Socrates and Plato’s Views on Failure to Act in Accordance to One’s Best Decision

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1. Imagine that you recently saw a documentary that is highly critical of factory farming. You found a number of the ethical and health considerations presented in the documentary persuasive, and you decide that it is best not to eat meat any more. Some time later, on a trip to Philadelphia, you pass by Pat’s King of Steaks and succumb to the temptation to eat a delicious Philly Cheese Steak. How might Socrates’ view (as presented by the character Socrates in the Protagoras) explain your failure to act according to the decision that you formed when you watched the documentary? How might Plato’s view (as presented by the character Socrates in the Republic) explain your action? To what extent are Socrates’ and Plato’s explanations of your action different? Which explanation do you find more persuasive, and why?

2. In Nicomachean Ethics I.7, Aristotle claims that “the human good proves to be activity of soul in accord with excellence” (1098a16-17) and, more specifically, an activity “with or requiring a rational principle” (1098a7-8). How does Aristotle reach this definition of the human good? In your answer, you should explain the relationship between a thing’s function, its excellence (or virtue), and its good, as well as the steps of the argument Aristotle uses to reach this conclusion about the specific good of a human being. Where do you think that the argument is most vulnerable to criticism? Do you think that Aristotle’s view can be successfully defended? Why or why not?