3/16 Republic Assignment

Who are Cephalus and Polemarchus?
Cephalus is the father of Polemarchus. They are friends of Socrates who he visits.

What is the profession of Cephalus?
He is a business man

What was Cephalus doing right before the discussion that took place?
Cephalus was getting ready to go to the daily sacrifice.

According to Cephalus, what are the virtues of old age?
Cephalus says that when you are old you have already been down the road that the young have not, you are wiser and more experienced. On the con side, you are closer to death and many older men are afraid, feel less appreciated and miss there better physical abilities from when they were young.

What are Cephalus’ view of justice?
He thinks justice is telling the truth and paying back your debts.

What is Socrates response?
He responses to him by giving him a situation where you have borrowed a weapon from a friend, but that friend just happens to mad/crazy. So you shouldn't return the weapon (paying back the debt) because who knows what they'd do with it. So basically Socrates was trying to prove that there are situations where you have to lie or not pay back debts.

II. Write a one paragraph response to the following question:
Do you agree with Cephaus or with Socrates? Why? If you don't agree with either of them, write about which one you think makes the stronger argument - even if you think it is not "right" - and why?
I must say, though I think that justice is being truthful and paying back debts I must agree with Socrates. Yes being truthful and paying back debts are right, but some cases you must lie or not pay back debts. Socrates example was great. Another example is if you where held hostage and the only way you could be set free was if you told the person where a dear family member was. You know, but don't want to tell them because they'll go off and kill them, but at the same time you want to be let free. So what do you do? Lie. There are just sometimes in life where you must do these things.

III. Try to give this a shot, if you can’t answer it that’s okay: What do you think Cephaus represents? What is particular or unique about his view of justice compared to the others you have discussed in class?
I'm not really sure.