Welcome to week 1 of our reading of Plato's Republic! This week we jumped head first into one of the most substantial philosophical questions of all time - what is morality?

Initially, I started this week wondering where reading Republic would take me. I fancy myself someone with a well developed moral compass and a strong sense of right and wrong. What could I possibly take from an ancient discourse on morality? By the end of the week, I felt refreshed. Invigorated. Wherever you place yourself on the moral scale, I truly hope that reading through book one has shaken off a few cobwebs and that you're as ready to explore the arguments, debates, consistencies, and inconsistencies as I am.

Brief summaries are below and questions about the arguments in book one are in the comments.

Summary

The book opens with Socrates and Glaucon visiting Piraeus for the first festival of the Thracian goddess Bendis. As the leave town, the are adked to wait and stay by Polemarchus. At Polemarchus' house, they meet with others, including Cephalus and Thrasymachus, who appear to be gathered for discourse.

Cephalon and Socrates discuss th3 lessons learned in old age. They begin by stating that people of the same age tend to gather together to gripe about what has been lost to them along with their youth. Socrates believes that discourse across generations is beneficial for expanding and understanding the king of life.

They discuss the impact of earned vs inherited wealth on one's outlook on life, and money's place in it, and how wealth or a lack of it factor into man's thoughts and feelings as he contemplates his death. Cephalus and Socrates both agree that a "life spent behaving morally and justly has "Sweet hope as a partner, joyfully fostering his heart, comforting him in old age - hope which steers, more than anything else does, men's fickle intention." (Waterfield, 331a). They go on to discuss what it means to do right.

Polemarchus brings up Simondes' definition of morality, simply put, truthfulness and giving back what is owed. Socrates questions this simplicity by asking whether returning the weapons borrowed from a friend is still moral if that friend has gone insane.

Thrasymachus intersects to call out Socrates' argument as drivel. He asks Socrates to state his opinion on morality. Thrasymachus begins his argument that a good life is an immoral life.

Through the remainder of the book, Socrates and Thrasymachus speak in cascading examples and arguments that, through discussion, are aimed at defining the nature of morality and its applications in life and society.