PHIL 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Genetic Fallacy, Meletus, Anytus
3 May 2018
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Department
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History of Ancient Philosophy
9.28.17 Lecture Notes – Gorgias and Apology
Paper due on Oct 10 – 1500-2000 words, will be about the Euthyphro
Midterm (short answer) due on Oct 19
Gorgias
- 469c – suffering what is unjust is better than doing what is unjust
- IMO: seems to assume that what is just and unjust is objective
- Seems to be a grand generalization
- We should care more about what happens to our soul than about what happens to our
body
o Soul? – character/mind?
o Mind/body connection – pain to the body could be pain in the soul
o Role of the afterlife – Socrates believes there is a final judgment kind of thing
- 471: Polus gives the example of Archelaus
o “oates uses the od Eudaio – happiess, does’t eally hae to use
pleasure
o Boade otio of oe’s o eig ought ito a ell-regulated framework
- Should we value a moral life at all?
o Seems to have a conflict of values
o For the good of society – solves collective action problems
- Why are these virtues good for us in general?
Socratic problem
- Three authors – Plato, Aristophanes, Xenophon
- In Plato – Socrates is a mythic figure the is that always cares about the truth – hero that
inspires other philosophical movements
- In Xenophon, Socrates is kind of dull, kind of a teacher
- In Aristophanes, Socrates is a sophist
- Plato is 25 when Socrates is sentences to death
- Plato’s oks
o Early – more accurate of the real Socrates – Apology, Crito, Euthyphro
o Middle – later depictions of Socrates, Plato seems to use Socrates as a vehicle for
Plato’s o opiios
o Late
- Why should we care about the Socratic problem?
o Should the source of some POV be important to evaluating the POV?
▪ Source may provide justification for premises in the argument
▪ I feel like because Socrates often talks about a good life, morality – it
seems like Socrates can even provide evidence for his argument
• Ex: argument in Gorgias seems realistic since Socrates carried it
out himself in the Apology/Crito
▪ Genetic fallacy
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Paper due on oct 10 1500-2000 words, will be about the euthyphro. Imo: seems to assume that what is just and unjust is objective. 469c suffering what is unjust is better than doing what is unjust. Character/mind: mind/body connection pain to the body could be pain in the soul, role of the afterlife socrates believes there is a final judgment kind of thing. 471: polus gives the example of archelaus: o(cid:272)(cid:396)ates uses the (cid:449)o(cid:396)d (cid:862)eudai(cid:373)o(cid:374)(cid:863) happi(cid:374)ess, does(cid:374)"t (cid:396)eally ha(cid:448)e to use pleasure, b(cid:396)oade(cid:396) (cid:374)otio(cid:374) of o(cid:374)e"s o(cid:449)(cid:374) (cid:271)ei(cid:374)g (cid:271)(cid:396)ought i(cid:374)to a (cid:449)ell-regulated framework. Should we value a moral life at all: seems to have a conflict of values, for the good of society solves collective action problems. In plato socrates is a mythic figure the is that always cares about the truth hero that inspires other philosophical movements. In xenophon, socrates is kind of dull, kind of a teacher. Plato is 25 when socrates is sentences to death.
