philosophers

u3 plato

callicles on natural justice:

p1: in nature, the strongest and fittest simply take as much as they can. this is natural justice

p2: the majority of people in society are weak and cannot take what they want

p3: consequently, the majority create conventions, such as laws and social standards, which aim to stop the strong from taking as much as they can

c: thus, it is only according to dominant social conventions that it is more shameful to do wrong than suffer wrong. in nature, might is right.

• self ruling entails enslavement to others which is incompatible with a life of happiness 

  • a life of restraint is a life of a “stone or corpse”

callicles on the good life:

p1: the good life is being able to desire as much as you want, do whatever you want, and take as much as you want

p2: if one controlled and limited their own wants and desires they wouldn’t be doing whatever they wanted

c: thus, those who live the good life are not controlled by anyone, including themselves

socrates on the good life:

p1: someone who is hedonistic would have unlimited desires

p2: if one had unlimited desires they could never be happy (leaky jar or a gully bird that excretes as it eats)

p3: someone who controlled their desires (was temperate) would be able to satisfy them and remain satisfied & happy (like a jar with no holes that stays full of milk and honey)

• callicles says person with full jar can no longer feel pleasure

c: thus, a temperate life is better than a hedonistic one

socrates on good/bad pleasures:

p1: some plesures are bad, or at least not good (the life of a male prostitute or a life spent itching and scratching)

• trumps callicles as he cannot say lifestyle of a male prostitute is good/happy

c: thus, pleasure and the good are not the same

u3 nietzsche

• obedience has long been cultivated amon men

• herd instinct (‘to follow’) is responsible for decline in society

• moral judgements arise out of fear

  • usually immoral: threatens community

  • usually moral: preserves community

• the morality of the herd requires fear for its existence

  • when society is safe, ‘sterner’ drives aren’t needed so society becomes passibe even towards those who cause harm

    • it is led by fear, despite banding together to alleviate fear

• free spirits seek to escape and challenge the herd

  • fear should be embraced

• suffering facilitates human greatness

  • the ‘discipline’ of great suffering serves to make humans better (but herd wishes to abolish suffering)

• master morality: the morality of the rulers

  • they determine what is noble and good

    • good is a ‘proud, exalted state’

  • noble person seperates from and despises those not living in proud exalted state

  • create own values by judging for oneself what is best

  • one only has duties to equals, not those of lower rank

  • exerting power of himself is more important than dominating others

• slave morality: the morality of the ruled & lower ranks (oppressed, suffering)

  • believes in qualities that ease their suffering e.g. pity, kindess

  • distrusts the values of the powerful

u3 aristotle

• at the end of our actions, there exists a chief or “final good”, which is happiness

  • eudaemonia: living and faring well

  • pursue it for its own sake, not for the sake of something else (intrinsic)

  • doesn’t depend on anything else (self-sufficient)

function theory:

• good resides in, or is defined by its function

• everything has a functionb

• the human function is an activity of the soul that implies reason

  • only humans have souls, only those with a soul can reason

• the good life for humans involves the performance of a distinctly human activity or activities in accordance with virtue or excellence

  • across a whole life, not a particular moment

  • virtue can be gained through experience

the concept of the mean:

• virtues are destroyed by vices of excess and defect (too much too litte)

• virtues are preserved by the mean (intermediate, just the right amount)

  • ensure appropriate response to pleasure

friends:

• happy person does need friends (in both adversity and prosperity)

• friends are the greatest of external goods 

• it is noble and virtuous to do good for friends

• humans are naturally social beings & thrive around friends

u3 cicero

laelius & scipio

• friendship:

  • rooted in mutual goodwill

  • needs alignment of values and character

  • only possible between good men

  • more selective and profound than kinship

  • among highest blessings in life (second to kinship)

  • it is rare for friendship to endure due to changing personal and political circumstances

  • should never ask for or grant favours that conflict with honour, law, duty

  • should prioritise moral responsibility over personal loyalty

  • shouldn’t enable indulgence in vice or immoral behaviour

  • is needed for a happy life 

  • should be formed after careful evaluation of character, not rushed into

  • respect is most important

• flattery and hypocrisy are detrimental to friendships

• tiberius gracchus: quintus tubero abandoned gracchus due to his disruptive actions in government. gaius blossius remained blindly loyal, which led to his participation in treasonous acts, eventual exile, and deserved punishment

morality:

• loyalty should not be equated with moral compromise

• wrongdoing in the name of friendship is indefensible

  • wrongdoers must be abandoned and punished, as loyalty to them threatens personal integrity and the welfare of the state