Ethics Workbook I: Chapter Four The Ancient Greeks

Ethics workbook I:

World History Chapter Four

The Ancient Greeks

 You have already learned that the ancient Greeks gave birth to the idea of democracy. They believed that a vote of the people was the best way to make and to enforce the laws. While we saw that earlier civilizations had kings like Hammurabi to hand down laws, and used judges to decide cases, the Greeks introduced juries who voted by majority rule. This was an important change, and an improvement for most people. The Greeks believed that right and wrong were basically what the majority of people thought were right and wrong. This idea is called a group ethic, and it is still a big part of ethical thinking today. We’re going to look carefully at both the up and the down side of this. One of the most famous Greeks was Socrates. Socrates was a teacher who lived in Athens during the height of Greek civilization. He had ideas and opinions with which the majority of Athenians disagreed, and he was accused of trying to overthrow the government by promoting his views with the young students of the city. Socrates was convicted by a jury and ordered to drink a cup of poison and die. One of Socrates students was Plato. Plato wrote a famous account of the death of Socrates. His account was written as a kind of skit in which he tells what people said to each other. In order to make this conversation easier to understand it has been shortened and simplified. There are two characters in the play: Socrates and his friend Crito. First we’ll read, or act out, the play and then we’ll discuss some of the important ideas in it. Scene: A prison cell While Socrates waits for the hour of his execution, his good friend Crito visits him. Socrates: Why have you come so early Crito? What time is it anyway? 

Crito: It’s after sunrise.

Socrates: It’s a wonder that they let you in. Why didn’t you wake me up? 

Crito: I was amazed at how peacefully you were sleeping, considering that you’ve been sentenced to death. 

Socrates: At my age dying doesn’t seem so bad. Why did you come Crito? 

Crito: I came to convince you to take my advice and escape from here while you can. If you won’t do it for yourself then do it for me. If you die I will lose my best friend, and people will blame me for not saving you. 

Socrates: Why should you care what people think or say? 

Crito: You should know why best of anyone Socrates since it was the opinion of the majority that condemned you to die. And if you’re worried that your friends will get into trouble by helping you, forget it. We’ll have no problem paying off the right people. Just say the word and we’ll smuggle you off to where you’ll be safe. Listen to me Socrates, you can’t betray your friends, and your children and yourself by letting yourself die when you could so easily get away. 

Socrates: You’re a good friend Crito, but I don’t see it the way you do. I don’t care about the opinion of the majority, even if they can kill me. 

Crito: But isn’t that the point Socrates? 

Socrates: Maybe so but that can’t be the reason why I escape. I must know I am right in escaping. Will you help me think it through Crito? 

Crito: I’ll try. Socrates: Would you agree with me when I say that we should do no wrong? 

Crito: Yes, of course. 

Socrates: If someone injures us should we try to injure him or her back? 

Crito: No. 

Socrates: Then we shouldn’t try to pay evil back with evil? 

Crito: No. 

Socrates: Well we agree on everything so far. But that’s not what most people would say is it? 

Crito: True. 

Socrates: Well then, it seems we shouldn’t do what people want but what we hold to be right. Would you agree with that my friend? 

Crito: Yes, we should do what we think is right. Socrates: Then is it right for me to run away against the command of the law of Athens? 

Crito: I don’t know, I suppose it depends on if the law were just and the sentence fair, which you know they’re not. 

Socrates: Well what would be the result if people decided for themselves which laws to obey and which to disregard? 

Crito: But the sentence is still unjust. 

Socrates: All right then what about our rule that it’s wrong to pay back evil with more evil? Would you want me to destroy my country to get revenge? Besides, when I agreed to live here in Athens and benefit from its laws I also agreed to abide by those laws. I have clearly made a pact with the laws of Athens and I can't go back on my pledge. I will obey the law and I will gladly accept my fate. 

Crito was speechless. 

