The Good Life

Question 1

According to Socrates why is doing wrong worse then suffering wrong?

Answer 1

P1: A good life is one of unity and harmony.
P2: Doing wrong is an indication of an unbalanced/ disharmonious life.
C: It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.

Question 2

Why is punishment to someone who commits wrong like medicine to a sick body according to Socrates?

Answer 2

P1: The soul is damaged by committing wrongs. But it can be healed by punishment for that wrong.
P2: When the wrong is unpunished the wrongdoer does not change.
C: It is good to be punished for wrongs because it repairs the soul.

Question 3

What should we do to our enemies and friends and why according to Socrates?

Answer 3

P1: We wish our enemies to suffer.
P2: We wish our friends to be happy.
C: We should punish our friends for wrongs because then their soul is repaired, and we should try to acquit our enemies from punishment for wrongs because then their soul is not repaired and so they are suffering.

Question 4

Why is it worse to commit then suffer wrongs according to both nature and convention according to Socrates?

Answer 4

P1: The majority are superior to any one individual.
P2: The majority make the conventions of society.
P3: The dominant social conventions say it is worse to commit wrongs then suffer them.
P4: Since the majority are the naturally superior group and they make the conventions, convention must equal nature.
C: It is worse to commit then suffer wrongs in both nature and convention.

Question 5

In Socrates view, should the wiser/better take what they want and why?

Answer 5

P1: A doctor is wiser about food then most people.
P2: If the wiser should take what they want then the doctor should take more food then everyone else.
P3: The doctor should not get more food because that is unhealthy for them.
C: The wiser/better should not take what they want.

Question 6

Explain the Leaky Jar analogy and its purpose.

Answer 6

The leaky jar analogy reads: two people fill their jars with precious liquid like honey. One person, once the jar is full, just walks away and enjoys the fruits of his labour. The other has a cracked jar, and so must work continually to keep it full and can never enjoy the fruits of his labour.
The purpose of this is to illustrate that the the hedonistic approach is less pleasurable then the self restraint approach, because the one practising self restraint can actually get pleasure from the honey while the hedonistic one cannot.

Question 7

Explain the idea of the life spent itching and scratching and its purpose for Callicles.

Answer 7

Scratching is pleasant because it is satisfying a desire. Callicles says this is a happy life. The purpose of this is to show that happiness equals pleasure for Callicles .

Question 8

How does Socrates retort Callicles idea that pleasure equals happiness?

Answer 8

Socrates rebukes this ideas with the example of a Male Prostitute. Saying that even though he is experiencing a life pleasure, he is obviously not happy. So a distinction must be made between good and bad types of pleasures.

Question 9

Explain the Coward/Brave man example and its purpose.

Answer 9

P1: The possession of good qualities is what makes a person good.
P2: If pleasure equals good possessing pleasure makes one good.
P3: A coward is more pleased by his enemies defeat then a brave man is.
P4: The Coward are not good or better then the brave man.
C: Its not the amount of pleasure or distress a person experiences that makes them good or bad, its the possession of good qualities like bravery opposed to virtue.

Question 10

What do good and bad pleasures aim at according to Socrates?

Answer 10

Good pleasures aim at good as the final goal and not a means for anything else (happiness). Bad pleasures don’t aim at good as the final goal instead they aim at some means to a further end.

Question 11

What is Socrates argument about Expertise and Knacks?

Answer 11

P1: Activities are either expertise or knacks.
P2: Knacks aim at short term gratification with no rationality.
P3: Areas of expertise are activities that aim at a final good using reason.
P4: Activities like medicine, philosophy, etc aim at good using reason.
C: Rhetoric, poetry= knacks aimed at pleasure at alone. Rhetoric aims to please a crowd and is not concerned with what is best and uses no rationality.

Question 12

According to Callicles, why is doing wrong better than suffering wrong?

Answer 12

P1: In nature the strongest take what they want.
P2: Majority of people are weak and cannot take what they want.
P3: The weak majority create the conventions of society to stop the strong from taking what they want.
C: According to social conventions doing wrong is worse then suffering wrong, but in nature it is better to do wrong then to suffer wrong.

Question 13

Who are the superior people according to Callicles?

Answer 13

The superior people are those who are in control of themselves and their community. They are wiser in politics and brave enough to act on their intentions, so that they may satisfy their desires.

Question 14

What are the 3 traits that make a good interlocutor according to Socrates?

Answer 14

Knowledge, candour and affection. They must be knowledgeable enough in the relevant concepts to test beliefs, they must have affection for the other person otherwise they wont tell them the truth, and they must have candour so they are not embarrassed to share their ideas.

