Balance is key to so many things in life. A balanced diet will keep us young, healthy and regular our doctors tell us. Psychologists say balance between work and family life leads to more productivity at work, more harmony and happiness at home and less stress all around. Balance is what keeps your airplane in the air and your car on the road. According to Plato, balance is even the very definition of Justice.
Plato says that society is driven by three complimentary and often competing natures; Basic Drive, Honor, and Reason. Each of these natures is essential to a functioning society and must be satisfied and in balance in order for Justice to exist within that society. Plato also suggests that this is not only true of society as a whole but it is true of the individual as well. As a lack of balance among these natures makes for an unjust and unhappy society, a lack of balance in a person makes for an unjust and unhappy person. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Happiness is strongly linked to Justice-there's a possiblility they may actually be the same thing.
Over the next few weeks, I'll take a closer look at each of these Natures. I'll try to explain Plato's definition of each of them and I'll try to draw some conclusions as to why each is important to us as individuals and as a society. Then we'll be able to take a look at current situations within ourselves and within our society and try to understand how a lack of balance may have lead to these situations. I won't promise that this will be a completely linear process, however. There are many other things I'd like to explore and to write about. No matter how far I stray, however, I'll always get back around to this topic. Heck, understanding these ideas may be the key to understanding many of the other topics I'll be ranting on about.
Until next time, be safe, be free and be happy.
DW
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