...Apology, Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, is accused of not believing in the gods by corrupting the youth with his philosophical beliefs. Socrates uses the forces of logos and ethos to build the trust of his audience over his accusers, Meletus and Anytus, who have created prejudices against him in trial. Socrates uses a grand mixture of socratic irony and rhetorical devices to make his claim and prove his point in efforts to hopefully help find his innocence. However, in doing so, he reveals to the audience what kind of a person he is: a haughty, gadfly kind of man with an undesirable temperament. Although Socrates is indeed arrogant and comes off as egotistical, he is in fact quite admirable. “Let the judge decide justly and...
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...Running Head: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 1 The Philosophy of Socrates: A Lover of Wisdom (2052 Words) THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 2 The lessons of life that are delivered by Socrates act as a basis for Western philosophy. Plato, the writer of The Apology, significantly respects Socrates and his dialogues act as a framework for our understanding in the passages. Our only record of his life comes from his associates, as Socrates never documented his opinions. A clear expression of Socrates’ philosophy is represented in The Apology. The purpose of this paper is to establish a clear demonstration of Socrates’ philosophy using The Apology as reference, and also explain my personal view on philosophy. In the first section of this paper, the famous statement from Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living”, will be connected when explaining three principle components of his philosophy: Irony, Method and Ethos. The second section of this paper will reveal my personal view on philosophy. Rahut’s claim on philosophy being the study of “open questions” will be supported by examples and descriptions. In the case that a question cannot be accurately answered or proven with our existing knowledge, I demonstrate that it should be classified as an ‘open question’. Throughout section 17-18 of The...
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...Was Socrates the first coach? The ancient Greek philosophers and coaching Flourishing life (eudaimonia) Excellence (aristia) –Prudence (phronesis) – Morals (ethos) This original article (a shorter one) written by Barbara Asimakopoulou was first published in International Coaching Federation’s blog The ancient Greek philosophers, motivated by their love of knowledge (the actual word “philosopher” derives from the Greek words “filos” and “Sophia” which mean “friend” and “wisdom” respectively) have been preoccupied with the investigation of the reasons for human existence and the way men should live, so as to be consistent with their reason for being. Their views widely appealed to the western world and formed the foundation for western philosophy and psychology, influencing the philosophers who followed, from the oldest to the most contemporary ones and inspiring passionate support but not without also being questioned. Today, most of their views seem to have lost nothing of their lustre and stand out like shining beacons, especially now that the western world is desperately seeking answers in order to relight its fires!!! In the text below, I refer to Aristotle and Socrates, the principles and practices they bequeathed us, so as to prove that these have a lot in common with the principles and practices of coaching. In addition, I will attempt to prove that Socrates is the first ever coach!!! Aristotle, a student of Socrates and Plato, the most important philosopher...
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...Heath Thomas Kinkead English 1301-394 12 September 2017 Plato tells a story about a “wise” man being accused of corrupting the youth in Athens. In “The Apology,” Socrates defends himself in front of the jury while he attempts to embarrass Meletus and lessen his credibility as the prosecutor. Socrates then talks about how Athens would lose more than they would gain by exiling him, and he finishes by saying that he does not fear death for only the gods know what happens after death. Socrates uses apologia, a method of defense, to embarrass Meletus. He wants to prove to the jury that Meletus really has no affiliation with the youth of Athens, so there is no way for him to know if the youth are corrupted or not. It appears that Meletus just...
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...The term ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ethikos, which is derived from the word ethos which means habit or custom. The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of Ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with concepts of value. As a branch of philosophy, ethics investigates the questions “What is the best way for people to live?” and “What actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances?” In practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality, by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual enquiry, moral philosophy also is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory. The three major areas of study within ethics are: 1.Meta-ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and reference of...
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...Ethics and Corporate Governance: Corporate Social Responsibility Contents Introduction 2 Definition of Ethics 2 Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2 History of Ethics 2 Socrates 2 Plato 2 Aristotle 2 Cynics 2 Cyrenaics 2 Business Ethics 2 Nike 2 McDonalds 2 Enron 2 Wal-Mart 2 Why Business Ethics is Necessary 2 Conclusion 2 Bibliography 2 Introduction This assignment is a brief over view of ethics in the modern day era. It begins with a definition of ethics, followed by a concise explanation of corporate social responsibility. Ethics has evolved over a number of decades and still is to this day, with that a short history of ethics will be demonstrated in this assignment. Ethics determines whether or not a company has good or bad morale. Unfortunately a company that holds excellent ethics are not highlighted in the media as a company that has bad ethics. In this essay will illustrate examples of how large national and international companies came to have bad ethics. To conclude this assignment will be a brief outlay of why ethics is necessary to the business environment in this day and age. Definition of Ethics Ethics can be defined at vital concepts and essential principles of moral human conduct. It consists of the study of universal ethics such as the essential parity of all men and women, natural or human rights, compliance to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, progressively more, for the natural environment...
