Aristotle And Happiness

Socrates, although sentenced to death, can have no evil occur to him because he is a good man protected by the gods. Socrates' idea that a good ma... ... middle of paper ... ...ape, Socrates produces another excuse to be sentenced to death. Plato's The Apology serves as a way to examine ourselves and promotes us to question in the pursuit of enhancing our lives. To harm others is worse than to be harmed ourselves, damaging our souls verses damaging our physical beings. In order to live a good life, it is important that we reflect on our lives to avoid a life of ignorance.

The philosophical debate begins as Socrates states that a true philosopher “has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die”, although suicide is not acceptable. Cebes is confused by what seems to be a contradiction because for those who would consider death a blessing, cannot take their own lives, but must wait for their lives to be taken from them. Socrates explains that the “gods are our guardians, and that we are a possession of theirs”, and so have no right to harm ourselves. True philosophers spend their entire lives preparing for death and dying, so it would be inappropriate if they were to be sad when the moment of death finally arrived. “I am afraid that other people do not realize that the one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death.” While the body desires pleasures of the flesh, the soul desires wisdom.

For instance, Crito says he has rich friends that will help Socrates leaves Athens. Socrates questions Crito about exile, because Socrates believed that banishment is defying the law. I do not agree with Socrates because he is given two choices, eviction or death. However, my personal perspective is that both men are right and wrong, Socrates should not escape because of his moral values; however, there is nothing wrong with exile. Socrates believed in many things; for example, believing in the after life, and not fixing injustice with additional injustice.

Plato rejects the contractarian reconciliation of morality with individual rationality primarily because the thinks that the contractarian conception assumes that a person's motives for being just are necessarily based her self-interest, while our concept of the just person holds that to be truly just one must value justice for its own sake. The contractarian account is also unacceptable because it has no foorce in the case of the Lydia Shepherd. (3) Finally, Plato holds that we must reject the contractarian account because a better account is available to us, viz., his own account of justice. But to show this Plato must establish each of the following: 1. There really is a difference between perceived self-interest and actual self-interest, that there can be a difference between what one believes to be in one's interest and what really is in one's interest.

Socrates states after establishing his own agreement with his city’s virtues that he believes in the validity of the decision imposed upon himse... ... middle of paper ... ...rs, such as Crito, that there is a certain satisfaction in maintaining one’s own innocence rather than accepting a hollow victory, and as a result compromising one’s integrity. By maintaining a harmony between what is right and the expression of a person’s own opinion he has made possible the ultimate truth, the belief in what has worked and staying within the boundaries of decent and god-fearing society. The laws of the society in which Socrates lived condemned him to die for his own conviction and the reasons for Socrates to remain and accept the punishments of that society have proved to be wise and justified. In consideration of those beliefs, I feel it is safe to conclude that Socrates would be no more in favor of "civil disobedience" than he was in disobeying the judgement that was brought down against him. Socrates holds incredible respect for the laws which govern him and no deviance, be it great or small, would he permit.

Unclear. Socrates follows the legal method accepted in Athens. How does that make him egocentric?, neverthel... ... middle of paper ... ...he had embarrassed; although he did bring enlightenment to the youth, he was sentenced to death. Socrates, however, does not fight this ruling but instead names it unjust and awaits his punishment. In Crito he accepts his death penalty by understanding that it was not by the authority of the laws but instead the men of Athens.

He talks about virtue like it is the result of living “The Good Life.” He says, “For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons and your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul” (Slayer). In brief, Socrates is saying that in order to have true “virtue” one needs to be consider where they are in the standards of morality, rather than the standards of material gain (Slayer). Additionally, Socrates also argues, “I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue come money and every other good of man, public as well as private.” He is basically saying that anything worth obtaining in the world is only worth obtaining justly because without “virtue” one will have nothing of value

The writer however, feels that it was a wise decision for Socrates to simply condemn the jury and accept his fate. In a statement the writer states, “Socrates had agreed to abide by whatever Athens required of him in return.” Analyzing Socrates commitment and obligation to Athens is vital. However, his decision not to escape and flee are reasonable, but his acceptance of his unjustly sentencing is not. Therefore, Socrates’ decision to not act on an illegitimate sentencing was foolish and as a citizen he should have appealed his

His long time friend Crito proposes to Socrates a plan to escape from his death sentence in prison. Crito and Socrates argue the issue of escape with Socrates deciding on accepting his sentence. I feel that in light of his beliefs Socrates was ethically correct in refusing to escape from prison. It was important to Socrates that he have good reasons not only to motivate but also to justify his actions. Socrates was concerned that his actions not only be good, but be just and noble as well.

Happiness acts as the center of understanding morality. The pain and the pleasures of life are the ones that determine happiness that an individual have. For Kant, happiness does not provide any moral motive to an individual. Kant believed more in the hypothetical imperative; thus he says that an action whether good or bad that contribute to the happiness of the individual is only good for some purposes (Kant 397). These are either the actions are actual or possible.