The idea of unlimited power can set you apart from the rest of the world and change who you are and the person you want to become. Glaucon's point in conveying the idea of the ring of Gyges plays a huge role. Glaucon explains that having the ring can make you a just or unjust person and that it depends on what you do with the power. The Ring of Gyges gives you unlimited power. What would people do with this? Would it change them for the better or for the worse? Unlimited power changes people for the worse, meaning they have no rules to follow, no consequences, and they question whether or not it is better to be just or unjust. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of Book II Glaucon explains how the Ring of Gyges works. As stated on page 44 of the book, "If you could imagine someone gaining this power to become invisible, and never doing anything bad or touching another's property, the viewer would think he was a miserable idiot." , although they praised him to each other and kept up appearances with each other for fear of suffering an injustice too. Enough of this” (Plato 44). This quote explains that when you get the ring you have an invisible amount of power and can never do anything bad. They also talk about how the person might suffer injustice if he wants to get this ring. The ring can ultimately change your life forever. Since the ring of Gyges gives you unlimited power without consequences, can this change a person? And if you have this unlimited power does that make you a just or unjust person? After reading the excerpt from page 44 of La Repubblica, “The actions of the just would be like the actions of the unjust; they would both arrive at the same point. And this we can truly say is a great proof that a man is just, not voluntarily or because he thinks that justice is good for him individually, but necessarily, because every time someone thinks he can easily be unjust, he is unjust. ” (Plato 44). This quote says that the actions of the righteous people are the same as the actions of the unrighteous. I believe that the actions of the righteous are not the same as the actions of the unrighteous. If there are no consequences, then the unjust are promised a happier life by the ring of Gyges. A righteous man is given a ring, once he gets the ring the man can act unjustly without fear. Glaucon claims that even the most just man will become unjust if he comes into possession of the ring. My opinion on this whole situation is that the righteous person can change with the ring and become unrighteous, but if the unrighteous person is given the ring it is very likely that he cannot become righteous. This statement brings us to Glaucon and his 3 parts of justice; they desire only for their consequences, they desire only for themselves, and they desire both for themselves and for what we get from. These three parts explain why a person who is given the ring of Gyges could not be righteous because if you are then you desire consequences that cannot be given. This brings us to the part where Glaucon shows how the unjust life is happier than the just one. This is because unjust people are always seen as just even if they are doing unjust things and if you are seen as just you will be seen differently, so why not just be unjust. Glaucon knows that the unjust is always supported by his instincts and is honored and rewarded with riches. Having Gyges ring can make you an unjust person which can ultimately cause happiness. But if you have unlimited power and no consequences, how can you be happy? Not having struggles during life means happiness.
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