Home. Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SPP) Selected Index to The Philosopher Journal. Commentary on the Apology of Socrates. It was one of the rules which, above all others, made Doctor Franklin the most amiable of men in society, "never to contradict anybody. " If he was urged to announce an opinion, he did it rather by asking questions, as if for information, or by suggesting doubts.
Thomas Jefferson , letter to Thomas Jefferson Randolph (Jefferson's grandson), November 24, 1808. Unless Plato had already written some short dialogues to illustrate Socrates' technique of questioning (like the ), the is the earliest thing by him that we have. This would mean that it is the oldest extant document of Greek philosophy -- everything earlier (e.g. At the trial for his life in 399 BC, Socrates astonished his listeners by appearing, despite his vigorous defense, to provoke the jury and get himself found guilty and condemned to death. A friend of Socrates, Xenophon also produced the valuable (or ). Now, although the word "apology" is the direct descendant into English of the Greek word , the meaning has changed. Death. Some Moral Dilemmas. The Trolley Problem, not in Grassian. Suggested by Philippa Foot (1920-2010), daughter of Esther, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland, but of British birth because of her father, William Sidney Bence Bosanquet.
A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch or do nothing? This is a classic "right vs. good" dilemma. The Costly Underwater Tunnel Compare: 112 men were killed during the construction of Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border (the "official" number was 98, but others had died from causes more difficult to identify -- or easier to ignore -- like by carbon monoxide poisoning): The first to die was a surveyor, J.G.
The Generalized Structure of Moral/Ethical Dilemmas. Among men there are but few who behave according to principles -- which is extremely good, as it can so easily happen that one errs in these principles, and then the resulting disadvantage extends all the further, the more universal the principle and the more resolute the person who has set it before himself.Immanuel Kant, Observations of the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime[translated by John T. Goldthwait, University of California Press, 1960, p.74] The most common question I'm asked by such non-legal characters as cross my path, or get talking to me over a glass in Pommery's Wine Bar, is how you can defend a customer when you know he's guilty.
Well, the answer is, of course, that you don't. Once the old darling tells you that he did the deed, you've got to advise him to plead guilty, admit all and take the consequences. If he refuses to agree, then you must leave him to his own devices. Another complication is knowledge. Closer to home, we have the films of D.W. Ethics Home Page.