Study Guide Plato's Ethics
Study Guide: Plato’s Ethics
1. The ancient Greeks regarded agent evaluation (evaluating someone’s moral character) as more fundamental than act evaluation (evaluating particular actions). The central ethical question they addressed was, “What sort of person should I be?”
a. Eudaimonia is a central concept for the Greeks. It means living well, or having a good soul (i.e., being the right sort of person). Attaining eudaimonia is the goal of their ethics.
b. The reason we should strive to attain eudaimonia (i.e., to be good people) is essentially self-interest: Those who attain eudaimonia live better, more desirable lives than those who do not.
2. Plato believed that each human being is a combination of a physical body and a non-physical
1. The ancient Greeks regarded agent evaluation (evaluating someone’s moral character) as more fundamental than act evaluation (evaluating particular actions). The central ethical question they addressed was, “What sort of person should I be?”
a. Eudaimonia is a central concept for the Greeks. It means living well, or having a good soul (i.e., being the right sort of person). Attaining eudaimonia is the goal of their ethics.
b. The reason we should strive to attain eudaimonia (i.e., to be good people) is essentially self-interest: Those who attain eudaimonia live better, more desirable lives than those who do not.
2. Plato believed that each human being is a combination of a physical body and a non-physical