Socrates and the Just Life

Paper Summary:

This paper presents Socrates' discussion of why the just or "good" life far exceeds the unjust or "bad" life that is given over to the rapacious pursuit of material and corporeal gratification. The author points out that the core of Socrates' moral philosophy is the emphasis on the ability of human beings to think rationally and to use moral precepts to arrive at a means of living and a way of life, which allows them to be proper citizens as well as contented and balanced individuals. The paper relates that, in this view, the soul can only be made peaceable and agreeable if a person seeks out only moral or "pure" pleasures and eschews bad actions. The author concludes that, generations later, Socrates' work continues to serve as a remarkably didactic and important contribution to the western philosophical tradition.

From the Paper:

"When reviewing Socrates' "Crito", it must be said that one of the chief arguments which arises is the argument that the just life is one means - perhaps the ultimate means - by which a man (or woman, though women were not discussed as possible philosophers by Socrates or by the other ancient writers) can maintain individual freedom and not fall to the debased status of a slave. Specifically, a man or woman is not truly free unless she applies human logos (the gift of the critical, inquiring mind) to the difficult question of what is truly just and proper within a particular situation."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Altman, Christopher. "Ethics." N.d. Delft University of Technology. 25 Mar. 2007 <http://altman.casimirinstitute.net/ethics.html>
• Plato. Philebus (Part Four). Transl. Benjamin Jowett. Athenaeum Library of Philosophy. N.d. Athenaeum Library. 25 Mar. 2007 <http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/plato_philebus04.htm>
• Weiss, Roslyn. Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato's Crito. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Questia.com. 25 Mar. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=23431935>

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