From the Alcibiades I we are naturally led to the Republic, one of Plato’s most famous dialogues, the theme of which is the all-important question, “What is justice?” This lecture begins by noting some of the most prominent features of the Republic that appear at first glance, including its title, its setting, its cast of characters, and the action or drama with which it begins. Socrates and his friends first attempt to find an adequate definition of “justice,” beginning with the elderly Cephalus. When he proves unable to defend his commonsensical view that “justice” means telling the truth and giving back what you owe, his able son Polemarchus takes over. Just when it seems that the group has reached a happy consensus about justice, the rhetorician Thrasymachus heaps contempt on their discussion and challenges Socrates to refute the contention that justice is for fools: It is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger against the weaker. In this vivid way, Plato shows us that th