Part 1Ethics and Moral Philosophy Forum must be 250+ words in length(1) Jeremy Bentham argued that when we think about whether someone/something ought to count morally that " The question is not, Can

Clifford Phillips

Professor Christopher Myers

SOCRATES VIEWS

03/03/2019

Socrates disagreed on the authenticity of the choice of many but rather supports the choice of people with set skills and expertise. In this essay, I will espouse both the strengths and weaknesses of the popular opinion and also the weaknesses and strengths of the unpopular or choices of the few. As Socrates believed, laws that were used to judge him are made for the people and they should be followed and obeyed no matter their harshness or the person they affect. Socrates should have accepted the fairness and the need for the application of the law for judgment and conviction (Brooks 496-501). On this stand, it should be the choice of everyone to abide by the law and when one breaks the law judged accordingly hence disagreeing with the school of thought that Socrates should have escaped.

In every given State or country, there are laws that govern the people and their properties. It’s in the discretion of the government that all the people in a given country should obey all the laws and also providing privileges and freedoms within the confines of the law. As the laws stipulate, all the people in the population are bound to be charged when they break them and if found guilty jailed or fined. In the view of public opinion, the will of many is viewed as a democracy that was observed by Athens in the period which Socrates lived. These laws were strict and the court of public opinion was taken to be serious. The Athens held that the public opinion was correct irrespective of the true state of the matter. The society was left to make judgment decisions ignoring the views held by the few in society no matter how good they were. The majority were given the choice of democracy in Athens with the choice of majority overpowering the choices of the arguments of minority arguing that the many had the interests of the majority.

On the contrary, the choice of the popular vote cannot be held as a guarantee of democracy or a correct judgment. There are sometimes when popular vote or decision is misguided hence providing wrong decision making that may affect the general public negatively. In the confines of the law, it cannot be held that the choice of many judges between right and wrong. In Athens, the majority choice was mostly supported by the commoners providing grounds for making the wrong choices (Brooks 506-512). The traits of the commoners included low or poor educational backgrounds which can be questioned on the eligibility of the public opinion. This indicates that the few elites that existed in the Socrates society had little or no say despite the ability to make better judgment and choices in the society in terms of making better moral decisions. However, the right or wrong judgment for the popular vote cannot be wished away as it has the weight of many hence requiring a more formal approach for judging.

The difference between the public opinion and the unpopular one brings in points for and against that resonates well with moral choices that Socrates had to choose. Socrates choice doesn’t resonate with the choice of the public many with his argument rather than the argument of many that may not be an indication of moral decency or rightfulness. Views held by Socrates as expressed by Crito indicates that the choices of the popular vote are not to be trusted for making the correct judgment for proper justice administration hence the Athens cannot be held to be popularly democratic and right. Additionally, from Crito’s arguments, it can be observed that observation and following of the state laws cannot be always right hence leading to another wrong or immoral action. However, the opinion held by Socrates cannot be entirely observed as wish away for the public court (Kamtekar 266-269). Socrates argued that popular opinion played a role in public mistakes. The observations of Socrates can be believed halfway with the at times the observations held by many leading to the creation of laws. This leads to a challenge between making a choice on what between the right and wrong on observation on which between the popular and the few is correct. The few presents the few learned whereas the public opinion is used in the creation of laws that are observed for the control of the population. In the assumption of the views held by Socrates, the few in the public that is the elites can be held to be more knowledgeable and can make a better judgment. Socrates observes that the choice of the popular people hurts some of the population by the choice of the many who he views as ignorant affecting the quality of justice delivered.

Socrates agrees with the existence of fair laws that were used for his conviction because he knows and understands that it would have been wrong to escape from the confines of prison. Socrates arguments reflect that society has to do what is right all the time despite consequences attached to it. In addition, Socrates holds that it is wrong to pay wrong with wrong despite an earlier mistake of a similar mistake that had been done earlier. Socrates is also considerate that escaping from prison is breaking of laws and agreed to the life conviction handed to him. The acceptance of the law by Socrates can be viewed from his actions of not running away from jail and agreeing to the life sentence for inappropriate teachings towards the youth. His agreement to this indicates that Socrates believed in the existence of laws that should be applied to all the people in the population and failing to do one’s part in the society is wrong.

It can be held that Socrates believed in the course of law and despite the direction picked by the same laws even against one’s will should be followed. Socrates did not fight against the life sentence handed to him indicating the fairness of the existing laws despite many questions of the opinion of the public. Socrates had a sense of following the laws as an abiding citizen that Athens had subjected all the people in the population including his own family for their time of living (Kamtekar 263-270). Moreover, the same laws that had granted Socrates a lot of provisions and privileges are the same laws applied when he was being charged. One of the points of observation on Socrates is that he agreed to the laws of Athens because of his movement even outside the city which he did once despite the provision for moving many times.

According to the choice between the right and the wrong decision, it weighs in what would be the correct position of Socrates had decided to escape from the prison. It would have been against the law of the public opinion if Socrates would have escaped from jail through the assistance of Crito. This would have been a betrayal of the beliefs held on the existing laws and the foundations that he had lived in. Socrates can be explained to be law-abiding hence it would have been wrong to escape from jail and against the general society of Athens. In making the choice to escape from prison, Socrates knew that it would affect others hence choosing to protect the others. Additionally, Socrates knew that doing the unjustifiable would ruin his reputation of the family and would lead to the invalidation of the general public.

Socrates views can be held that he believed in living a just life and the course of law. With even the option of escaping from the prison, Socrates understood that the law had to take its course hence allowing himself to be jailed. It can be agreed on that the laws held by Athens had a general good for the public but the views of the few in the society should have been considered as a way of choosing something that can be agreed upon by all of them. The views of the few required to be considered as they are more learned and exposed to better moral standards. Democracy cannot at all times be explained by the choice of the majority but also gives room for the consideration of the few in the public and the study of the underlying reason for their decision.

Works Cited

Brooks, Thom. "Knowledge And Power In Plato’S Political Thought." International Journal of Philosophical Studies 14.1 (2006): 495-516. Web. 3 Mar. 2019.

Kamtekar, Rachana. "Socrates And The Psychology Of Virtue*Socratic Moral Psychology. By Thomas C. Brickhouse And Nicholas D. Smith. Cambridge And New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Pp. [Vii] + 276.Aiming At Virtue In Plato. By Iakovos Vasiliou. Cambridge And New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pp. [X] + 311.." Classical Philology 107.3 (2012): 256-270. Web. 3 Mar. 2019.