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

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Suppose, for example, you could steal from
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
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
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
Book II of his Republic! Well, he talks about

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

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especially if you can do it without ever getting
caught.

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

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chasm. And inside of it was a magic ring.
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
around the fire, he started turning the ring,

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and noticed that others, thinking he’d left
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,
with her help, murdering the king and seizing

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

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

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

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But why? Surely it’s good to gain some material
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
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
valuable. The just person will always be infinitely

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happier — and thus richer — than the unjust
person.

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For Plato does not think that goodness is
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
of a harmonious soul governed by reason. You

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

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the spirited part that reflects our emotions;
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
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
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
could make you invisible, what would you do…?