Pleasure and Pain and the Penal Theory in Plato's Laws

Abstract

The paper searches for the systematic link between the psychological doctrine of Plato’s Laws and its theory of punishment. This link can be seen in the ability of emotions (i.e., pleasure and pain) to be harmonized in an individual soul; this ability forms the precondition for the soul’s compliance with education and punishment. The penal law contributes to the proper individualization of the soul by unifying emotions of pleasure and pain; in the case of the rare philosophical nature, however, there is no need of punishment at all since it already presents a well-ordered unity.