As the fateful moment neared, other friends arrived to be with Socrates at the end. Suddenly the jailer appeared carrying a cup of deadly poison. He handed it to Socrates who calmly drank it. His friends began to cry, and Socrates asked them to be quiet and let him die in peace. Socrates walked about until his legs began to fail and then he lay on his back. The man who gave him the poison pressed his foot hard and asked him if he could feel; he said no and the man said that when the poison reached the heart he would be dead. 

Socrates: Crito, I owe a chicken to Ascelpius, will you remember to pay the debt? 

Crito: The debt will be paid. Is there anything else?

There was no answer to this question. 

Let’s think about and discuss some of the ideas in this play. First of all, do friends owe friends something? Is Crito right to worry that people expect him to help Socrates?

Socrates says it’s wrong to retaliate against someone who does you wrong. Compare this with Hammurabi’s Code or the Old Testament where “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” were the rule. Why is it natural to believe in the need to pay back equally for what you receive, good for good and bad for bad? 

What happens if you don’t fight back against someone who hurts you? What if you never repay your friends for being loyal? But why does Socrates disagree with this?

The ideas of equality and reciprocity are very basic in the history of ethical thinking, and show up in a myriad of ways. They form the basic theme of this study of ethics, and as such should be kept constantly in mind as a readily comprehendible start for sound ethical decision making. What is a feud or a vendetta? How does this kind of behavior lead to a never-ending cycle? What examples of feuds can you give? According to Socrates how do you break out of the feud-revenge cycle?

Is it ever right to disobey the law? Socrates says no. Can you state his reasons in your own words? Do you agree? 

There is of course considerable opportunity here to pursue the idea of resistance to wrong through civil disobedience. Socrates makes a big point of keeping his word and meeting his obligations. Why does he think this is so important? What do you think about keeping one’s word and meeting one’s obligations? 

It is important to constantly challenge students to give reasons for their conclusions. Remember also that students have little difficulty understanding their own rights, it’s recognizing their responsibilities to others that needs work. 

We have studied a little about how ideas about right and wrong have developed in history, and how the idea of law has become established as a way for societies to enforce rules. At first a god or a king handed down these laws. The people had little or nothing to say about them. The Greeks decided that these laws should be made by the citizens of the state through the process of majority rule. This was a big advancement. For the Greeks, these laws were always right and moral because their definition of moral was anything the people customarily believed in or did. In other words the Greeks believed that their laws were right, no matter what. This may seem hard to understand, but it’s important. In fact, this is one of the big points Socrates was making. He believes that the law has a right to execute him, even if he’s not guilty. See if you can state in your own words why you think Socrates believed that he had to obey the law, even when the law was unjust. 

Socrates believed that for the law to work people had to freely agree to obey it, even when not coerced. It was a fair and equal bargain a citizen struck with the law because the citizen received security and prosperity from it by being freed from lawless violence. Again there is a quid pro quo involving equality and reciprocity. If he chose to disobey it he would encourage others to do the same and thereby undermine the authority of the law. Socrates also opened the door to questioning the law, and to following one’s own conscience, if it could be done without breaking the law. Another great Greek philosopher named Aristotle will take this idea a bit further. But before we get to him, let’s look again at the traditional Greek idea about morality. Remember we said that for the Greeks right was whatever the majority said was right. We named this idea a group ethic. Think about this, and prepare for a discussion. How good an idea is this? What are its strengths? What are its drawbacks? 

