1. Plato (428-348 BC) Athenian philosopher “Student” of Socrates
Aristotle’s teacher
Founded the Academy (Closed 525 AD; Justinian)
Composed many (preserved) dialogues on morality, metaphysics and epistemology

2. Plato on Rationality & Emotion
The Apology
Ostensibly, the story of Socrates’ trial
Also represents Socrates’ conception of human nature as essentially rational
Background to the trial
Athenian democracy
Socrates the gadfly
Mocked in Aristophanes’ The Clouds
Socrates’ “inner voice”
Apollo’s Oracle at Delphi
“No one is wiser than Socrates”
Certainly not prominent Athenians
Neither politicians nor writers
Writers as “clairvoyants”!

3. The Charges Against Socrates
From early rumor (Aristophanes):
makes the false appear true
Socrates proclaims to know hidden and profound (mystical) truths
Current formal charge (Meletus, Anytus, Lycon)
impiety
practices new (unsanctioned) religion
does not recognize the State’s gods
corruption of youth

4. Result of trial Socrates’ defense Socrates’ sentenced to execution
expectation of exile
Plato’s rejection of democracy in the Republic
Socrates’ defense
Against the rumor (Aristophanes)
Socrates denies any special wisdom expect that he knows his own ignorance
Admits he’s embarrassed the pompous

5. Socrates’ Defense Against impiety
Socrates recognizes some gods (e.g. Apollo) even if other philosophers (Anaxagoras) don’t
Socrates recognizes the Oracle of Delphi (Apollo’s representative) who says that no one is wiser than Socrates
Accusation of practice of new religion implies Socrates recognizes some gods, which contradicts accusation of atheism

6. Socrates’ Defense Against corruption of youth
This is the critical accusation
Socratic Paradox as defense
all normal humans are rational
rational creatures are designed to seek only value, only what is good, only what is right
rational creatures can’t be bad
rational creatures are robots of reason & not driven by emotion

7. Socratic Paradox To corrupt the youth is to make them evil
Evil youths would harm Socrates
No rational person would intentionally harm him/herself
Since Socrates is rational, he either
did not corrupt the youth or
did so only unintentionally
If he did not corrupt, he should not be punished
If he unintentionally corrupted the youths, he should be educated but not punished
Hence, in either case, Socrates should not be punished

8. Conclusion of Socratic Paradox
A rational person will always and necessarily:
Do what he/she judges to be best
Never knowingly do what is wrong
Any behavior that appears wrong or immoral must result from
Ignorance of the immorality
Psychological impairment, malfunction or insanity

9. Generalized Socratic Paradox
Rational persons act deliberately
Deliberation = the use of reason to select what is judged to be the best alternative action
So, rational persons always do what seems best
Hence, they never intentionally do what they think is wrong
Therefore, rational agents should never be punished for wrongdoing. At worst, they should be taught what is right or best. For once they know this, they will inevitably do what is right or best
Failure to do what is believed best = mental illness

10. Are We Really Rational? Our inclination towards fallacy
gambler’s fallacy
selecting a car
Ordering effects on preferences
Impact Bias in predicting happiness
failures in deployment of knowledge
Where are my glasses?
Calculation errors on math test
Tip of the tongue phenomenon
rational wrong doing
Augustine: weakness of will
Hume: reason as slave of desire

11. Consequence of the Socratic Paradox
The unexamined life is not worth living
The examined life is the life of a rational person who undertakes to know what is generally good and valuable in life
Only such a person may come to know what is best to do or how to live so as to optimize what is valuable in life.

12. The Unexamined Life
The unexamined life is one in which a person does not attempt to know what is generally good and valuable in life
Such a person cannot rely on deliberation to guide life
Rationality is wasted in such a person. Such a person cannot hope to have a good or rewarding life
So, the unexamined life, is not worth living

13. What’s Paradoxical?
“Paradox” means beyond belief. A paradox contains both something that is hard to believe and something that is highly credible.

14. What’s Paradoxical in the Socratic Paradox?
Is deliberation driven by value rather than desire?
Is evil action the result of ignorance or insanity?
Are people really saints?
Is education the only appropriate response to (unintentional) evil?
Are rational agents slaves to deliberation or are we free to do what is wrong?

15. Reason & Autonomy Assume that as a rational person you
Inevitably seek what is most valuable in order to be happy
Rational deliberation optimizes your chance of securing what is most valuable and thereby being happy
Successful deliberation depends upon knowledge
Hence, your happiness depends on your actions being controlled by whomever is most knowledgeable, even if that is someone other than yourself
Hence you should surrender personal autonomy to whomever is more knowledgeable than you and committed to deliberating on your behalf to achieve what is most valuable for you
But wait! Is it better to be autonomous or ruled always and completely by whomever is wiser?

16. The Crito
Should Socrates flee prison in order to escape his unjust condemnation?
Crito’s four reasons for escaping
The majority will think ill of Socrates and his friends if he does not escape
Since the court erred, it should not be obeyed
The welfare of the children of Socrates requires his escape
Death is an evil to be avoided

17. Socrates’ Reply to Crito
Majority opinion is relevant only if true
Rejection of Relativism
Relativism = truth determined by beliefs or attitudes; we create truth
Absolutism = truth is determined conditions of the world, not belief or attitude; we discover truth

18. Reasons Against Relativism
Consistency
if you are not a relativist in science or mathematics, why be a relativist in morals?
The possibility of rational discussion regarding a topic (morals) precludes relativism
If rational disagreement with the moral majority is possible, relativism is false

19. Reasons Against Relativism
If morality is a matter of happiness & happiness is an objective/absolute condition, then morality is objective/absolute & relativism is false
Is happiness an objective condition?
What is happiness?
Can we be mistaken about our own happiness?

20. Reasons Against Relativism
If relativism were true, then what the Nazis did would have been right (for them)
However, what the Nazi’s did was not right for them or for anyone
So, relativism is false

21. Back to Socrates’ Replies to Crito
Socrates’ children are better off by his death than exile. (Absolutism)
We do not know whether death actually is a evil. Hence, we can’t appeal to the evil of death as a reason to escape
What of the injustice of the death sentence? Is civil disobedience just?

22. Civil Disobedience & Justice
Why does Socrates oppose civil disobedience?
His implicit contract with Athens
Promise to obey all laws, regardless of how they are enforced
Is this a binding promise?
Stability of Athens as a condition of Socrates happiness throughout life
Life’s overall quality & the final act
To have lived well, Socrates must accept execution now
Compare the artist’s last brush stroke or the parent’s dying act