Thucydide vs Plato on The Good Life Essay - 1927 Words

Thucydides Versus Plato: Differing Views of the Good Life What is the true nature of the Good Life? Is it living life with concern for only oneself despite the possible consequences of ones action on others? Or might it involve self-sacrifice in effort to do what one feels is right or just? Is it descriptive, or perhaps prescriptive? Two prominent Greeks, Thucydides and Plato, began providing answers to these questions over 25 centuries ago as they analyzed and wrote critically about lifes ethical implications. They shined contrasting light on what is right, just, and good; as well as ways to achieve true happiness. In short, each gave an opinion on how to garner the Good Life. Lets start by taking a look at Thucydides,†¦show more content†¦In the end, Socrates anecdotes show that living a modest and virtuous versus aggrandized and self-serving lifestyle, results in true happiness. But, was Plato right? How does his prescription of self-sacrifice for the good of a ll compare to Thucydides win-at-any-cost descriptions of the Athenians in Melos. Which view is most just or right? Which will make a humans life truly happy and good? For those who choose to live lavishly no matter the cost, or perhaps feel the nature of life is such that strength and power trump weakness and subservience, Thucydides empirical recollection of Athenian army actions at Melos must seem justified. Dont those who have achieved dominance naturally deserve to live the Good Life? To the contrary, for others who believe that self-sacrifice and virtue are the key to justice, Platos normative philosophy would be the wiser choice to attain happiness and goodness. One could surmise Thucydides was reporting the way life is, while Plato was analyzing and communicating the way things ought to be. Personally, the author of this document is a retired military member of the U.S. Air Force (U.S.A.F.) and thus might be expected to have empirical views, especially in times of war. However, his firm belief in the Geneva Conventions and the U.S.A.F. core values of integrity first, service-before-self, and excellenceShow MoreRelatedThucydides vs. Plato1598 Words   |  7 PagesPaper about Thucydides versus Plato on the nature of the Good Life 1: Thucydides versus Plato on the nature of the Good Life. Some have claimed that Thucydides is making empirical claims, whereas Plato is making normative claims. Is that true? Support your answer in your paper. Plato and Thucydides together had strikingly dissimilar views on their tactic on the good life. Many have demanded that Plato is making normative rights, whereas Thucydides has made empirical claims. Lets first takeRead MoreA Biblical View of Science, Technology, and Business: Do Utilitarian’s Agree with These Biblical Views?1835 Words   |  8 Pageswho follow him. Throughout the reading of The Gospel According to Matthew an anti-materialistic approach is used; â€Å"contempt for even the necessities of life and the assurance that ‘God will provide’† (Newton, Source Reader, p. 61). For example, the young rich man in the reading asks God what good deed he can complete in order to receive eternal life. God first suggests to the man to follow the Ten Commandments, the man states that he has been following the Ten Commandments since he was a young boyRead More Aristotelian Ethics and its Context Essay6933 Words   |  28 Pagesdecision-making, and follow-th rough. To a degree hitherto unparalleled in history, Greek democratic (better isonomic (5)) polis-life was participatory, and its preeminent achievements were not laws as products but actions as embodiments of practical intelligence. Aristotle himself is elsewhere well aware of this. In Politics I.ii.6 (1254a8-9) he tells us that human life is action, not production and in saying this, he only corroborates what he concedes when he says that politics is concerned with