Ethics I

ETHICS I
PHI101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

DR SIMON LANGFORD
OUTLINE
Plato, Socrates and The Republic
3 Views of Morality
The Ring of Gyges and the Immoral Life
Plato’s Views
INTRODUCTION
This topic examines some very general questions about ethics.
• What is morality?
• Why do people act morally?
• Do we ever act for the sake of other people or do we always act for our own sakes?
We will begin with Plato’s famous discussion in his book, The Republic.
THE REPUBLIC
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher from Athens.
424 BCE – 347 BCE
His books were written as dialogues where the main

character was usually Socrates.
Socrates was Plato’s teacher, but Socrates didn’t write any of

his ideas down.
Plato’s dialogues combine Socrates’ ideas with Plato’s ideas.

THE REPUBLIC
Plato’s best-known book is The Republic, one of the world’s most
influential works of philosophy and political theory.
In the text, Socrates is in conversation with friends, and the question

of justice arises.
“Justice” is understood broadly meaning acting morally or doing

what’s right.
WHAT IS MORALITY?
Morality as Convention
Cephalus and Polemarchus: acting morally (justly) is following society’s conventions:
don’t lie, repay what you owe, be good to your friends but not to your enemies etc.
What are conventions?
Does this view of morality sound right?

WHAT IS MORALITY?
Morality as What Suits the Powerful
Thrasymachus suggests that in each society the most powerful lay down the rules for
others to follow—rules which help the powerful to stay in power.
So, morality is simply rules the weak should follow to serve the interests of the
powerful.
WHAT IS MORALITY?
Thrasymachus
In each city…[the] ruling group sets down laws for its own
advantage... And they declare that what they have set down…
is just for the ruled, and the man who departs from it they
punish as a breaker of the law and a doer of unjust deeds…
[In] every city the same thing is just, the advantage of the
established ruling body…so the man who reasons rightly
concludes that everywhere justice is the same thing, the
advantage of the stronger.
Does this view of morality seem right?

WHAT IS MORALITY?
Morality as Social Contract
Glaucon offers a third view of morality (not his view but one he’s heard).
He distinguishes between things which are:
• Instrumentally good (e.g., unpleasant medicine)
• Intrinsically good (e.g., pleasure from eating ice-cream)
• Instrumentally good and intrinsically good (e.g., friendship)
What about money, exercise, love?

What about morality?
WHAT IS MORALITY?
Glaucon:
• Morality is like unpleasant medicine!
• Being immoral is great, but having immoral acts done to you is terrible.
• Social contract—people agree to give up the benefits of immorality to avoid the costs.
WHAT IS MORALITY?
The Ring of Gyges
What does this story tell us about morality?
• People obey morality unwillingly

• Morality is good only because it brings good consequences not because it is good in itself
WHAT IS MORALITY?
The Life of the Moral vs. the Life of the Immoral
Imagine the most immoral person who is thought by everybody to be the most moral.
Imagine the most moral person who is thought by everybody to be the most immoral.
Happiness doesn’t come from being moral but from seeming to be moral.
The immoral person is happier than the moral person.
PLATO’S RESPONSE
Plato’s Response
Plato attempts to show that being moral is intrinsically good and instrumentally good.
He attempts to show that the moral person is always happier than the immoral person.
The Tripartite Soul

The human soul is made up of three parts:
• Reason
• Spirit
• Appetite
PLATO’S RESPONSE
The moral person’s soul is in harmony: reason governs; spirit wills what reason chooses;
reason and spirit keep the appetite in order.
Having a harmonious soul is happiness.

You can control your desires and not be ruled by them.
You can use reason to desire the right things.
You can use reason and a well-functioning spirit to fulfil those desires.
You can use reason to avoid regret and frustration.
The pleasures of the harmonious soul are the greatest pleasures.
PLATO’S RESPONSE
When the soul is not in harmony, an immoral character results.
Plato describes 4 kinds of disordered souls.
• Timocratic character (ruled by spirit—seeks glory and honor above all)
• Oligarchic character (ruled by necessary appetites—seeks wealth above all)
• Democratic character (ruled by unnecessary appetites—seeks freedom above all)
• Tyrannic character (ruled by lawless appetites—seeks pleasure above all)
These depart further and further from the harmonious soul.

PLATO’S RESPONSE
The tyrannic character is a slave to his desires and dominates those around him.
He has lost touch with reality and lost control of himself.
His desires cannot be satisfied.
He regrets time spent chasing desires that don’t satisfy and fears a hollow future without
fulfilment.
PLATO’S RESPONSE
The pleasures of the harmonious soul are greater than those of the disordered soul.
Each type of character may believe that his own pleasures are superior.
But the harmonious soul knows better than the others.

He has experienced the pleasures of appetite, spirit and reason.
Through his greater command of reason, he has a keener ability to compare them.
PLATO’S RESPONSE
What do you think of Plato’s view of morality—as having a well-ordered soul?
How well does Plato answer the challenge given in the myth of the ring of Gyges?
How well does Plato answer the challenge that the immoral person is happier than the
moral person?
SUMMARY
Plato and Socrates

Plato’s book The Republic
Morality as Convention (Cephalus and Polemarchus)

Morality as Rules of the Powerful (Thrasymachus)
Morality as Social Contract (Glaucon)
Intrinsic good and instrumental good
The Ring of Gyges
Immoral people are happier
SUMMARY
Plato’s Tripartite Soul

Reason, Spirit, Appetite
The moral person has a harmonious soul
4 kinds of disordered souls (Timocratic, Oligarchic, Democratic, Tyrannic)
The pleasures of the harmonious soul are greater
QUESTIONS
• Explain what Cephalus and Polemarchus think morality is

• Explain what Thrasymarchus thinks about morality
• How does morality arise, according to Glaucon?
• Why is morality like an unpleasant medicine, according to Glaucon?
• Describe the myth of the Ring of Gyges. What point is it supposed to illustrate about
morality?
• What point is being made by the example of the immoral man whom people think is
moral and the moral man whom people think is immoral?
• Explain Plato’s tripartite view of the soul.
• Why does Plato think the moral person is happier than the immoral person?

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ETHICS I

PHI101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Plato, Socrates and The Republic

The Ring of Gyges and the Immoral Life

His books were written as dialogues where the main

Socrates was Plato’s teacher, but Socrates didn’t write any of

Plato’s dialogues combine Socrates’ ideas with Plato’s ideas.

In the text, Socrates is in conversation with friends, and the question

“Justice” is understood broadly meaning acting morally or doing

What are conventions?

Does this view of morality sound right?

Does this view of morality seem right?

What about money, exercise, love?

What does this story tell us about morality?

• People obey morality unwillingly

The Tripartite Soul

Having a harmonious soul is happiness.

These depart further and further from the harmonious soul.

But the harmonious soul knows better than the others.

Plato and Socrates

Morality as Convention (Cephalus and Polemarchus)

Plato’s Tripartite Soul

• Explain what Cephalus and Polemarchus think morality is

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