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...of moral diversity. The term comes from the Greek word ἠθικός ethikos from ἦθος ethos, which means "custom, habit". The superfield within philosophy known as axiology includes both ethics and aesthetics and is unified by each sub-branch's concern with value. Philosophical ethics investigates what is the best way for humans to live, and what kinds of actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances. Ethics may be divided into three major areas of study: * Meta-ethics, about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their truth values (if any) may be determined * Normative ethics, about the practical means of determining a moral course of action * Applied ethics draws upon ethical theory in order to ask what a person is obligated to do in some very specific situation, or within some particular domain of action (such as business) Related fields are moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory. Ethics seeks to resolve questions dealing with human morality—concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. II. PHILOSOPHIES A. SOCRATES Socratic method Perhaps his most important contribution to Western thought is his dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts such as the Good and Justice. It was first described by Plato in the...
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...Dr. Katherine Heenan English 472 Spring 2007 February 20, 2007 Aristotle’s Life and the Rhetoric Books I and II Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Aristotle was a student of Plato’s who disagreed with his mentor over the place of public speaking in Athenian life • born in Macedonia about the time Plato was opening the Academy in Athens • age seven went to Athens and entered the Academy--stayed on as teacher; left 20 yrs later on Plato’s death in 347 • Was ineligible to inherit Academy because he wasn’t Athenian • believed only scientific demonstration and the analysis of formal logic could arrive at transcendent truth • Dialectic and rhetoric form 2 major divisions in his view of human inquiry but they deal with subjects on which true knowledge isn’t available • Rhetoric: making persuasion possible • for Aristotle, rhetoric as the discovery in each case of the available means of persuasion--this discovery requires scientific investigation o in terms of speech situations, he focused on civic affairs • forensic speaking considers guilt or innocence—judicial speech centering on accusation and defense • deliberative speaking considers future policy—political speech centering on future policy • epideictic speaking considers praise and blame—ceremonial speech ▪ Aristotle classified rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic o dialectic is on-on-one conversation; rhetoric is one...
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...on the discipline of public speaking. Mailloux introduces sophistic Rhetoric as founded on the pragmatic doctrine that “Man is the measure of all things: of things which are, that they are, and of things which are not, that they are not”, a phrase attributed to the Sophist Protagoras (Patrick, 2006). Others Sophists of note include Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias and Thrasymachus – quoted in Plato’s Republic as saying “… ‘Just’ or ‘right’ means nothing but what is to the interest of the stronger party” (Plato & Lane, 2007)). West and Turner’s account of the Rhetoric show that the first teachers of Rhetoric were the "Sophists”, who were nomadic teachers of public speaking that were respected for their intellect and subsequently paid highly for their teachings. A modern understanding of Sophistic philosophy can be described by author and activist Rahul Easwar’s quote “The real fight is not between right and wrong; the real fight is between my right and your right”. Mailloux explains Plato and his (classical and contemporary) sympathizers’ contempt for Sophism and dismissal of the same as a...
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...Plato and Play Taking Education Seriously in Ancient Greece Armand D’Angour In this article, the author outlines Plato’s notions of play in ancient Greek culture and shows how the philosopher’s views on play can be best appreciated against the background of shifting meanings and evaluations of play in classical Greece. Play—in various forms such as word play, ritual, and music—proved central to the development of Hellenic culture. In ancient Greece, play (paidia) was intrinsically associated with children (paides). However, both children and play assumed a greater cultural significance as literacy—and, consequently, education (paideia)— developed during the classical age of 500–300 BCE. Uniquely among ancient thinkers, Plato recognized that play influenced the way children developed as adults, and he proposed to regulate play for social ends. But Plato’s attitude toward play was ambivalent. Inclined to consider play an unworthy activity for adults, he seemed to suggest that intellectual play in some form, as demonstrated in the dialectical banter of Socrates, could provide a stimulus to understanding. Key words: education in ancient Greece; play and child development; play and education; play and Plato; Socratic dialectic Among various plausible misquotations that surface from time to time is a piece of popular wisdom attributed to Plato to the effect that “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” It was quoted by Alaska Governor...
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...VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM COURSE ETHICS 4.3 with special reference to PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Code 61432100 [final version January 10, 2012] Academic year 2011-2012 Period 3: January. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration: MSc Program Business Administration. Prof. dr. Eduard Kimman course assistant: Karin Tjeerdsma (k.t.tjeerdsma@vu.nl) Background This course, in the setting of various Master Programmes at the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, is about the morality of professional people acting in the context of a business organization. Business organizations or organizations as such do have a formal structure in which responsibility ultimately lies with a director or the board of directors. A business organization forms a context for a great variety of decisions. In a juridical perspective the organization is the bearer of numerous transactions. Inside organizations one may find remarkable opportunities for just or unjust behaviour, for moral or immoral behaviour, for situations of equality or inequality which deserve to be evaluated ethically. As FEWEB is a school for the study of economics and business administration in an economic perspective we focus on so-called “economic decisions” which are decisions being taken with some form of economic calculus. In this course we will spend time on questioning whether the economic or financial outcomes of these decisions are morally neutral or deserve some further moral investigation...
