Essay 1 - Plato

        According to Socrates inflicting wrong on a person, but escaping the punishment for this wrong is one of the worst things a person could possibly do.  Socrates also brings up the point that it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.  Polus argues back that “suffering wrong is worse than doing wrong, and doing wrong is more shameful than suffering wrong, but being more shameful is not being worse” (Plato 49).   Archelaus’ story about him killing people and escaping punishment for his wrong doing causes his life to be the worst possible according to Socrates.  By Archelaus avoided his penalty and therefore wasn’t able to cleanse his soul of the actions he committed.  Therefore, someone who punished correctly for their own wrong doing is better off than someone who does something wrong and then escapes their correct punishment.  

        Socrates then has another argument, this time with Callicles who brings up that the strongest and the bravest should rule and have more than the ruled.  Callicles states that pleasure and good are equal and Socrates’ answer is the basis for this argument.  Socrates brings up the point that bad pleasure is possible, but bad goodness is definitely not possible.  Because of this, goodness and pleasure is not the same thing.  Socrates brings up that excellence is not derived from bravery or strength but from organization, order, and discipline which are all good.  To further explain this, one who is organized, orderly, and disciplined should rule the people, not one who is the bravest and strongest because they have wrong doing inside them because they want more than the good.  A man who is good will be given a good life because he does good things and will have no wrong doing cursing his soul, while a man who is bad has wrong doing he has not been punished for and therefore has a cursed soul and will not be happy.  The standards of right and wrong for Socrates are very simple: “no one does wrong willingly and…all wrongdoing is involuntary” (Plato 110).

        My impression of Socrates after reading this text is an impression that most people will probably agree with.  What he is known for is a respected, intelligent, and creative philosopher who uses common sense in his teachings.  All of his arguments against his opponents seem like wins to me because they are all about the goodness inside of a person.  He also proves all of his points very well with his reasoning skills and the way he asks his opponents questions in order to prove his own point, that way his opponents end up feeling stupid and end up agreeing with the opposite thing they started arguing with.  Socrates’ side of the arguments were definitely more convincing than Polus’ or Callicles due to the fact of his very intelligent answers and the way he could convince people.  

        Socrates uses common sense throughout all his arguments along with his knowledge which is very important because if a person has one without the other than they will always be one step behind someone who has both knowledge and common sense.  This helps Socrates out the most because of his logical sides of the arguments and ability to have his opponent prove his own point by asking legitimate questions to make one understand completely where he is coming from on every aspect of the argument.  Plato definitely helps Socrates keep his reputation of one of the most intelligent and creative Greek philosophers ever throughout the entire dialogue of Gorgias.