The story of Gyges

In Plato’s Republic Glaucon tells Socrates about the story of Gyges. With the use of invisibility, Gyges seduces the queen and overtakes the throne. Glaucon tries to argue that any just person, if there were no external restraint, would become unjust. Is morality, however, only built on fear of punishment? Would one choose to be an outcast from society in order to fulfil his own selfish desires? There are internal as well as external forces that act to control our actions such as punishment and reward.
Glaucon believes that a person is good only to the extent that he can’t get away with not being good. However, that seems like a reason to do nothing wrong out of fear. One is not simply good by being too afraid to do anything wrong. ‘Good’ also depends on the good things one does, not just the bad. Would Glaucon argue that volunteering is good only because not volunteering is wrong? Our morality does not only sanction the bad things we do but also de...