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Truth In Plato's The Republic

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The mores that one is instilled with is a complex concept to which we do not give much thought to in a day to day basis. In Plato’s The Republic, Plato dives into the inner workings of justice and other moral matters through the voice of Socrates, who serves as a character to give the reader a distinct perspective in the narrative. Throughout the text, Plato touches on many issues in Ancient Greek society in order to create a utopist city. Along the agenda, Plato emphasizes the quarrel of the rudimentary benefits of truth vs. lies, and which one of the two would conquer more with justice. In the transpiration of the debate, Plato convinces the reader that the truth is a closer fit to the principles of justice through a fallible initial argument, and analogical points, emphasizing the truth all the way from the tyrant to the slave. …show more content…

He states, “When and for whom is it also useful, so as not to deserve hatred? Isn't it useful against enemies, and, as a preventative, like a drug, for so-called friends when from madness or some folly they attempt to do something bad?” (382c). Plato declares the need for deception in the assessment, in order to convey that a lie will benefit those who you wish to receive benefit, and that the lie will prevent wicked events from occurring in the future. Adeimantus then rebuts the statement, for Plato has stated that only the divine and the demonic can be free from lie, an implication that a lie is a double edged sword that can spell evil as well as

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