Are You a Fair and Just Person? --Plato Try to convince your friend that you still need it. Keep it as long as you can; after all, you need a calculator. Return it—the calculator is your friend’s, not yours. You can always make another friend; keep the calculator. “Please give it back to me.” “Why?” “Because you borrowed it and it’s mine.” Have you ever been in this kind of situation? Imagine that you have borrowed a calculator from a friend. Now the friend wants you to return it. What is the just thing for you to do?

Let’s change the example in a few ways (as Plato has Socrates do in the Republic.) Imagine that an adult in your family borrows a weapon from a friend, and between the time the weapon is borrowed and the time the friend wants it returned, the friend becomes mentally unstable. Now, according to the original definition, it would be just to return what has been borrowed—in this case, to return the weapon— since the definition says that whatever is borrowed should always be returned. But what do you think would be the just thing to do in this case?

Keep the weapon; the friend is unstable, and what the friend will do with the weapon once it is returned is unknown. Return the weapon; after all , it’s the friend’s property. Talk to a philosopher and ask for the true definition of justice. Once you know this definition, then you will know what should be done. Try to get professional help for the friend.

“I think the first duty of society is justice “I think the first duty of society is justice.” –Alexander Hamilton, statesman Plato thought that true justice begins in ourselves and that it is important to know ourselves as well as possible so that we can be just to ourselves whenever we speak, act, or make a choice. If we do know ourselves by thinking about who we are and what we want and how we hope to spend our lives, then it should be possible, eventually, to discover at least something about the nature of justice. Keep this conclusion in mind as you study philosophy. When you ask yourself a question, especially a philosophical question, and then try to answer it, you are learning more about yourself. And, if Plato is right, you are learning more about justice. Of course, you are also becoming a philosopher.

Philosophy Thursdays Option #1: Sophie’s World (Read sample together as a class.)   Ideally, you will work with others who also want to read this book, forming what is essentially a book club. You will decide on your own goals and meet once a week to read together and/or discuss. Depending on how you set it up. I can help you set this up if you would like. Option #2: Philosophy For Kids (with supplemental philosophical readings) Sample Lesson: Values, Question #1—Plato “Are you a fair and just person?