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What if you could do whatever you want...and[br]get away with it?

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Suppose, for example, you could steal from[br]your best friend…and not only would he never

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find out it was you…

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He would also think you’re the best friend[br]ever for letting him cry on your shoulder.

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What a sap!

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Meanwhile, you’re living it up with what[br]you stole, and have a devoted tool — er,

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friend — to boot!

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Believe it or not, Plato talks about you in[br]Book II of his Republic! Well, he talks about

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people like you, if you’re the sort of person[br]willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead…

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especially if you can do it without ever getting[br]caught.

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Plato tells us a story — a myth, really[br]— of a lowly shepherd who discovers a mysterious

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chasm. And inside of it was a magic ring.[br]When he turned the ring so that the setting

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faced his palm, he became invisible.

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That night, as he sat with other shepherds[br]around the fire, he started turning the ring,

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and noticed that others, thinking he’d left[br]his place, started talking about him. In actual

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fact, he was invisible.

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He wasted no time seducing the queen and,[br]with her help, murdering the king and seizing

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power. Even though he committed a grave injustice,[br]he certainly benefitted, didn’t he!

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Well, according to Plato, no. Despite now[br]being infinitely richer and more powerful,

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Plato thinks the shepherd has NOT benefited[br]from committing this injustice.

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But why? Surely it’s good to gain some material[br]wealth or social status. Does it really matter

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HOW it’s achieved?

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But Plato doesn’t think that injustice really[br]is in one’s best interest. In fact, just

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the opposite!

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You see, according to Plato, justice is inherently[br]valuable. The just person will always be infinitely

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happier — and thus richer — than the unjust[br]person.

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For Plato does not think that goodness is[br]derived from material or social gain. Thinking

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that it is, is what the shepherd got wrong.

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Justice in the individual is the condition[br]of a harmonious soul governed by reason. You

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see, Plato thinks the soul has three parts:[br]the appetitive part that reflects our urges;

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the spirited part that reflects our emotions;[br]and the rational part that reflects our best

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selves.

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That’s why the just individual will never[br]commit injustices, whether s/he can get away

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with it or not.

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In other words, the just individual knows[br]that committing unjust acts messes with his

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soul, and so also his happiness.

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So, dear Viewer, if you found a ring that[br]could make you invisible, what would you do…?