Vice in Ancient Philosophy - Plato and Aristotle on Moral Ignorance and Corruption of Character

Ancient philosophers offer intriguing accounts of vice ¿ virtue's bad twin. This Element considers injustice and lawlessness in Plato and Aristotle. Starting with Socrates' paradoxical claim that 'tyrants and orators do just about nothing they want to do' (Gorgias 466d-e), it examines discussions of moral ignorance and corruption of character in Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle's account of vice is indebted to Plato's. But his claims have confounded critics. Why is the vicious agent full of regrets when he acts in accordance with his wish? To what extent is vice a form of moral ignorance? Why will the unjust man never get what he wants? These and other questions yield new insights into ancient Greek ethics and moral psychology, as well as surprising perspectives on contemporary debates.

List of contents

1. Desire and great power in the Gorgias; 2. The Tyrant's vice in the republic; 3. Vice and moral ignorance in the nicomachean ethics; References.

Product details

• Authors: Karen Margrethe Nielsen, Karen Margrethe (University of Oxford) Nielsen, Nielsen Karen Margrethe
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2024
• EAN: 9781009468039
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0946803-9
• No. of pages: 75
• Series: Elements in Ancient Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Ethics & moral philosophy, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Ethics and moral philosophy, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500