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...Ethical Approaches Four Ethical Approaches Four Ethical Approaches- By Buie Seawell, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver There are many ways to define "ethics," almost as many as there are ethicists. For our purposes, let's use this definition: Ethics is the discipline and practice of applying value to human behavior (as well as to the constructs of human culture particularly to morality, customs and laws) resulting in meaningfulness. From the earliest moments of recorded human consciousness, the ethical discipline has exhibited four fundamental "approaches" These four approaches are often called "ethical decision-making frameworks:" Utilitarian Ethics (outcome based), Deontological Ethics (duty based), Virtue Ethics (virtue based) and Communitarian Ethics (community based). Each has a distinctive point of departure as well as distinctive ways of doing the fundamental ethical task of raising and answering questions of value. It is also important to understand that all four approaches have both overlaps and common elements. Some of the "common elements" of all four approaches are the following: · Impartiality: weighting interests equally · Rationality: backed by reasons a rational person would accept · Consistency: standards applied similarly to similar cases · Reversibility: standards that apply no matter who "makes" the rules These are, in a sense, the rules of the "ethics game", no matter which school or approach to ethics one feels the...
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...Business Ethics (Supplementary Lecture Notes) Mr. Joel C. Porras “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actios, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, they beconme your destiny.” ANONYMOUS Preliminary Notions: A. Etymological: The word ethics comes from the Greek word “ethos” ,meaning : custom, a habitual way of acting character, a meaning that the Latin terms “mos” , “moris” also connote. Among the Greeks , “ethics” meant what concerns human conduct/human action. B. Descriptive: Largely a concern of cultural anthropologists and sociologists. Its task is to describe how some person, members of a culture or society address all sorts of moral issues, what customs they have, and so, how they are accustomed to behave. C. Met-ethics: Concerns itself with the meanings of moral terms: like good and bad, right and wrong, duties and rights, etc. Hence the concern is with the understanding of the use of these terms, their logical forms and the objects to which they refer. Sometimes the concern of meta-ethicist is even more fundamental: What is the possibility of moral philosophy. D. Normative: Ethics is normative, not in the way that logic is, namely. With regard to the correctness of our thinking, but with regard to the goodness of our living, the right orientation of our existence. It is a practical science, not simply because it treats human action,...
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...A618C90F-C2C6-4FD6-BDDB-9D35FE504CB3 First American paperback edition published in 2006 by Enchanted Lion Books, 45 Main Street, Suite 519, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Copyright © 2002 Philip Stokes/Arcturus Publishing Limted 26/27 Bickels Yard, 151-153 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3HA Glossary © 2003 Enchanted Lion Books All Rights Reserved. The Library of Congress has cataloged an earlier hardcover edtion of this title for which a CIP record is on file. ISBN-13: 978-1-59270-046-2 ISBN-10: 1-59270-046-2 Printed in China Edited by Paul Whittle Cover and book design by Alex Ingr A618C90F-C2C6-4FD6-BDDB-9D35FE504CB3 Philip Stokes A618C90F-C2C6-4FD6-BDDB-9D35FE504CB3 ENCHANTED LION BOOKS New York Contents The Presocratics Thales of Miletus . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Pythagoras of Samos . . . . . 10 Xenophanes of Colophon 12 Heraclitus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Scholastics St Anselm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 St Thomas Aquinas . . . . . . . 50 John Duns Scotus . . . . . . . . . 52 William of Occam . . . . . . . . . 54 The Liberals Adam Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Mary Wollstonecraft . . . . 108 Thomas Paine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Jeremy Bentham . . . . . . . . . 112 John Stuart Mill . . . . . . . . . . 114 Auguste Comte . . . . . . . . . . . 116 The Eleatics Parmenides of Elea . . . . . . . 16 Zeno of Elea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Age of Science Nicolaus Copernicus . . . . . . 56 Niccolò Machiavelli...
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...Introduction to Business Ethics Objectives: * Gain an understanding of why business ethics is important. * Learn how business ethics fits into the broader discipline of philosophy. * Realize that the culture in which we live influences our thinking. Business ethics, some would say, is an oxymoron. After all, the media presents, on nearly a daily basis, the shenanigans of corporate representatives as they ply their trade. Price fixing, anti-competitive behavior, fraud, deceptive advertising, and insider trading are but a few of the many questionable tactics found in the quivers of corporate moguls and their charges. Corporations and their activities have been fair game for attack, both factual and fictional. The level of corruption is epidemic in the estimation of many observers. This rather bleak picture is probably the one most familiar to what has become a very cynical populace. We have come to think of ourselves as current or potential victims of evil corporations. Is business evil incarnate? Of course it isn't. Is business completely innocent of the charges against it? Again, the answer is no. The truth lies somewhere in between. It is, after all, the modern enterprise, with all of its strengths and weaknesses, that has brought to larger numbers of people around the world, a level of material comfort and cultural opportunities than has ever before existed. Businesses must be doing something right. In fact, while business has less than a stellar reputation...
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