Reading Discussion/peer response | Coursehero Helper
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Discussion 600 words
Write a thread in response to both of the following prompt:
One of the central tenets of Plato’s ethical theory is that everyone desires the goodor, put negatively, that no one desires evil. Does Plato make a convincing case for this thesis? Is it really the case that everyone desires the good, even when they are choosing things that are (or at least, appear) bad or evil? Why or why not? What are the implications of this issue for ethics broadly (i.e., how does this affect our understanding of what is right or wrong, and our relationship to it)? An important corollary to this Platonic view (that everyone desires the good) is that no one knowingly does wrong (or evil). Is it really the case that no one ever self-consciously desires something wrong, or commits some action they know full well to not be good? In addressing the general point, make sure to include some consideration of this particular issue concerning the relation of knowledge (and ignorance) with ethics for Plato.
Peer response 300 words
Samantha Spencer
Plato makes a strong case for his ethical theory that ever everyone desires good. Even though it is a strong case, it is not entirely convincing because Plato has some weaknesses in his case. Throughout the reading between Meno and Socrates, Plato seems to be only asking questions. He doesn’t seem like he is giving out points to help out with his argument. To make his case more convincing and to get rid of some of the weaknesses, Plato should put some points in to prove why he believes that everyone desires the good. I want to think that everyone desires the good, but I am not convinced that this happens to be the case. Even though people may only doing bad things because they think it will be good, they could also be doing it because they desire the bad.
In my life, I have noticed that not everyone that is around me do stuff even if they are wrong because they feel like it is the right thing to do. I can see when someone is doing something wrong because they want to and are desiring the good but the bad. I feel like we all know that what we are about to do is either good or bad that we have something inside us telling us that it is wrong and not do it, we have a choice to either listen to it or not. Plato seems to think in his case for this thesis that there is not something inside us that is telling us what we are doing is wrong and that we shouldn’t do it. I understand why Plato agrees with the things that he says and the questions that he asks, but I feel like he could make his case a little more convincing if he put examples to back up his perspective. I believe that if we can think about what we are doing and the consequences for each action that we are about to do, that the people who desire good will decide to listen to the voice inside and not do the wrong thing. The people that desire the bad will not listen to the voice inside and continue doing the wrong thing that they were about to do. Throughout my life, I have seen people struggle when they hear this voice; there are some people that I know that it took them a long time to come up with a decision and follow through with it. I want to believe Plato’s theory that everyone desires the good, but then I am reminded of the times in my life when I saw people struggling with what they desire, whether it was good or bad, and following through with it. So I have to say, due to my experiences and the weaknesses that I see in Plato’s case, I have to say that he is close to making it convincing, but to me, there are some places that he can approve upon before it is convincing.
