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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 4 page paper discussing Socrates’ dialogues within Plato’s Gorgias in showing that to live a good life one must have the proper concept of human nature. Throughout the dialogues of Socrates documented by Plato, Socrates argues about the “good” within man. For Socrates, the “good” in man is not necessarily what people think they need or desire to become happy but it is really what man needs by nature. One’s nature “daimon”, relates to one’s own potential and one’s inner self. This potential must be met in order to obtain happiness. According to Kealey (2003), for Socrates, no one does evil willingly but only in ignorance of their true good which must be fulfilled. Virtue is knowledge whereas vice is ignorance. For humans to live a good life therefore man must understand the true concept of his own human nature and this must be fulfilled and actualized. What actualizes happiness is good which is turn is actualized through self-knowledge.
Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_TJSocra1.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
"good" within man. For Socrates, the "good" in man is not necessarily what people think they need or desire to become happy but it is really what man needs by
nature. Ones nature "daimon", relates to ones own potential and ones inner self. This potential must be met in order to obtain happiness. According to Kealey (2003), for Socrates, no
one does evil willingly but only in ignorance of their true good which must be fulfilled. Virtue is knowledge whereas vice is ignorance. For humans to live a good life
therefore man must understand the true concept of his own human nature and this must be fulfilled and actualized. What actualizes happiness is good which is turn is actualized through
self-knowledge (Kealey, 2003). In discussing human goodness and nature in Platos Gorgias, Callicles refuses to admit that "doing wrong is baser than suffering
wrong" and Socrates could not prove to him that "ideals and virtues are not amenable to proof" (Khashaba, 1998). Socrates throughout the dialogues does not argue toward proof of any
of the principles he has forwarded but instead says repeatedly that "his real purpose was not to examine this or that statement or theory, but to examine himself and his
interlocutor" which is consistent with the importance he places on self-knowledge as a way to attain good and happiness. Callicles argued that Socrates notion "had its foundation in convention and
not in nature" which may or may not be the case. From this sense, some believe that there is a "primitive goodness in nature ... but this is not the
goodness peculiar to us as human beings - that goodness is the product of ideals we create and freely embrace" (Khashaba, 1998). While
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