How did Cephalus define justice?

Cephalus who was a representative of traditional morality of the ancient trading class established the traditional theory of justice . According to him ‘justice consists in speaking the truth and paying one’s debt. Thus Cephalus identifies justice with right conduct.

Why is Cephalus definition of justice wrong?

By providing examples of where it would be unjust to repay one’s debts, Socrates refutes Cephalus’ definition of justice. In these scenarios, paying back those debts would pose a risk of harm to innocent people, which would be unjust since justice does not involve harming others.

What do Cephalus and Polemarchus say that justice is what flaw S does Socrates find in their claims?

Socrates speaks to Cephalus about old age, the benefits of being wealthy, and justice (328e-331d). Polemarchus claims that justice is helping one’s friends and harming one’s enemies and that this is what one owes people (332c).

What is justice according to Polemarchus?

After the discussion of justice as a craft, Polemarchus reiterates his faith in the definition attributed to Simonides: “justice is to benefit one’s friends and harm one’s enemies” (334b).

What is Cephalus justice quizlet?

Cephalus’ definition of justice. justice means living up to your legal obligations and being honest; Socrates’ counterexample: returning a weapon to a madman. Polemarchus justice definition. justice means that owe friends help, and you owe enemies harm.

What is the meaning of Cephalus?

head
Cephalus (/ˈsɛfələs/; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος Kephalos means “head”) is a name used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. Mythological. Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse.

What problem S does Socrates find with Cephalus definition?

Cephalus says justice is telling the truth and paying one’s debt. Socrates’s counterargument is that if a sane man lends weapons to a friend and then asks for them when he is insane, the friend shouldn’t return them and wouldn’t be acting justly if he did.

Why isn’t justice paying your debts as Cephalus says according to Socrates?

Justice is not paying your debts according to Socrates because you could harm someone by repaying your debts. Justice is not the advantage of the stronger because sometimes the stronger, rulers, make mistakes when making the laws.

What definition of justice does cephalus first propose in the Republic?

Cephalus acts as spokesman for the Greek tradition. His definition of justice is an attempt to articulate the basic Hesiodic conception: that justice means living up to your legal obligations and being honest.

What does Socrates say about justice?

Socrates seeks to define justice as one of the cardinal human virtues, and he understands the virtues as states of the soul. So his account of what justice is depends upon his account of the human soul. According to the Republic, every human soul has three parts: reason, spirit, and appetite.

What does Theophonic mean?

Definition of theophoric : derived from or bearing the name of a god.

What is Cephalus the god of?

Etymology. The word kephalos is Greek for “head”, perhaps used here because Cephalus was the founding “head” of a great family that includes Odysseus. It could be that Cephalus means the head of the Sun who kills (evaporates) Procris (dew) with his unerring ray or ‘javelin’.