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

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.