To be completely honest, I found Plato slightly confusing and it was only when in class listening to others that I began to understand him. That, in addition to me having to go talk to Dr. J about some problems I was having with Plato. The idea of democracy and equal rights and opportunity for all (such as the idea that anyone can be president) has always been fairly close to my heart, partly because I knew that if I did not set unreasonable goals and believe in the American dream I would never escape small town life. Talking to Doc Johnson about this, I realized that each of us possess different quantities of the Virtues Plato wrote of. Some possess much Wisdom but little Temperance. Some, extreme Courage but little Wisdom. What I have come to realize about myself is this: I possess a fair amount of Wisdom, a little Courage, some Justice, but very, very little Temperance. Justice, in the end, was a balance within the Soul of all of the Virtues. Am I Just? Sometimes, but I have realized that I am often unhappy because I possess little Temperance. In friendships, in food, and in things that make me happy. When reading Plato, I thought to myself, "this text can never be applied to my life! How useless!" I should have known in advance that it would be more influential because it is always when I resists texts that they end up changing me the most. Since reading Plato, I have tried to be more Temperate and moderate all my actions through Wisdom. And do you know what it surprising? I have found myself to be happier, even amidst the stress in my life right now.
How far away is Aristotle from Plato, though? I certainly found Aristotle more readable and, frankly, infinitely more enjoyable. My personal preference aside, Aristotle seems to come to a similar place, if not by saying it differently: the mean is found between the good and virtuous and the excessive and deficient. A Just individual, for Aristotle, is one who appropriates appropriately. That is, he gives what is good to the good and just and does not give to the greedy or unjust. General Justice fascinates me, in terms of friendships. He notes that the best person will exercise virtue toward both himself and to his friends while he that is the worst will show vice toward his friends. In this small phrase, Aristotle has caused me to questions several of my friendships and realize that some of my acquaintances exercise their vices toward myself and mutual friends and that maybe I do not want to be near these individuals. A just person is able to "exercise virtue in relation to another, not only in what concerns himself" (75). Should we be looking for Just friendships, or is that impossible and unreasonable today? No. Why expect less in friendship? We should be seeking just friends that give proportionally to what they receive. That is, if I give my appreciation, time, money or good, and time, the best, most Just friend should also be giving the same amount. We must be judges in our friendships and recognize when the best of friends "treats the people involved as equals," or when "one does injustice while the other suffers it, and one has done the harm while he other has suffered it" (79). It is our job, then, to recognize inequalities in friendships and relationships and to restore Justice by demanding that we are given what is due to us, proportionally, quit giving so much if they refuse to compensate, or leave those people behind.
In all probability, I cannot apply these philosophies in the ways I have. Both call for a happy-medium between either the best and the vices or between the appetites and Wisdom. Even if I cannot do so logically, my slippery application of these two influential philosophers has made my life, in the past few weeks, happier and more productive. Perhaps we can increase our Wisdom or Temperance... perhaps we can restore Justice in our lives by demanding what we deserve in relationships?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think your point is a very good one. Its awesome that you have come to understand plato, and through that have come to understand your life from a different perspective. I agree that in our relationships with people we should seek justice. This is a common subject in counseling, where people have disproportionate relationships with one another. But, they use the term "boundaries" to describe the give and take relationships between people. I think your observation on relationships is very keen and i commend you on your newly found perspective.
ReplyDelete"Am I just? Sometimes..."
ReplyDeleteYou touched on a point here that always sticks with me when I'm reading texts like these. If one possesses these virtues, how long do they stick around? It seems perfectly plausible that I could exhibit courage in a situation one day, while on another day I may just turn my head when that opportunity arises. I've always felt that people are fickle, and it's just too hard for me to imagine some fixed amount of a vague idea like courage or temperance.
Sorry to be so negative after such a positive comment.
First, I want to say that my hat goes off to you for sharing such a personal story. With that being said, I agree with Chad in the sense that while we may possess certain qualities such as courage and wisdom, if they are not applied in manner which is expressed consistently, then it essentially becomes useless.
