Monday, April 21, 2014

Platio's Republic

Thrasymachus said that justice "is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger."  Do you agree?  Why or why not?

In the reading, Thrasymachus states that justice is only for stronger people, and weaker people don't deserve such a privilege. I believe that justice is for anyone that needs it.  My father worked for the Boston Police Department for over 30 years (He retired in July last year). This is their mission statement: "The Boston Police Department is dedicated to working in partnership with the community to fight crime, reduce fear and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Our Mission is Community Policing". Clearly, they believe in helping all people find justice no matter the race, no matter rich or poor or how strong or weak they are. Even if they are people that are weak in their mist, that gives them more of a reason to help them. In the police department, justice is putting the bad guys (no matter their situation) away to jail to ensure safety of others.


Does having the ability to do something make it morally acceptable to do that thing?  Put differently--if you can, may you?  Why or why not?

To me, It really depends on the situation. For example, if you see a loved one in a burning building, a firefighter tells you that you can't go in because the fire is too strong and you have no training, but you go in the building anyway to save your loved one. Even though you knew there was a chance you might die too, you did it anyway because you don't want to see that person die, making it morally right. You felt in your heart that if you just stood there any did nothing to save that loved one, you wouldn't forgive yourself. You would blame yourself knowing you could have done something about it.

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