Key Arguments

• He notes the discussion diverted from defining justice to comparing its worth to injustice
• Without a definition, claims about justice’s value rest on unstable ground; thus he professes ignorance

Source Quotes

I left that enquiry and turned away to consider whether justice is virtue and wisdom or evil and folly; and when there arose a further question about the comparative advantages of justice and injustice, I could not refrain from passing on to that. And the result of the whole discussion has been that I know nothing at all. For I know not what justice is, and therefore I am not likely to know whether it

And the result of the whole discussion has been that I know nothing at all. For I know not what justice is, and therefore I am not likely to know whether it

Key Concepts

• the result of the whole discussion has been that I know nothing at all.
• For I know not what justice is, and therefore I am not likely to know whether it

Context

Republic I closing note: Socrates reflects on the method and scope, acknowledging that while arguments favored justice, the primary question—the nature (definition) of justice—remains unanswered.

Perspectives

Plato

Uses Socratic aporia to motivate Books II–IV: the city-soul analogy and construction of Kallipolis aim to secure a rigorous definition.

Socrates

Maintains intellectual humility: absent a clear account of 'what justice is,' evaluative conclusions lack full grounding; the inquiry must continue.