The Socratic and Platonic Conception of Arete - Coursework Example

Areté Introduction The concept of Areté becomes difficult to define because the literal meaning ofthe word connects with the idea of virtue. As virtue, Areté can mean excellence, good behavior or even bravery on the battlefield. It is not virtue in the moral sense which we may recognize as virtue but virtue in a broader sense which deals with the function and utility of a person or even an object. The concept of Areté is also debated in terms of how it can be taught or even if it can be taught which deals with the philosophical approach of nature vs. nurture. However, before we can understand how Areté can be learnt, it is important to understand how this concept has been used by Socrates and Plato which can help us in understanding what areté really is. The meaning of areté can be made clear by showing its connection with virtue as described by Yu (1998) who says that, “The word "virtue" is a transliteration of the Latin virtus (from vir, literally "manhood"), which was in turn employed by Latin authors to translate the Greek areté, originally referring to excellence of manly qualities (Yu, 1998, Pg. 323)”. Since the philosophers of the time were often concerned with the functions of things, a large part of Plato’s work is dedicated to the function and purposes of things and how something which performs its function well displays the qualities of areté. For example, even emotions such as love and hate can have an aspect of areté as described by Plato. When it comes to love, honorable and heavenly love works with its highest functions i.e. areté by, “Giving birth in beauty both in body and mind (Plato, The Symposium, pg. 43)”. In a similar manner, when it comes to objects, areté would be how well they perform their required function. Areté in Objects This idea of function can be applied to anything at all and the excellence of function becomes the notion of areté. A book can be excellent in terms of the knowledge it contains within, a knife can be excellent if it cuts through all that it is meant to cut and a horse can be excellent with regard to its speed and stamina. Of course it is possible for things to have only one measure of excellence since a knife can only be used to cut and may not be used to ride. On the other hand, things may have more than one measure of areté since a horse can be measured on the scale of strength as well as top speed or stamina. However, the concept of areté can be further developed with application to higher order things such as the concepts of love, friendship and duty. According to Plato, common love is imperfect since it is felt by those who are attached to boys and women without the application of the higher functions of love. It is a love based on the physical attributes and not focused on the areté of love between two individuals. If such a couple has sex, then their act is dependent on the lust and baser desires which they have for each other. Areté in Feelings A bond of love between a man and a woman or even between men was quite acceptable to Plato and the Greek society in general as long as the love was virtuous. In contrast to later western philosophies where homosexuality was seen as unnatural and even taken as a medical problem, Plato areté of love means that bonds of love between men can be formed due to mutual affection and the pursuit of knowledge and virtue. Thus the areté of love is Platonic love which is understood today to as an affectionate relationship between two individuals without sexual overtones. For Plato, this love is a deep friendship which comes with close association and camaraderie between lovers. Thus the areté of love between a wiser as well as older man and a younger man who is seeking knowledge is based on the ideals of purity and self restraint which makes it platonic love. However, more complex than the idea of areté in connection to love, is the idea of areté as it applies to a human being in overall terms. In those terms, areté becomes the guiding force for people who wish to be virtuous and excellent in all measures of life including the point of death. For example, in the case of Socrates his areté actually leads to his death. Socrates is presented as the image of an ideal man who is virtuous to a fault. Before his death, de has the chance to escape from prison and he knows that his friends and well-wishers in the city can help him get out of prison. The prison guards can be bought and he could escape to a different city where he would be respected as much as he was in Athens. However, his areté stops him from seeking life itself since he values honor and justice. Areté in Actions Socrates does not run away from the punishment of death that has been given to him because he believes in the ideals of virtue. The central purpose behind him staying in prison rather than running away is the idea of justice which he holds to be dearer than life itself. His areté causes him to stand on principles and these principles tell him that if a man been imprisoned and sentenced according to the rules of justice, then he has to follow that course to the end. Since he considers the disobedience of civil laws to be evil, he cannot return evil for evil because that would be against the guiding principles of areté. In this way, the Greek principle of areté can be applied to all humans since the function of humans is connected with their virtue. However, there are many facets of being human and excellence in each leads to a position of areté in each. For example, an athlete’s areté would be his/her ability to perform on the athletic field. A poet’s areté would connect with his/her excellence in terms of what s/he writes or says. The further development of the abilities of a human leads to a person gaining areté and such acts are virtuous as per the dictates of Plato and Socrates. Objections There can be several objections made to this argument and the first is the idea of functions. For example, a person may grow to be a thief or a murderer and it can be argued that their ideal of areté would be how good a thief they can be or how well they can kill someone. Such a line of argument can be defeated with the idea that virtue connects with what is right and wrong with regard to ethics. Since ethical principles do not condone stealing or murder without a reasonable cause, such behavior would not be ethical and therefore it would not fulfill the functions that human beings are supposed to carry out. If such acts are against ethics, they become the opposite of virtuous deeds which means that they are harmful to areté even if the person committing these acts is good at them. A good thief would not be considered virtuous simply because s/he can steal anything no matter how well protected it is. As stealing is a negative and being a thief is a bad aspect of a person, such acts would lead to a person losing honor and virtue as Socrates or Plato would see it. Of course the act of murder depends on the situation the act is committed in. For example, state sanctioned murder or murder committed in honorable battle in warfare is virtuous. A Greek soldier who kills many men in battle would have been considered highly virtuous since he is fulfilling the purpose he has been trained for and performing his duty as he has been asked to do. The act itself thus becomes connected with virtue since the situation for the soldier is different from a citizen who commits murder for other reasons. An objection can also be made as to the means used to achieve virtue since deception or lying is considered unethical by Plato. However, if this deception is a part of the faculties used by an individual to gain honor or victory in a battle then it is not considered to be something which can be considered bad. As reported by Hooker (1996), “The man or woman of areté is a person of the highest effectiveness; they use all their faculties: strength, bravery, wit, and deceptiveness, to achieve real results (Hooker, 1996, Pg. 1)”. Conclusion As described by Shields (2003), “A preoccupation with areté is one of the most striking features of Greek philosophy at all periods (Shields, 2003, Pg. 36)”, and it is easy to see why it would be so. As the philosophers were concerned with the functions of things, feelings and even individuals the idea of these elements performing to their best would have been critically important for them. Therefore, the concept of areté becomes understandable even though it loses none of its complexity when it comes to how the Greeks used the word itself. Works Cited Hooker, R. 1996, ‘Areté’, [Online] Available at: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/ARETE.HTM Plato. Crito. Gill translation. Plato. The Symposium. Gill translation. Shields, C. 2003, The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy, Blackwell. Yu, J. 1998, ‘Virtue: Confucius and Aristotle’, Philosophy East & West, vol. 48, no. 2, pg. 323-347. Word Count: 1,598 Read More