Question 15

Define Hedonism.

Answer 15

Pleasure is the highest and proper aim of human life. Happiness comes from self indulgence. Pleasure and the avoidance of pain are the motivation behind all human actions.

Question 16

What is Callicles understanding of human nature?

Answer 16

Nature is the direct opposite to convention. In the natural state it is more contemptible to suffer wrong then to do wrong and the strong/ superior should receive a bigger share then the weak (there are better and worse in humanity).

Question 17

Why does Aristotle believe the good life is the happy life?

Answer 17

P1: Everything aims at some ends so therefor exists one to which every action is directed.
P2: This final end is the good life.
P3: Happiness is the only thing valued for its own sake and so its the end all other things aim at.
P4: Happiness is self sufficient. Not being used as a means for further ends.
C: The good life is the happy life.

Question 18

Define intrinsic value.

Answer 18

Things we desire for their own sake.

Question 19

Define extrinsic value.

Answer 19

Things we value because they enable us to attain other things of value.

Question 20

Why is a life of pleasure not a life of happiness according to Aristotle?

Answer 20

P1: Happiness is unique to humans.
P2: Other animals enjoy physical pleasures.
C: A life of pleasure is one fit for animals, not the good life for humans.

Question 21

Why is the Honorable/ political life not the good life according to Aristotle?

Answer 21

P1: Happiness should be something attainable by yourself and not easily taken away.
P2: Honour is dependant on other people giving it to you.
P3: Happiness is intrinsically valuable.
P4: Honour is not intrinsically valuable. People only want it to reassure them of their virtues.
P5: The political life aims at honour.
C: The political/ Honorable life is not the good life.

Question 22

Why is the life of traditional virtue/ absence of being bad (monk style) not a good life according to Aristotle?

Answer 22

P1: To be happy you must be actively doing something.
P2: One could be traditionally virtuous without doing anything.
C: The life of traditional virtue is not happiness and so not the good life.

Question 23

Why does Aristotle say that the life of money making is not the good life?

Answer 23

P1: Happiness is intrinsically valuable.
P2: The good life is happiness.
P3: Money is not intrinsically valuable, it is a further means to happiness.
C: Life of money making is not happiness and so not the good life.

Question 24

Why is the good life one of reason according to Aristotle?

Answer 24

P1: The human function involves the exercise of a power unique to us.
P2: Reason is the only power unique to humans.
P3: If something has a function its “Good” is to perform that function well.
C: The good life is a life devoted to performing our human function of reason well.

Question 25

Outline and describe the types of virtues and wisdom according to Aristotle.

Answer 25

Moral virtues. Those which control ones emotions and desires through reason.
Intellectual virtues. Pure rational thought that includes the types of wisdom.
Practical wisdom. The intelligence necessary for moral virtues. That which tells us how to act in everyday life.
Theoretical wisdom and Intelligence. That which enables us to think and be rational.

Question 26

Why is the mean relative to each person according to Aristotle?

Answer 26

P1: In every moral situation there are two extremes.
P2: Excess and defect are immoral.
P3: The mean of the two extremes is the virtuous response.
P4: Excess and defect are different for each person and situation.
C: The mean is relative to each person and situation.

Question 27

Do all things have a mean level according to Aristotle?

Answer 27

P1: Some things are excessive or deficient by their nature (like adultery).
P2: Some things are just already at a mean level by their nature (like courage).
C: Not every action or mental state has a mean.

Question 28

According to Aristotle are virtues passions, dispositions or faculties?

Answer 28

P1: We assign blame and praise to virtues.
P2: Virtues cant be passions because we cant be blamed for feeling some way because we have no control over how we feel.
P3: Virtues cant be faculties because these are given by nature and no one can be blamed for lacking natural ability.
C: So virtues must be dispositions.

Question 29

What do intellectual virtues and moral virtues require?

Answer 29

Moral virtues require repeatedly performing virtuous actions to cultivate a moral character/ disposition.
Intellectual virtues require learning and life experience.

Question 30

Why does Aristotle say the virtuous life is the pleasant life?

Answer 30

P1: Virtue is a moral disposition. So anyone who is virtuous will be naturally attracted to doing good.
P2: A person with a moral disposition will naturally dislike doing bad.
P3: If someone chooses something over another thing like the person with moral disposition who chooses good over bad, they must get more pleasure from the thing they are choosing then the thing they are avoiding.
C: The virtuous life is the pleasant life.

