Aristotle & Plato

Answer preview

To conclude whether justice is better than injustice, Glaucon used the tale of The Ring of Gyges to support his point. He explained that Gyges, who was just a shepherd during the reign of the king of Lydia, found a ring on a corpse of a bronze horse that had been exposed by an earthquake while tending his sheep. He took the ring and made it his by wearing it on his finger. He noticed that he becomes invisible when the ring’s setting is turned inward and goes back to being visible when it’s turned out.

He used the ring’s magic to seduce the queen, who falls into the trap and helps him eliminate the king, thus taking over the kingdom. Gyges felt that he was protected by the ring and could commit any unjust act since the ring made him invisible (Mishra & Sundeep, 294). He says that if people were given the ability to do anything with no consequences, then everybody would choose to be unjust and commit wrongful acts for their selfish desires and would not care if they are being just or unjust.

[812 Words]

Aristotle & Plato