Research Article

A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI

Volume: 33 Number: 1 March 26, 2025
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A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI

Abstract

The debate on justice between Socrates and Callicles in Plato’s Gorgias presents a clash of perspectives. Callicles contends that justice arises naturally from the dominance of the stronger over the weaker, reflecting the primal order of nature. In contrast, Socrates advocates for a conception of justice grounded in virtue, emphasizing harmony and self-discipline as the foundation of a just society. Al-Farabi, a later interpreter of Plato’s works, offers a synthesis of these seemingly opposing views in his Ideal State, where he defines justice in two distinct senses. The first, natural sense of justice, aligns with Callicles’ perspective, while the second, civil sense of justice, corresponds to Socrates’ vision of justice as a product of societal conventions. This paper explores whether Al-Farabi reconciles these dual definitions of justice and examines the implications of his interpretation for understanding Plato’s evolving philosophical viewpoint.

Keywords

References

  1. AL-FARABI (Translated by Ahmet Arslan): İdeal Devlet, 2nd Edition, Istanbul 2017.
  2. AL-FARABI: Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, New York 2001.
  3. BENSON, Hugh H, "Plato’s Method of Dialectic", A Companion to Plato, Germany 2006, p. 85-99.
  4. DODDS, E.R: Plato Gorgias; A Revised Text with Introduction and Commentary, London 1959.
  5. DOSKOZHANOVA, Aizhan /NURYSHEVA,Gulzhikhan /TULEUBEKOV,Assyl: "State Policy as Virtue in Doctrines of Plato and Al-Farabi", Man India, Volume 96 Issue 7, 2016, p. 1979-1993.
  6. FAKHRY, Majid: "Al-Farabi and the Reconciliation of Plato and Aris-totle", Journal of the History of Ideas, 1965. 26(4): p. 469-478.
  7. HANSEN, Peter J: Plato’s Tough Guys and Their Attachment to Jus-tice, United States 2019.
  8. KNOLL, Manuel: "Sophistic Criticisms of the Rule of Law. A Compar-ison of Callicles and Thrasymachus", Filosofickýčasopis Spe-cial Issue 2021. 2: p. 65-87.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Legal Theory, Jurisprudence and Legal Interpretation

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 26, 2025

Submission Date

December 2, 2024

Acceptance Date

March 24, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 33 Number: 1

APA
Aydoğdu, B. (2025). A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 33(1), 615-629. https://doi.org/10.15337/suhfd.1594771
AMA
1.Aydoğdu B. A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025;33(1):615-629. doi:10.15337/suhfd.1594771
Chicago
Aydoğdu, Burçin. 2025. “A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI”. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 33 (1): 615-29. https://doi.org/10.15337/suhfd.1594771.
EndNote
Aydoğdu B (March 1, 2025) A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 33 1 615–629.
IEEE
[1]B. Aydoğdu, “A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI”, Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 615–629, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.15337/suhfd.1594771.
ISNAD
Aydoğdu, Burçin. “A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI”. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 33/1 (March 1, 2025): 615-629. https://doi.org/10.15337/suhfd.1594771.
JAMA
1.Aydoğdu B. A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025;33:615–629.
MLA
Aydoğdu, Burçin. “A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI”. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2025, pp. 615-29, doi:10.15337/suhfd.1594771.
Vancouver
1.Burçin Aydoğdu. A PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEBATE ABOUT JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCRATES AND CALLICLES: IMPLICATIONS FROM AL-FARABI. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025 Mar. 1;33(1):615-29. doi:10.15337/suhfd.1594771

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