Question 31

What are the physical things Aristotle says we need to live virtuously?

Answer 31

Material possessions (Food, shelter), friends, family, good looks, good luck and political power.

Question 32

Define political science and Aristotle’s view on it.

Answer 32

The study of how to organise societies to achieve their good and good for their individual citizens.
Aristotle thinks this is the “science of the good” because it is the most authoritative art that decides which of the other arts should be studied in a state, and legislates what one can and cannot do. With the overall goal being human good.

Question 33

Define Artre.

Answer 33

Excellence expressed in terms of function. Eg sharpness is the artre of a knife.

Question 34

Define Telos.

Answer 34

End/ aim/ purpose. Eg the telos of humans for Aristotle is rationality.

Question 35

Define moral relativism.

Answer 35

Their are no universal moral truths. Morals are culturally specific.

Question 36

Define Nietzsche’s “Will to Power”.

Answer 36

The will to power is a drive to exercise strength in order to dominate (strength= anything that gives advantage over others). The will to power is beyond moral justification.

Question 37

Why dos Nietzsche reject moral philosophies with an end point of pleasure?

Answer 37

Nietzsche says We value power over pleasure, so any philosophy advocating pleasure as the goal should be rejected as this only furthers the creature. We need suffering in order to become great, witch is the opposite of pleasure. If one where to only experience pleasure they would never experience suffering and so not have the opportunity to overcome it an emerge a better creator.

Question 38

What is Nietzsche’s account of human nature?

Answer 38

We are all political animals with an instinct to obey that has been cultivated throughout history by commanders. We are not naturally equal to one another in moral worth, natural ability or any other measure (there are better and worse in humanity). We all have a will to power that urges us to dominate others.

Question 39

Why does Nietzsche think Rome/Greece were better then modern day Europe?

Answer 39

Rome/ Greece were better because the most powerful people had the highest positions. They had more power because they acted in accordance with their predatory nature, which is the highest expression of will to power.

Question 40

Define the herd.

Answer 40

The herd is the mass of humanity who are less individualistic and need to be told what to do by others (commanders).

Question 41

Define commanders.

Answer 41

Those who practice the art of commanding which is having things you want done.

Question 42

What is the “Moral Hypocrisy of the Commanders”?

Answer 42

This is when a commander commands not by their own natural superiority, but feel as though they need to obey something in order to command (constitution, god, etc). This happens when the herd convinces the commanders to adopt their own herdish values.

Question 43

Why is distribution of leadership bad for Nietzsche?

Answer 43

Distribution of leadership in a community will lead to a system where priority is given to the well being of the community. This leads to stagnation and lack of creativity since the community are the “common good” are more important then individual creators.

Question 44

Why does Nietzsche think that some have concern for others?

Answer 44

Concern for others/ love for ones neighbour, is based on fear of them in case they get too powerful.

Question 45

What is the origin of morality according to Nietzsche?

Answer 45

Fear is the mother of morality. Moral values come from what the community is scared of. Once the community reaches a position of safety, positive values are given to what preserves the community in its current state and negative values are given to what the community think threatens its current state.

Question 46

Define master morality.

Answer 46

This is the morality held by commanders in which the ones with noble instincts dominate. They describe what is right as what benefits them and label their actions as good to distinguish them form the actions of the herd. This is a proactive morality which allows the masters to make change. (noble=good)

Question 47

Define slave morality.

Answer 47

This is the morality held by the herd in which the ones with herd instincts dominate. They assign moral values based on fear. They examine the values of the masters and label them evil and posit their own goodness in in the way in which they differ from the masters. This is a reactive morality, as it occurs when the herd try to distinguish themselves from the nobles.

Question 48

Why does Nietzsche dislike pity?

Answer 48

Pity when applied by the herd, is the slaves exercising their own small will to power over the less fortunate while deceiving themselves with ideas of charity. They seek to abolish suffering. Which is horrible for Nietzsche because suffering is needed to empower the creator and do the great things that make life worthwhile.

Question 49

Why is sympathy a noble virtue?

Answer 49

Sympathy is when a noble helps someone less fortunate then them because their own power is so large and overflowing it requires a conduit. They do not help out of responsibility or moral code, they only do it to exercise their own superiority and power.

Question 50

Why does Nietzsche value suffering?

Answer 50

Suffering is valuable because: the act of overcoming suffering improves the creator within us. Which then allows the great humans to create great things or accomplish great actions. Which is the entire point of humanity according to Nietzsche.

Question 51

What are the four virtues of the masters?

Answer 51

courage, insight, sympathy and solitude.