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IRR W5: What Do Horse-Breeding, Ruling and Wage-Earning Have in Common?

Socrates refutes Thrasymachus' view that justice is doing what benefits the stronger by arguing that excellence in fields like medicine, horse breeding, and ruling consists of focusing on the subject/patient's benefit rather than one's own. However, Socrates notes these fields also involve wage-earning, which seems focused on personal gain. He concludes there must be an additional "craft of wage-earning" that benefits each field. Some find this inconsistent, as wage-earning appears focused on self-interest rather than the subject. Still, Socrates asserts wages must be provided to induce people to rule, since no field benefits itself.

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78 views1 page

IRR W5: What Do Horse-Breeding, Ruling and Wage-Earning Have in Common?

Socrates refutes Thrasymachus' view that justice is doing what benefits the stronger by arguing that excellence in fields like medicine, horse breeding, and ruling consists of focusing on the subject/patient's benefit rather than one's own. However, Socrates notes these fields also involve wage-earning, which seems focused on personal gain. He concludes there must be an additional "craft of wage-earning" that benefits each field. Some find this inconsistent, as wage-earning appears focused on self-interest rather than the subject. Still, Socrates asserts wages must be provided to induce people to rule, since no field benefits itself.

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JayOng
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IRR W5: What do Horse-Breeding, Ruling and Wage-Earning Have in Common?

While Socrates poses the question “What is justice?” in Republic I (336b to 354),
he asks “Is justice good?” in Republic II (357 to 369). In these comments, I focus on
Socrates’ refutation of Thrasymachus’ concept of justice in Republic I and highlight a
portion that I find confusing.

In Republic I (336b to 354), Socrates scrutinizes Thrasymachus belief that “it is


just to do what is to the advantage of the stronger” (341a). For example, a ruler will
always decree what is “best for himself” (341a). Socrates refutes Thrasymachus by
demonstrating how the craft of ruling, insofar as it is a craft like medicine and horse-
breeding, should not seek its own advantage. Excellence in the craft of horse-breeding
arises when one focuses not on oneself, but the horse. Likewise, excellence in medicine
arises when one seeks the advantage of the patient, not of oneself. Since ruling is an art
just like medicine and horse-breeding, excellence in ruling is characterized by seeking
not “what is advantageous to himself, but what is advantageous to his subjects” (342e).
The refutative power of this argument is rooted in Socrates teasing out a contradiction
from definitions that Thrasymachus himself provides.

While this refutation effectively undermines Thrasymachus’ position, Socrates


curiously proceeds to introduce a “wage-earning” function to his argument. While the
focus of the crafts (e.g. medicine, ruling) should be the respective subjects involved and
not personal gain, Socrates observes that these crafts still contain a wage-earning element
that remains unaccounted for. Since these crafts differ based on function yet all possess a
similar wage-earning element, Socrates proceeds to conclude that there must be an
“additional craft that benefits each of them” (346e]), which Socrates identifies as the craft
of wage-earning. This method of identifying a common factor that unifies different
concepts is one that Socrates also employs in the dialogue with Callicles in the Gorgias.
From 494 to 499 of the Gorgias, Socrates argues for the presence of better and worse
pleasures, concluding that there is a standard of goodness distinct from pleasure

Thus, by introducing the craft of wage-earning, Plato is suggesting that there is a


common factor that unifies these different crafts. However, there seems to be an
inconsistency in suggesting that wage-earning is also a craft. This is because while crafts
should aim not for “what is advantageous to himself, but what is advantageous to his
subjects” (342e), wage-earning seems to be focused precisely on personal gain.
Nevertheless, Socrates seems unfazed by this inconsistency, instead asserting that “wages
must be provided to a person if he’s to be willing to rule” (347a) precisely because “no
craft or rule provides for its own advantage” (346e).

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