Philosophical Concepts and Problems on The Just City by Jo Walton

Book Report: The Just City
Student’s Name
Institution
Book Report: The Just City
Plot Summary
The Just City, a novel by Jo Walton, is an interesting read that follows a philosophical experiment by the goddess Athene. Throughout space and across history, Athene is picking up everyone who has ever prayed to her for an opportunity to live in Plato's’ Republic. She provides them with this opportunity by creating the Just City, which is built upon Plato’s idea of justice. The Just City is a fictional society with a population of approximately 10,000 children, some few hundred masters (adult supervisors), and few robots. The children, all who have experienced a horrible life in slavery, are chosen with a promise of a better life than the one they had. The story unfolds through the eyes of three main characters; Maia, Simmea, and Apollo in his human form as Pytheas. Maia, formerly known as Ethel, is a Victorian Woman who worships Athene and prays to be taken to a utopia so she can be an excellent scholar. Simmea is an Egyptian child who lived her life as a child slave. The god Apollo turns into a mortal so that he could learn from other mortals. 
Athene hopes to create an environment where all human beings can co-exist peacefully. The Just City is built away from any civilization. The children are to be raised to become philosophers and procreate in a just world guided by Plato’s ideals. Robots from the future are brought into the city to help with the heavy work that would otherwise be done by slaves. However, it soon becomes clear that the Just City is far from just. Through Apollo, it is revealed that while slavery is prohibited in the Just City, and most children were liberated from slavery, they were never given a choice. In placing them in the Just City, Athene never asked the children what they wanted. This becomes clear through Kebes, the child who despises the Just City because he was never given a choice between living there and getting back to his parents. The children are also not allowed to leave the city nor read The Republic, yet this is the basis of their existence in the Just City. 
When all the children become grown-ups, something interesting happens. The Just City becomes an interesting community where children are born and raised communally, not by their parents. The now all-grown children are paired in a way that the strongest offspring will be reproduced. This pairing is based on Plato’s teachings on the importance of unity between people in society. The pairing off also allows the grown-ups to explore intimate relationships with other people. Apollo, in his mortal nature, gets an opportunity to explore such a relationship with Simmea, with whom they share a strong connection. 
When Plato arrives in the city some few years after the experiment began, he raises questions as usual and encourages others to do so as well. One of his students is Simmea who starts to question what they are told and how they live in the city. They soon demand to be given freedom in making choices about their lives in the city. This interferes with Athene’s philosophical experiment. Also, Socrates asks questions about the robots, revealing that the robots can actually communicate and they indeed communicate that they are not happy with their work. It becomes clear that robots are capable of feeling. They demand their rights in the Just City.
Through the book, it becomes evident that it is quite difficult to achieve Plato’s ideal world in the real world due to the imperfect nature of human beings. 
Philosophical Concepts and Problems
Walton does a good job of exploring some of the philosophical problems and concepts that occur when philosophy is applied to real-life situations. The following are some of the philosophical problems and concepts identified in The Just City:
Choice and Free Will
               The concept of choice and free will is well-illustrated in the novel from the beginning. Free will can be thought of as the power to make choices (Griffith, 2012). The children that Athen chooses to live in the Just City are slaves and the god wants to give them a better life. By being slaves, their free will had been taken from them since they could not choose what they wanted to do with their life at the time. In the Just City, the same problem exists. The children, albeit living a better life there, were not allowed to choose. This is evidenced by the attitude of Kebes who like other children, did not choose to be in the Just City. This decision was made for them by Athene. Also, the children’s free will is taken from them when they are denied an opportunity to leave the walls of the Just City or read The Republic. While this is acceptable for children because they are still young to make informed choices for themselves, it is not acceptable among grown-ups. Yet, in the Just City, when the children have all grown-ups, they are still not allowed to leave and they still have to follow the strict rules set by the elder’s committee. Socrates' arrival, however, makes them ready to fight for their freedom by questioning the rules and what they are told by the masters. Eventually, they demand to have a say in how they live in the Just City. The adults also lack free will in choosing their sexual partner. For reproduction purposes, they are paired with mates using a lottery system. In this way, they are being forced to have sex with other people and they have no say in whatever happens. Through Socrates, the concept of free will among the robots is also explored. Socrates questions whether the robots have feelings and are intellectual, despite being told that they lack those things. When it is revealed that robots can communicate and that they are unhappy with t...