ReplyDeleteHope I'm not a broken record... but I also loved this personal application of our class readings!! I think it's great that you have been able to observe "justness" in your life, and I might have to give it a try now.
ReplyDeleteDiffering from others' comments, however, I believe that while humans are inherently selfish (and I don't mean this in a BAD way, I mean it in the sense that we put our own priorities on the top of our priority list, as in: eating, sleeping, studying, et cetera...) and their decisions on how to act in specific situations may differ from time to time, those who are “generally just” apply this to MOST of the situations in their lives-- whether they realize this or not.
This may be something as simple as paying for a refill of your drink in the Lair when you know you could get away with it. It could be choosing to NOT look at the person's test next to you on the test day, even if you weren't fully prepared and easily could have sneaked a peek. It could be letting people merge into your lane, even if you are in a hurry. All of these are examples of things that people might automatically, subconsciously make the decision to do in their lives… making them, I believe, a just person whether they realize this or not, or have made wrong decisions in the past.
Truly, some people are not consistent, and perhaps that means that their “just” action in one situation proves that they might have had more selfish reasons for being “just” in the first place? I think that we, as humans, are constantly learning about the world and ourselves each day—and while some people may have more of a sense of what justice means to them NOW (and some might never have been taught or ever have the chance to fully understand), life experiences and interactions teach us to harmonize our virtues and act in just ways on a daily basis. But... there are always those that make the decision to act in their own self-interest, "faking" justice in some situations, and never ultimately understanding something like general justice.
Aristotle's work is usually easier to understand because he frames everything in terms of what he observes. Plato on the otherhand talks about ideals and intransient things that often are very difficult to wrap your mind around.
ReplyDeleteAbout friendships though I don't like to think of them as a zero-sum game. Honestly I find it difficult to see a lot of things we talked about, mainly safety, as zero-sum. For friendship what about something like happiness. If you being just to your friends and they to you increases your happiness then does someone elsewhere lose a corresponding measure of happiness? If so how does that happen if you had no contact with them? I can understand the zero-sum game in economic terms but when it comes to things derived from being virtuous (safety, peace of mind, happiness) it breaks down.
"I've always felt that people are fickle, and it's just too hard for me to imagine some fixed amount of a vague idea like courage or temperance."
ReplyDeleteDo you not express virtues consistently in your lives? Situation to situation may be very different and the Virtues may express themselves in different quantities and times, but as a whole, can we not begin to see the Virtuous whole a person by essentially taking a mean average of their exhibition of the Virtues? For example, I make poor choices on the occasion when I am choosing what to make for dinner or how many cocktails to have, but quite generally, I allow Wisdom and Temperance to govern me. That said, I would say that I possess high levels of each of those. On the flip side, I have very little Courage in day-to-day life. I will kill a cockroach or walk first down a dark alley from time to time, but I generally have little courage. In that way, are virtues really that hard to gauge in individuals? They don't just pop up on the occasion, but live within us and have been fostered by our experience, education, and rearing.
Jonathon, this was a great post, and I hope to see more like it from everyone. Being a senior philosophy major, I have made similar discoveries years ago, and while that is great, reading your post and hearing about the discoveries people make just reinvigorate those ideals within myself. I think that is something great about a philosophy class with first timers, it reopens the doors that we shut long go. And for that thanks you. For everyone else, I hope that you can really take this class for what it truly is: an approach to justice in not just your country but in your life. Philosophy is not just a major, but a way of life.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jonathan. It's interesting to see the correlation between what we're discussing in class and the personal lives behind the arguments. I don't think it often occurs to people when to connect the two. Just as I feel the connection between friendship and a proportional give-and-take outlook seem to get overlooked often. Although I feel like that perfect unison can never be achieved, it does not mean that we should not strive for it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post. This is all the advice that we've always been given. "Everything in moderation." These philosophers tell us that justice lies in the middle, it is the mediation between too much and too little. And of course the same can be translated to our individual lives. I applaud your personal look at this text. :)
ReplyDelete