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Introduction to Ethics Quizlet
Ethics philosophy reflection
About aristotle
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If you can obtain anything you ever wanted but in order to obtain this item you have to break your moral codes; would you go for it? Glaucon feels like most people would jump at the opportunity and the people who do not would be an idiot not to. An idiot because they did not take full advantage of injustice and the benefits that can be reaped from it. Glaucon advocates that it pays to be unjust. He believes that our true nature would lead us to be unjust. For example, you have two people who now have Gyge’s Ring, which now grants them control over invisibility, prior to getting the ring one was just and one was unjust. Henceforth, now the unjust person will waste no time and continue being unjust. That unjust person would follow their human nature naturally which are one’s desires, greed, lust, and revenge. Eventually, the just person will succumb to his own desires and act unjustly. This ring now gives them power and the confidence to acquire whatever they could possibly want. So now he can do what he pleases morally or immorally and will not be reprimanded about it. …show more content…
He states people who are just are not purely just because they want to be just, but they are just because they want people to see them being just and because they fear getting into trouble. Glaucon feels that only the weak are just and the just person is not the winner in the end. With that taken into account I think Glaucon would agree with the nice guys finish last theory. I happen to believe that nice guys do have a tough time sometimes because they might get pummeled by an evil person who is only after their own well-being. Glaucon feels it’s natural for human beings to be unjust and if we were granted this gift of amnesty in the form of this ring our true desires imbued deep within will surface and motivate us to be
The three men discuss justice as if it's a good thing. Glaucon wants Socrates to prove that it is, and argues if it is just to do wrong in order to have justice, or on the other hand, is it unjust to never do wrong and therefore have no justice. For example; a man who lies, cheats and steals yet is a respected member of the community would be living a just life, in comparison to a man who never lied, cheated, nor stole anything but lives in poverty and is living an unjust life. Glaucon assumes the life of a just man is better than the life of an unjust man.
In the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet, Sir Gawain goes on a journey. Many people believe that Sir Gawain did not abide by his virtues, letting go of what he valued most. Gawain was so proud of his values that he depicted them on his shield, which he carried around everywhere. Gawain’s first four sets of virtues are not contested over; however, there is a debate over the last set. Sir Gawain himself believes that he failed in his journey because he did not overcome his challenges virtuously and accepted the green girdle. On the contrary, I believe that by accepting the girdle, he did not break any of his fifth set of virtues. He still showed politeness, pureness, friendship, fraternity, and pity along the way. Although quite
In addition, Gladwell goes on to support Larkin and Granovetter by stating, “Larkin and Paton are describing the dynamics of Granovetter’s threshold model of group behavior” (Gladwell, Pg 8). If you were to conclude why shooters have such a range of people good or evil, it is because overtime the “riot” evolves and brings all who stand near or far to associate themselves with people they never dreamed of being with. La Due and Darion are the anomalies in the equation because they are said to be genuine good people, but at the end these “good” people ended up being absorbed by the riot around
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
The Green Knight challenging Sir Gawain reminded me of the serpent challenging Eve to eat the Apple. She knew God told her and Adam that they can eat anything except fruit from the tree of knowledge. Sir Gawain did not need to accept this challenege, no one did. But the temptation to create a name for himself outweight any common sense. I also believe that when Sir Gawain was offered the green gridle, it was similar to the apple given to Eve. He did not need the gridle but his desire to live outweight any reasoning. He also went on to lie to the Lord about what he recieved that day so that he may live when his invevidable demise came from the Green Knight. Stories have always been allegored retells from epic floods to temptation driven stories. I believe the Green Knight tale was inspired by the Garden of Edan as many stories before it has
...cting unjustly. Therefore, justice is determined to be intrinsically valuable from the negative intrinsic value of injustice that was demonstrated, as well as from parts of the soul working together correctly. Glaucon also wants Plato to show that a just life is better than an unjust life. It has been shown that when the soul is in harmony, it only acts justly. It is in a person’s best interests to have a healthy soul, which is a just soul, so that the person can be truly happy. This means that by showing justice has an intrinsic value, it can also be concluded that it is better to live a just life opposed to an unjust life. The conclusion that I have drawn is that Plato’s argument against the intrinsic value of injustice is sufficient to prove that the just life is superior, even if the unjust life may be more profitable.
Book two of Plato’s Republic begins with Glaucon's argument for favouring an unjust life over a just life. Glaucon compares a perfectly just life to a perfectly unjust life to show that the perfectly unjust life is the happier life. I will define Glaucon’s views on the nature of justice and human motivation, and then summarize his metaphorical story of Gyges’ ring, to show how he combines these premises to come to the conclusion that the unjust life is happier.
