A person must ultimately make the decision to be “good” in the presences of negative influences, it is what we as a society have determined to be “good” that sets apart the civilized from uncivilized societies. There are several ethical philosophies that hold merit and each has its weaknesses alongside its strengths. Virtue ethics, developed in ancient Greece with proponents such as Plato and Aristotle, is probably one of the most well known of the philosophies for its long history and relatively basic structure. Several other ethical views are built upon the basics set out in virtue ethics. A person inherently has some sort of primitive worldview and code of personal ethics.
Athenians were the first ones to give power to someone who they think will actually be good for that job, and not simply due to noble blood or force. Athenian democracy was also the first to emphasize individualism. It was the idea that the job should be given to the best. After the Persian war a man named Pericles ruled Athens. He created what is known today as direct democracy where you specifically pick your leaders as it differs from Rome’s republic where you elect people to represent you.
Jeremy Bentham first proposed is theory of Utilitarianism on the basis for social reform. While Bentham may have failed in this aspect, he did set in stone the foundations for future ethicists such as J.S Mill and H. Sidgwick to expand on his theory and explore it in further detail. Bentham’s proposed that an action’s moral worth can easily be determined by the use of the Hedonic Calculus; this formula takes into account the intensity, density, duration and the number of people affected and places a numerical value of the potential outcome. This may be seen as a very mathematical approach to try and measure what it ultimately an abstract concept like happiness or pleasure, and subsequently critics of Bentham’s version can be used to justify acts such as torture, gang rape and murder. An example of when Act Utilitarianism could be used to decide the best course of action would be in a group of people, for example, choosing whether or not to have red wine or white wine.
For Aristotle, Plato was a realist and Protagoras was a relativist. Essentially, he regards both theories as equally defective. J.D.G Evans attempts to analyze why Aristotle deems these theories inadequate and what position is left for Aristotle to take if both of the alternatives are defective. Repeatedly, Aristotle begins his accounts by criticizing the “answers of his predecessors” and, while there appears to be legitimate reasons to discredit them, he fails to provide an adequate alternate. The following passage from Eudemian Ethics (1235b 13-18) allows us to better comprehend Aristotle’s impression of philosophy, which in turn leads to a better understanding of how he reviews and resolves the aforementioned problem: We must adopt a line of argument which will both best explain to us the views held about these matters and will resolve the difficulties and contradictions; and we shall achieve this if we show that the conflicting views are held with good reason.
Analysis of the Republic of Plato In “The Republic of Plato”, Plato attempts to answer the questions “What is the meaning of justice?”, and “How can it be realized in modern society?”. He examines all the things that a society must have in place in order to function as perfectly as possible. He explains his beliefs of division of labor, and how it is critical in a well functioning society. He also examines the nature of humans and the “selfish” motives behind peoples’ “just” actions. Plato lays out the foundation for a “perfect” society as he sees that it should be.
Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus Response While there are multiple common ideas that are concurrent amongst the texts of Plato, Aristotle and Epictetus, there are four common themes that appear to recur in The Republic, The Nicomachean Ethics and the Handbook of Epictetus. The most prominent idea, as is expected within such a class, is happiness and how one should go about attaining it. Epictetus focuses on the avoidance of pain as a measure to find happiness. In his argument, he advises us to care not of things that are external to us – that is, things that we cannot directly control. In #10 he asks us to ask ourselves what capacity we have within ourselves to deal with a particular situation, “If hardship comes to you, find endurance,” (p14) so that we might not let outside influences affect our own happiness, and that our happiness can be created only by our own judgments, perceptions, decisions and actions.
))—those who govern must be wise c. all classical philosophers agreed one purpose of government-help people learn about and perform their civic and moral duties 2. Greek and Roman history although democracies appear to begin well... tend to end in tyranny  poor attack rich a. class warfare chronic
After explaining all that Thomas then brings in the idea of modern ethics. The author was explaining how the modern side would be less harsh with the second accountant because they believed that Aristotle’s theory was unattainable. Thomas then describes how modern theories argue that we are born with evil temptations inside of us, and we have to actively fight against them. He then structured his text, so that towards the end to show how the right thing to do always involves loss. The modern ethics argue it would be abnormal if nobody had evil urges.
Plato decided that both, men and women, should have the same education and the pursuit of happiness. This concludes that in ancient times, Plato was trying to make the greatest society and resulted in having equal rights of the same gender. In addition, Aristotle was a philosopher that generated these theories on reason (Document 2). Government in Western Civilization is based on reason because many rulers use intelligence and wisdom. In big decision, this is curtail because one must look past all the little details and decide from what is right and what the population needs.
According to him human reason was the most important human quality. Men like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle believed that using your brain rather than using mythology to solve questions. Another major achievement of the Greeks was there government. Athens had a democratic