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Ethical & Political Theory Dialogue

This dialogue will cover ethical and political theory as described by Plato, Aristotle, Moses Maimonides, Zeno (a Stoic), and myself, focusing on the relationship between morality, politics, and the good life.

PLATO: First, I believe we all agree that the good life is the life ruled by reason, and that, in fact, there is no meaningful division between ethics and politics in terms of their leading to that good life. That is, the individual who lives the good life will be happy because his soul is ordered according to reason, which leads to moral behavior. This good or moral life cannot be developed outside of the individual's relationship to the political system in which he lives. "Every society inevitably acts as a teacher of its members, and for this reason its values will become the values of individuals" (Stumpf 69).

ZENO: I for one agree only in part. Certainly the political environment influences one's moral thought and behavior, but it is up to the individual to free himself from the material things which his unquenchable desire drives him to acquire, and which will never bring him the good life he believes they will bring. The good life is the life of the individual who has freed himself from his desires. The "ascetic impulse" of the individual can be cultivated under any political system. In fact, the individual's interest in political theory will more likely lead to his entanglement in acquiring not only power but the material things that that society holds in highest regard, and this acquisition will lead away from Stoical asceticism, away from the "spark of divine reason" which is within each individual and which no political system can extinguish or necessarily lead the individual to exercise to find his moral values (Slavin 280).

ARISTOTLE: At least our Stoic friend agrees that reason is the tool whereby moral values are discovered so that the good life can be lived rightly. Plato, I agree with you that morali...

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Ethical & Political Theory Dialogue. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:24, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702686.html