Today in my History class, we discussed Plato's Republic. The main thing we discussed was what is justice and what is defined by selfishness. One argument presented in the novel is that justice is to help one's friends and to harm one's enemies. However, Socrates argues that justice is to bring absolutely no harm to anyone.
In theory, Socrates's argument sounds best. But how do we punish criminals and those that have done wrong? My teacher brought up a situation in which a car was stolen and then trashed. Then he proposed a "Rehabilitation Island," a place where criminals would go to be educated and come out a better person. If seemed like a good idea, but when asked if it was your car, things changed. Some people said that they would want revenge and Rehabilitation Island would not be the place to send the criminal. So how do we maintain the great theory that we shouldn't harm anyone? What is proper justice and how do we deliver it? It's a difficult question to answer because we want what is morally "right," along with what we feel.
Plato also argues that reason should rule over emotion. Again, it sounds great in theory. Having a logical approach to situations is sure to get you good results instead of thinking only with your heart. But suppose you pass a burning building where people are screaming for help. Would you rush in to save the people that you don't know, letting your emotions take control? Or would you wait and see if the firefighters show up any time soon or even just call 911, allowing reason to rule? It's a hard choice to make. Rushing in seems like the "moral" thing to do, but is it good to do? Are you going to become another victim for the firefighters to save because you don't know what you're doing? Waiting for 911 is the pragmatic way to go- but is it right? Is it right to stand by and hear people screaming for help and not do anything??
Personally, I am a good mixture of both reason and emotion- I like to think. However, if put in the "burning building" situation, I would probably call 911 and then jump in to save the people, regardless if I actually knew what I was doing. In my mind, that is the right thing to do. It may not be the smartest, but that is what my emotions tell me to do and most of the time, I listen to them. I would not like regretting not doing anything and having the capacity to do so.
Digressing a little- we also discussed what classifies as selfishness. One person brought up the point that we all do things "selflessly" because we feel good about it. Without that cathartic feeling in the end, would we do good deeds? Would we volunteer, help random people in the street, or donate to charities? It brings up a good discussion topic. Another person said- would a person who has been working and dedicating their whole life to Habitat for Humanity be considered selfish because he or she gets a good feeling out of it? Of course we would say no. But the flipside is that this person probably wouldn't be volunteering if it hadn't been for the cathartic feeling. Now that's something to think about....
Hey hey! So I'm gonna comment just on the last part, cause, if you'll recall, this was the back-and-forth I got into with Ryan a few times in English last year. I'm gonna agree with whomever in your class suggested we all act selfishly: I think we do. But it's NOT a bad thing - not at all! It's what makes us human; we look at a situation and then we do something that, in one way or another, has an impact on ourselves that we desire. Whether we're building habitats, saving people from a building, or writing a blog, we do it to feel useful, ethical, or productive. So yeah, we act to make ourselves feel good all the time. It's never a bad thing. If we acted randomly, instead of acting in exchange for material or emotional satisfaction, the world would fall into chaos. Now, if we can accept that everything has a "selfish" foundation, than would you be willing to believe, as I do, that the person who dedicates their life to poverty and charity in, say, Africa, is no more or less good than the person who earns a comfortable living teaching others? Surely both perform their duty to society for selfish reasons (good feelings, self-worth, belief in making a difference) - but would it make one a better person to forsake material reward?
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