PHL100Y1 Lecture Notes - Thrasymachus, Socratic Dialogue, Trait Theory
Document Summary
Plato started writing accounts of socrates" demonstrations of his method of inquiry. Socrates would ask questions: what is courage, justice etc. ? in order to illicit opinions. Plato got tired of recounting socrates" logical examination of moral questions without getting any real answers. The republic is a model transitional dialogue and is trying to show you that not only can questions be asked with logic and reasoning but can also be answered (plato proposes his own solutions) Greek word politea translated as republic and really means society and doesn"t presuppose any type of government. Justice can apply to people as a personality trait or social institutions as a whole. A moral issue is a matter of knowing when it"s appropriate to act or not. In ancient greece, craft was a way of going about things that will guarantee a certain result. The highest form of socrates" dream is that morality is a rational enterprise and can be formed through a technique.
