Socrates: No One Does Evil Intentionally. Free Essay

Socrates asserts that no one does evil willingly because when we do evil we believe that we are doing the good because we are doing something that will benefit us. According to him, all evil is done out of ignorance and not from intention. In general terms, this proposition may seem controversial because many people occasionally do wrong out of self-interest. However, when assessing the logic behind human motivation and behavior, the concept seems to reveal a connotation. As mentioned by Socrates, all human actions are driven by self-interest, therefore, people involve themselves in actions out of ignorance not knowing the correct method they could have used to attain the benefit. In this paper, the focus is to discuss in detail and demonstrate the claim that no one intentionally does evil.

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I agree with Socrates' statement that no one does evil or wrong intentionally. However, most people will wonder why such an intellectual would make such a claim. The claim makes perfect sense in that when an individual does what is morally wrong it is due to the intelligence failure in reasoning. If the individual could have exercised his intellectual capacity, there is a likelihood of not committing the evil act. What people need to know what is right is intellectualism. At the same time, Socrates' concept is supported by the works of Plato in the Protagoras; in this passage, Socrates argued that akrasia does not exist and appears to endorse the claim that no one commits evil knowingly (Service 172).

Ramification

Socrates has successfully demonstrated the motivation for human action and in most circumstances, an individual will choose a course of action that is evil because of an intellectual error. Calder argues that no evil actions harm and they are not universally accepted in society (n.p). On plausible theories of evil contend that those people who plan wrongdoings have the intention of letting others suffer while it is not the property of the wrongful evildoer that is intended to cause harm. Individuals will have free will and therefore, will tend to choose a course of action that brings them the greatest benefit. For example, tyrants do not exile or kill people because they willingly want but because they believe that the actions will help them achieve their good. This means that all evil or wrong actions are done due to an instinct that they will benefit the involved parties.

Issues Involved

The actions of doing evil or wrong may cause significant harm to people in society. As mentioned by Calder, although people do not intentionally do evil, the actions they perform tend to cause harm (n.p). For example, if someone may decide to detonate a bomb in a room full of people, there is a likelihood that the bomb will cause death even if the police will attempt to thwart it. Even though we can commit evil because we want to take pleasure from the victim's suffering, these actions are sadistic for the fact that an individual is responsible for the suffering that others are experiencing. Also, another issue that is involved in Socrates' concept is bad upbringing. As mentioned prior, people commit evil unwillingly because of an intellectual error. Their intellectual capacity failed to better explore the best moral codes assuming that there is a strong relevance between bad upbringing and deviant behavior. People who have not been taught moral or good values cannot make accurate judgments about the world. They enjoy expressing their unlimited power by torturing other people since their upbringing is not able to make them judge that such actions are wrong.

Where Would this Train of Thought Take Us Logically?

From Socrates' view, we should understand that human motivation for all actions is driven by self-interest. No one can decide to harm himself; everyone chooses beneficial action. Also, we should pinpoint that the best self-interest is living a virtuous life, which is connected with happiness. Many times, our evil actions are as a result of wrong upbringings. People acquire misguided motivations when they are young, something that causes errors in their judgment. Such individuals have difficulties understanding what is good for society or other people. Logically, it is important to understand that the ultimate self-benefit is likely to make us perceive immorally actions are right as long as they are in line with what we perceive as the greater interest. Socrates' training helps to identify knowledge as something good and evil as ignorance. All evil deeds occur as a result of ignorance rather than the intention to do wrong.

Conclusion

No one does evil willingly because when we do evil we believe that we are doing the good. We always choose a course of action that will bring the greatest benefit to us. However, some courses of action may not align with the moral principles of society. At the same time, some actions may cause harm to other people and society in general. With the right knowledge, it is not possible to commit any evil.

Works Cited

Calder, Todd. "The concept of evil." (2013). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-evil/

Service, Heda. "No one errs willingly: The meaning of Socratic intellectualism." A Companion to Socrates 171 (2006). http://www.academia.edu/download/31761161/A_Companion_to_Socrates.pdf#page=191