Phronetics and Justice

The Republic may be Plato's greatest work, because converging in it are his two main influences--Pythagorean Metaphysics and the fate of Socrates. But, while it stands as the seminal study of Political Philosophy, its central question, 'What is Justice?', has received relatively scant attention from a tradition that has been described as 'a series of footnotes to Plato'. It is thus somewhat surprising that the topic has recently had an increase in scrutiny in a place that has been typically indifferent to the Philosophical tradition, namely the American public. The occasion has been a debate between Nozick and Rawls over not so much the nature of Justice, but over which type of Justice is pre-eminent, Retributive or Distributive--for Nozick, Justice consists fundamentally in one's inalienable Right to what one has legitimately acquired, while for Rawls, it is in an equitable distribution of goods. Because this debate bears upon one of the central political conflicts of the time, namely Tax policy, it has drawn more than mere Academic interest. Now, because in Plato's description of Ideal Political organization, the Whole determines the Parts, he might be interpreted as according priority to Distributive Justice. But, his answer to his question is deeper than classificatory. For him, Justice is fundamentally an intra-personal condition--a well-ordered Soul, meaning that the Just treatment of others is, first and foremost, an expression of the Justness of character of the one conducting themselves towards them, with which Aristotle is in agreement. In the Formaterial Individual, a well-ordered 'Soul' consists in the balance between Propriation and Exposition. In other words, 'Justice' is another name for Individual Evolvement, and, so, is entailed in what the Phronetic Principle promotes.