Ring of Gyges

The Ring of Gyges, introduced in Book II of Plato’s The Republic by Glaucon, is a magical artifact that enables the bearer to turn themselves invisible at will. While not founded in historical fact; the scenario is rather a thought experiment used to explore the fundamental nature of human morality when the bearer faces no retribution for their actions. Glaucon alleges that the temptation provided by the ring is irresistible by any man, and that without consequences the bearer would disregard morality in favour of his own self-gain. However, this argument is not without criticism: Socrates provides his own counterargument in which he uses the ideal of rationality as a means to avoid the temptation of Gyges’ ring. Furthermore, Glaucon ignores the role of environment, upbringing, and circumstance in his thought experiment ― without which no one is inherently malicious. Despite the misdeeds committed by Gyges, he was not born wicked. Rather, the actions he took using the ring are the result of his own circumstance and their own experiences, rather than any broad notion of all humans being inherently villainous. As every human differs in these factors, individual response to the temptation of the ring would vary drastically ― in the same way that electricity may be used to power a hospital or fry a man, so might the ring be used for harmless jokes, to escape from attackers, or…

Plato’s “The Ring of Gyges” tells the story of a shepherd named Gyges who came upon a mystical gold ring when an earthquake split up the ground and revealed a dead body wearing that ring. He found out that it could turn him invisible when worn in a certain manner and used it to seduce the queen, kill the king, and take over the kingdom. Then, Plato explains that if a righteous man and an unrighteous one both had such rings, the righteous man would be compelled to also do unrightful things for…

Why be morally good? This is a question that Mattison (2008) examines by explaining two key approaches to morality called the morality of obligation and the morality of happiness. Mattison makes the distinction between the two by using the story of the Ring of Gyges (p.22). Plato’s classic the Republic features a conversation between the characters of Socrates and Glaucon. Glaucon supports his claim that being morally good is not what everyone achieves to be by illustrating the shepard in the…

Are humans being decent? Or do we act just because we have no choice? Well, that is the logic behind the famous story of the Ring of Gyges. The Ring of Gyges was a challenge poses by Glaucon to Socrates. Glaucon wanted to rend Socrates defenseless against injustice, and that was not only his intentions. He also wanted to demonstrate that justice is ruled by injustice, to such a great extend he proposed the following story ("Summary of Plato’s Ring of Gyges"). Gyges, a royal shepherd, found a…

In this essay I will argue that in Plato’s Republic, Socrates shows the Ring of Gyges teaches us that morality would disappear if there were no consequences to the actions taken by the one who possessed the ring. First, I will explain what he means by morality would disappear. Then I will show why I feel morality would not disappear. Finally, I will conclude that morality will not disappear. In using the legend of the ring of Gyges, Socrates would like us to believe that if there were a magical…

The ring of Gyges grants the ability to become invisible by only “turn[ing] the collet of the ring.” This, for Gyges, gave him power and confidence to conquer the kingdom. I’ve often thought about this situation but a different light. The question If you could have any superpower what would it be? My selection has always been to have the ability to be invisible, but not for the reason that Gyges would want. I feel like it would be satisfying to dip in and out of sight, avoid interactions and…

Who Wouldn't If a situation arises that someone could get away with something that is wrong or unjust without getting caught chances are a majority of those people may do it. It can be a very tempting situation if you are invisible in a shop and a very expensive item catches your eye and you know that you could very easily take it withouT anyone knowing who did it. In the story of Gyges ring, Gyges finds a ring and puts it on eventually realizing that if he turns it he will become invisible.…

Justice is in the People In Plato’s analysis of “Ring of Gyges,” he underlines Glaucon’s words about what justice really means. He first concludes that any man in his right mind would do injustice, if he were knew consequences would not follow. He makes an example about a “magical ring” found in a horse that allows anyone that wears the ring to become invisible, and claims that any honest man would admit that he would act unjust to benefit himself. In addition, he goes on to explain the same…

In the Ring of Gyges narrative, Glaucon supports an argument that "whenever anyone thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust," implying that it is unnatural for a human being to follow ethical or moral principles when given freedom to do otherwise. According to his theory, it is not beneficial to be righteous or "just," as injustice and dishonesty presented as a far more lucrative option. While I agree that people do act in self-interested ways and cooperate with one another…

Good Verses Bad Is it better to be good with a bad reputation or to be bad and have a good reputation? In the story Gyges’ Ring, Plato talks about if it is better to be good or better to follow your own desires. In the tale, he explains how Gyges finds a ring that provides him with the power to be invisible. He uses this ring to seduce the king’s wife, and convinces her to help kill her husband. After he gets help to kill the king he takes over the realm. This is a perfect example of being bad…