Evil doing

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Socrates believe that nobody does evil willingly since doing evil harms the wrong doer and normally no one wishes to bring harm to himself. Therefore all evil doing is a result of ignorance, since ones instincts for interest cannot allow him to do evil. It is different to experience that no one does evil knowingly. For instance, some people do evil and are seen to fully know that their behavior is evil. I believe the Socrates conclusion is true in a simple and clear way. Aristotle’s criticizes an individual that might know what is best, and yet still do what is evil. People choose to do things for their own benefit, and others think it is evil, but when they make the decision they do not intend to harm themselves. Our idea of knowledge is frequently subordinated to the influence of our instinctive individual self understanding. Ones personal instincts cause one to choose evil doings even if they will hurt him (Nietzsche, 2008).

The vital principle in Socrates’ perception is that right or wrong choices provide the ends that the choosers seek to gain and not the way through which the ends are understood. Socrates’ believe that people who try to find what they feel is beneficial to them do not do evil since they do not act for evil sake but for goodness sake of improving their lives, and relieving their suffering. Stealing is considered by people as an evil doing, but even in modern society, thieves experience the benefit in which they obtain something good, that improves their lives. Constantly, when the benefit of a terrible act defies ones understanding, the actor always has a conscious motive to benefit himself (Nietzsche, 2008).

When people accept that all evil is ignorance, the criminal justice would highly focus on deterring, punishing and sentencing the evil doers since there would be too much harm done to others. On the other there will be no Imprisonment since every evil doer will explain the reason for evil doing and because of ignorance, the justice system will be corrupt with ignorance. The society will be affected with evilness and more spending on criminal justice and death penalties increase. Some people do not care whether they hurt or don’t hurt others therefore; more crime will occur since the law denies one on individuality rights. Later, the Justice system may fail, be destroyed and not govern the state since the whole society may be ignorant, and the state would be having only evil people (Plato, 2004).

Conclusion

What is evil and what is good is understood by human brains and ignorance is not an excuse to law. One has to critically think in order to make appropriate decisions on whether to act good or evil prone competing in ones values and interests.

Reference

Nietzsche, F. W. (2008). Beyond good and evil: Prelude to a philosophy of the future, by

Fried rich. Germany: Mobile Reference.

Plato, P. (2004). Gorgias. Greece: Digireads.com Publishing.