Obviously the drawbacks come for the minority. The Greeks never recognized this problem. Socrates says a lot about telling the truth, keeping your word, and being loyal to your friends. Most of us would agree that these are good to do. But why? First let’s figure out how the Greeks would answer this, and then we’ll give our own view. Greeks loved to tell stories. Most Greek stories had a moral or ethical point to them that the Greeks thought was important to understand, and to discuss. The story was intended to get people, particularly students, thinking and talking. One famous Greek storyteller was a man named Aesop who made up stories about animals that acted like humans. This kind of a story is called a fable. Next we’re going to read, or listen to, some of these, and see what the moral lesson is. That part will be easy. Then we’ll try to figure out why the Greeks believed it. That will be harder. The Fox and the Rooster rewritten As a hungry Fox trotted into a clearing in the woods, he spotted a rooster perched on a high tree branch. Thinking of a tasty meal, the Fox called to the bird and said “Hello friend rooster have you heard the good news?” “No” said of the rooster “What is it?” “All the animals have made a peace treaty, and have promised never to hurt each other again.” “What” said the rooster, “That's great!” “Why don't you come down and celebrate with me?” asked the Fox. Just then the Fox noticed that the rooster seemed to be looking intently off into the distance and asked: “What are you looking at?” “Nothing much,” answered the sly rooster, “only a pack of hounds running this way very fast.” “Oh no!” said the fox suddenly, “I just remembered something important and I have to go!” Ethics Workbook I ©Anthony Tiatorio 1999 24 “Why in such a rush friend fox” said the rooster mockingly, “we'll tell them about the new peace treaty, and you'll be safe, you'll see. “ But the fox ran as fast as he could and never looked back. This story is obviously about lying, and what lying leads to. In what ways does this story show the same reasoning as Socrates used to explain why he wouldn’t break the laws of Athens? 

By obeying the laws people were freed from the endless violence of the revenge cycle. People will seek equality and will act reciprocally. Aesop is saying the same thing. If people expect to be lied to, everyone will lie. 

The Lion and the Mouse rewritten One day a lion was sleeping soundly in his lair when a little mouse came along and thought he would have some fun. The mouse climbed up the lion's mane and danced on the lion’s nose. As the big beast snored, his mouth opened and closed, and the mouse delighted in jumping back and forth across the dangerous gap. The happy little mouse didn’t noticed the lion’s eye slowly open until he suddenly felt the huge teeth tighten around his little body. “Please don't kill me.” pleaded the pitiful mouse. “If you let me go I'll never forget you and someday I will repay you.” The lion was amused by the thought of this tiny mouse helping him, the king of beasts, but he admired the little animal’s courage and gently put him down. “You may go friend mouse, but next time be more careful where you play.” Many years later when the lion was old and walking slowly in the forest, he was caught in a net some hunters had set up. The lion struggled all night with the thick ropes but couldn't get free, and as morning came he smelled the approaching hunters. Thinking he was doomed, the lion roared a mighty roar. Nearby, that very same mouse heard him roar and came running. “Here's my chance!” thought the mouse as his sharp teeth gnawed through the thick strands of rope. Soon the lion was free, and the smiling mouse watched him disappear into the forest. Write a short essay about this story. What was the lesson Aesop hoped people would take from it. There’s more to the story than you might at first think. Try to get everything possible out of it.

This story is of course about reciprocity, keeping your word and meeting your obligations. But also note that the lion did not free the mouse because he expected to be paid back later, but only because he felt compassion for the mouse. The mouse is happy just to see the lion free and expects nothing more. It’s important to begin to think about reasons why people do good for others that go beyond self interest. 

An important Greek philosopher named Aristotle added some new thoughts about how to know what is right and wrong. He actually wrote a book about it, and we’re going to read some of it later. But since it’s very long and difficult to understand, we’ll start with a simplified summary of his key ideas. 

Aristotle believed that every living thing wanted to be happy, and tried to do things which would lead to happiness. 

Aristotle thought it was good to do this, and, in the case of animals, it was basically all they did do. For example: a hungry lion tries to kill a gazelle and the gazelle tries to run away. This is good no matter how it turns out because it represents the natural way of these animals. Animals actually can’t do wrong because they are ruled by instincts and don’t really make choices about what they do. A good lion is good at killing gazelles, while a good gazelle is good at escaping lions. 

It’s different for people. People are ruled by reason, and they do make choices. What makes them human is this fact. Humans are above animals because they can control their emotions and instincts, and decide logically what to do. 

Aristotle believed that this was what made us human, and to be a good human you had to be good at it. Aristotle based his ethical ideas more on doing what was right rather than not doing what was wrong. 

