Wikipedia, Socrates talks with various Athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether a just man is happier than an unjust one. In the end, talk leads to the hypothetical nation of Kallipolis, a utopian city-state ruled by a benevolent philosopher-king (some might say benevolent dictator).
This leads in Book III to the conclusion that to insure Justice would require a cadre of “Guardians” (see my “Enforcers” in THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor). These Guardians of Justice should be educated in the four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, temperance and gymnastics, i.e. philosophy (the love of truth) and gymnastics. Both male and female Guardians should experience the same education, all wives and children should be shared, and that they be prohibited from owning private property. Furthermore, in Book IV, people will be happy only when engaging in the occupation that suits him or her best (again, see THE EDGE OF MADNESS). If the city as a whole is happy, then its individuals will be happy and just in their execution of their happiness, with the emphasis on moderation (temperance) in everything, since in totality, both poverty and excessive wealth will inevitably corrupt. This, in turn, will lead to a unified soul, which can not behave in opposition to the cardinal virtues, a sort of self-maintaining state of Justice.
In books VI, VII, VIII and XI, Socrates argues that for any ideal city, a true philosopher (lover of truth over 50 years of age), with a practical understanding of knowledge and wisdom, will be necessary to maintain harmonious co-operation of the citizens (see PROPHECY, upon which I’m working as I write this post). Without such a leader, government and the governed’s souls will naturally pass through four unjust states: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and inevitably end in tyranny.
In book X, Plato through Socrates finishes by espousing rewards of being just, both in this life and the next (see THE EDGE OF MADNESS and my forthcoming sequel, PROPHECY), pointing out that perceptive differences in thought, passion and action (think discipline, devotion and action) lead to unbalance and injustice. “In 2001, a survey of over 1,000 academics and students voted the Republic the greatest philosophical text ever written. Julian Baggini argued that although the work ‘was wrong on almost every point,’ the questions it raises and the methods it uses are essential to the western tradition of philosophy.” It is in exactly this frame of reference, that the risque TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, the enlightening THE EDGE OF MADNESS and the impactful PROPHECY are set. As Plato/Socrates decries imitative art, all three of these books, I do believe, will present a fresh yet plausible look at a future form of thought and action that has been in development for millennia.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook versions; it has been purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
This leads in Book III to the conclusion that to insure Justice would require a cadre of “Guardians” (see my “Enforcers” in THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor). These Guardians of Justice should be educated in the four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, temperance and gymnastics, i.e. philosophy (the love of truth) and gymnastics. Both male and female Guardians should experience the same education, all wives and children should be shared, and that they be prohibited from owning private property. Furthermore, in Book IV, people will be happy only when engaging in the occupation that suits him or her best (again, see THE EDGE OF MADNESS). If the city as a whole is happy, then its individuals will be happy and just in their execution of their happiness, with the emphasis on moderation (temperance) in everything, since in totality, both poverty and excessive wealth will inevitably corrupt. This, in turn, will lead to a unified soul, which can not behave in opposition to the cardinal virtues, a sort of self-maintaining state of Justice.
In books VI, VII, VIII and XI, Socrates argues that for any ideal city, a true philosopher (lover of truth over 50 years of age), with a practical understanding of knowledge and wisdom, will be necessary to maintain harmonious co-operation of the citizens (see PROPHECY, upon which I’m working as I write this post). Without such a leader, government and the governed’s souls will naturally pass through four unjust states: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and inevitably end in tyranny.
In book X, Plato through Socrates finishes by espousing rewards of being just, both in this life and the next (see THE EDGE OF MADNESS and my forthcoming sequel, PROPHECY), pointing out that perceptive differences in thought, passion and action (think discipline, devotion and action) lead to unbalance and injustice. “In 2001, a survey of over 1,000 academics and students voted the Republic the greatest philosophical text ever written. Julian Baggini argued that although the work ‘was wrong on almost every point,’ the questions it raises and the methods it uses are essential to the western tradition of philosophy.” It is in exactly this frame of reference, that the risque TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, the enlightening THE EDGE OF MADNESS and the impactful PROPHECY are set. As Plato/Socrates decries imitative art, all three of these books, I do believe, will present a fresh yet plausible look at a future form of thought and action that has been in development for millennia.
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook versions; it has been purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.
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