Is knowledge worth seeking
Socrates argued that actively seeking out knowledge leads to the ability of man to moderate his behavior accordingly. If one examines a situation thoughtfully, and from several angles, the most logical course of action will present itself. By exercising this method of reasoning a person becomes wise. Socrates would call this the ability to govern the qualities of your soul properly and it is undoubtedly what he sought. The process brings out the virtuous qualities in man and allows him to make decisions based on truth, which leads ultimately to good. Discipline of the mind can only benefit its owner; and thus knowledge is worth seeking. Socrates defines knowledge as absolute truth. He believes that everything in the universe is innately connected; if one thing is known then potentially everything can be derived from that one truth. The fundamental ideas that Socrates seeks to uncover are called forms. This concept is illustrated when Socrates questions Meno on what virtue is. Meno answer with several examples of what is virtuous. This of course is not what Socrates is asking; he is asking Meno what all virtuous acts share in common. For Socrates this relationship between all virtuous acts is what virtue fundament
ally is. A person can see virtuous acts but cannot see virtue. Because of this, the idea of virtue must exist somewhere independent of the perceivable world. This is true with all forms or ideas of perfection: they are something that cannot be known by human sense but reasoned out by individual human thought. And what is the name which the city derives from the possession of this sort of knowledge? Alternately it can be argued that people who are weak willed can reason out the truth but not act in accordance with it. People generally tend to put themselves before others in most matters concerning their well-being. When it comes to harming others to benefit themselves a moral decision has to be made. The difference lies in whether the person has respect for being virtuous but still succumbs to desire occasionally or purposely embraces the desires of their soul. Someone might fully understand the consequences of their wrong actions but desire masks their awareness of what is truly good. Socrates would argue that people who deliberately choose to commit acts of wrong do so because they possess wrong opinions on the matters and no true knowledge of them. Socrates believes that no man desires evil and only desires the good. "For what else is unhappiness but desiring evil things and getting them?" (78, Meno) In seeking knowledge, one will come to an understanding of what is truly good; and if this is so, then doing good is the only thing that they can do. No one desires to be hurt or have any wrong done upon him or her. Any evil action committed by someone simply means that they "...don't recognize evils for what they are, don't desire evil but they think it is good, though in fact it is evil." (77, Meno) This evil act is a result of ignorance. The evil would be avoided if the person in question truly understood what the full consequences of their actions were both to themselves and to the victim. By having the ability to reason out truth, one can avoid
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Approximate Word count = 1508
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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