Groundhog Day is a film created by Harold Ramis. Explore the question “what would you do if you lived a life without consequences”. This ties in with the argument made by Glaucon in Plato's Republic. He claims that “living an unjust life will bring more happiness than living a just one.” To explain his point, he offers the story of the ring of Gyges. This is the story of a man who receives a ring that allows him to become invisible and do whatever he wants without fear of consequences. This character is extremely similar to Phil Collins, the main character of the film, in that it closely parallels the story of the Ring of Gyges. Both men have the ability to exploit this supernatural event to live unjustly and do the things proposed to them by their id, but which they could not do before due to social conformism and fear of the law. Or these men could use power to live righteously. One of the main differences is that Phil Collins will reset by completely deleting the previous day's acts. We can see the drastic effect this detail has on Phil. Start small and gradually work your way up to bigger crimes. I will argue that while Glaucon is right that, if given the opportunity, people would live unjustly, ultimately Plato's argument for a just life will produce a life filled with greater happiness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Glaucon explains his argument to Plato by stating. That the only reason most people choose to live a just life rather than an unjust one is because they are afraid. They are afraid of being discovered and punished by the law. It is this fear that keeps people on the right path and surpasses the satisfaction that would be gained by living wrongly. He thinks that if they had the opportunity to know that there would be no consequences for their actions, men would without hesitation begin to live out their wildest dreams and fantasies. This argument appears to have some merit. In the case of the ring of Gyges this is exactly what happens. Furthermore, at the beginning of the film, when Phil first enters the time loop, this is exactly what we see him do. He steals, speaks crudely and lusts after women. He repeats this cycle, over and over, living as if there is no tomorrow. However, he begins to break down psychologically as the film progresses. After repeating the same events over and over again, he begins to feel discontent, as he has lived out all his fantasies. At this point, Phil is at his lowest point and just wants the "day" to be over. He commits suicide for an untold number of days trying to break the cycle. Naturally it ends in failure: believing that death no longer has any power over him, he courageously begins to refer to himself as a god. He attempts to demonstrate this by sharing the knowledge of people and events that he had learned from his countless repetitions. His consciousness and sense of self had deteriorated so much that he no longer even considered himself a human being. Plato's counterargument to Glaucon is that true happiness is achieved by living a good life. He defines the right life as one that seeks justice, courage, moderation and wisdom. Essentially Plato argues that the right life is to live altruistically for the benefit of others and the good of the city, not for oneself or one's personal gain. As stated in Plato's Republic, if teachers teach, guardians watch, rulers govern, and people work, then the city will flourish and individual pleasures.