Socrates Vs Augustine

There are contrasting perceptions as to what makes a life good or bad and what makes an act justified or unjustified. Socrates and Plato recognize evil as the result of human ignorance, while Augustine’s philosophy suggests that people can also have deliberate evil intent. While the two philosophers have slight variations in the perceived conception of why people act out of evil, they both ultimately agree that God is not the reason for the derivative of the evils that exist.

Socrates and Plato stressed the idea that “The unexamined life is not worth living”, but never declare that the unexamined life has no value. It becomes understood that such an approach to life does not generate a deep personal understanding, nor does it support a positive development of ones self. The repetitiveness of just going through the motions with everyday tasks may allow a person to survive, but they are still being kept from living. Therefore, never really reflecting on what he or she ought to be doing, or what he or she values and why, is ultimately seen as a life not worth living.

Socrates considers moral values as necessities in order to live a good life, but they are not the only factor. What

Augustine is, therefore, able to resolve the problem of whether evil should be seen in physical terms rather than moral or spiritual. Augustine was similar to Socrates and Plato in that he recognized that people, including himself, could act sinfully out of pure ignorance. His ideas contrast with that of the two philosophers when he further suggests that people can display a deliberate evil intent without being ignorant as well. Ultimately, God has his reasons for allowing men to have freedom of will. What humanity chooses to do with that freedom will determine the extent of “goodness” in their life, and we will all learn to define happiness on our own