He believed that to be good was the same as being excellent at what ever you are supposed to be excellent at, something like the lion and the gazelle.

 For example: if you are a good athlete you are skilled and successful in contests. If you are a good doctor you cure your patient’s illness. But this was only part of it for people. People also must be good human beings. This means that people must exercise the characteristic which sets them above animals. That means being governed by reason, and  not by instincts or emotions. 

When you do this, Aristotle said, you avoid the extremes of behavior and act in a moderate way. Aristotle believed that it was the extremes of behavior that were bad, and the middle choice was good. He called this kind of behavior a virtue. 

Everyone should learn to live by virtues. Only humans can achieve virtues because humans alone can choose what they do. In other words, being virtuous is being truly human. Neat argument isn’t it? Here’s an example of how it works: Aristotle says that courage is a human virtue because it is midway between the extremes of behavior that a human could choose when faced with danger. At one extreme a person could be fool hardy and daring at the other extreme a person could be cowardly. These two extremes are bad. The person should choose the middle and be courageous. Being courageous is a virtue. 

For Aristotle being good means living according to all of the human virtues. Generosity is another virtue Aristotle thought good people possess. 

Try to think of the bad behaviors at both ends of this scale. Think of some other virtues you think are good for humans to possess and what the extremes might be for them. 

One last point about virtues before we move on. Aristotle believed that these virtues were learned through doing them over and over until they became a habit. People learn as children to do the right thing, and they could just as easily learn to do the wrong things. Upbringing and education were critical for Aristotle. What do you think? Do children learn to do good or bad by making habits that are hard to break? Write down your thoughts in the space below and prepare for a general discussion of this. 

The more students personalize this study the more impact it will have on their thinking and ultimately on their behavior. 

Let’s review briefly: See if you can figure out what’s new and different about Aristotle’s idea of what makes something right and wrong. 

Hebrews: The God you believe in tells you what’s right. 

Hammurabi: The ruler of your country tells you what’s right. 

Socrates: The majority of citizen’s in your country tell you what’s right. 

Aristotle:There’s a natural human law that determines what’s right. This is the first basis for a universal system of ethical standards. 

One of Aristotle’s most important human virtues was friendship. His view of what real friendship is adds another big idea to our understanding of ethics. 

Read from his book on ethics how important friends are to Aristotle. Friendship is a virtue that is necessary for life itself. No one can live without friends, even money, power and fame cannot replace having friends. In fact, the rich and powerful need friends most of all. 

Nicomachean Ethics Book 8, Chapter 1 rewritten and simplified 

Do you agree? Why do you think Aristotle thought having friends was so important? Write a thoughtful essay in the space below about what friends mean to you? Tell what you think true friendship is. 

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Students should respond richly to this. Endless openings will emerge to direct discussion to key ethical concepts. 

Let’s see if you agree with Aristotle about friendship. Aristotle says there are three kinds of friendship. 

One is true and lasting and the other two are false and fleeting. One of the false friendships is based on utility, or the idea of usefulness. People become friends in order to get something useful from each other. They sort of provide each other with a service. For example, a person without a car might become a friend with a person who had a car but needed money for gas. This kind of friendship lasts only as long as it provides usefulness. Aristotle says old people often make this kind of friendship. The second false friendship is based on pleasure. Two people become friends because they have fun together. For example, two people both like to swim, so they become friends and go to the beach together. Again this friendship lasts only as long as the fun lasts. Aristotle said young people fall into this kind of false friendship. True friendship is lasting and is not based on what you personally get out of it but on what your friend gets. One friend is rewarded by seeing the other friend happy. Sounds great, but how can it happen? Well, Aristotle says it can’t unless the two people can really identify with each other and for this to happen certain conditions must be met. Let’s see if we can understand his reasoning, and if we agree with his conclusions, by reading some more of his book. We’ve condensed and reorganized it a little, and simplified some of the words to make it easier to understand. Perfect friendship happens between people who are good and alike in their virtue. People who wish their friends well for their sake, and not because they themselves will get something out of it, are the truest friends.