First, it resonates with Jean Paul Sartre’s view that the meaning in life is defined by ourselves, and an ensuing positivity emanates from moral relativism. If we know that we can decide how to live a good life, then we will not wait for the single true morality to find us, but rather start to create a better world for every like-minded fellow creature (one who wants to seek a good life). In this way, we can form alliances to hunt down criminals who object to universal moral facts (e.g., Hitler), while sharing with each other our points of view on how we should
Is there a such thing of unjust, and just laws? If these unjust laws actually exist, should one disobey these laws if unjust. These questions can be applied to Socrates, a wise philosopher, who is on death row, for disobeying the law in the novel “Five Dialogues”. revised by John M. Cooper. Socrates believes that if he broke an unjust law, then one should still be penalized for these actions, even if that law that is being broken is considered unjust. Socrates would rather die than to actually escape from his wrongdoing. Is Socrates theory of the situation infact not conclusive? In this paper, I will argue that Socrates’ argument of what is unjust and just is not persuasive, but he contradicts himself and his arguments, and one should not succumb
No matter where we go in the world, we will always be surrounded and tempted by sin. These temptations test our character and morality, and they prove that our human nature inherently causes us to fall to the sins that encompass us. Even though the world is a dark and immoral place to live, we all value our lives and are prepared to do almost anything to protect ourselves from harm’s way. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle serves as symbol that highlights Gawain’s incessant love for life that tempts him to stray from his knightly code of chivalry.
Glaucon attempted to prove that injustice is preferable to justice. At first, Glacon agreed with Socrates that justice is a good thing, but implored on the nature of its goodness? He listed three types of “good”; that which is good for its own sake (such as playing games), that which is good is good in itself and has useful consequences (such as reading), and that which is painful but has good consequences (such as surgery). Socrates replied that justice "belongs in the fairest class, that which a man who is to be happy must love both for its own sake and for the results." (45d) Glaucon then reaffirmed Thrasymachus’s position that unjust people lead a better life than just people. He started that being just is simply a formality for maintaining a good reputation and for achieving one’s goals. He claimed that the only reason why a person would choose to be unjust rather than just due to the fear of punishment. This is supported by the story of the shepherd who became corrupted as a result of finding a ring which made him invisible. He took over the kingdom through murder and intrigue since he knew there could be no repercussions for his unjust actions. In addition, Adiamantus stated that unjust people did not need to fear divine punishment since appeals could be made to Gods’ egos via sacrifices. Finally, Glaucon gave an example of the extreme unjust person who has accumulated great wealth and power which he juxtaposed with an extreme moral man who is being punished unjustly for his crimes. Clearly, injustice is preferable to justice since it provides for a more fruitful life.
To act morally means one must think and act in such a way that always considers, supports, and attempts to improve general welfare; furthermore, such thoughts and actions must occur because of moral intentions, not just because one has to. Also, pre-defined rules exist for the common good and these rules help with moral judgment. Such rules would include “no killing”, “no stealing”, and “no lying”. These don’t exist to provide an advantage or cause disadvantage—they exist simply for the good of every individual. To have morality means one must always adhere to these rules no matter the consequences, who is affected, or how it happens, because they only ensure the most good for everyone. However, one’s own standards for morality must also remain considerate of that of others’.
H.G. Wells in “The Invisible Man” uses morality and power to show how things can turn to the worst. He demonstrates man’s tendency to become moral with absolute power. As the invisible man gains interest in science and his ability to become invisible, he has great power. From this he can steal, kill, and abuse anybody without a hint of fear of being caught, as described, “It’s useful in getting away, it’s useful in approaching. It’s particularly useful, therefore, in killing” (page 292). Griffin starts to use his power to excess, he realizes that with too much power it can start to control you.
In the Ring of Gyges, Plato helps readers understand the true nature of justice. Glaucon and Socrates have conflicting views on justice and injustice and the reader decides which philosopher they agree with. At the beginning of Book 2, Plato states that Glaucon “was dissatisfied at
While Glaucon’s story may seem reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, Plato is really exploring human nature when it comes to acting justly. That is, he is trying to identify what motivates us to act in a just manner. Do we only act this way to avoid consequences, and if so, what if we knew there would be no negative implications, would we still act this way? Plato’s “The Ring of Gyges” serves to prove that being a moral person is something intrinsically good, not just good because it brings about pleasant results (Melchert