So, ring of gyres states that if it was not for consequences, people would do what they want. This is true, I believe, but what about doing something good just for an award? Do people not do this, or are they just destined to do bad if they could get away with it?
Think of Star Wars, when Han Solo saves princess Leia just for the money. Or a kid doing something just for praise. Or perhaps, leading a good life just to get into heaven? Is it ok to do a good deed just for a reward, or is it not any better than avoiding doing a crime just so you won't get punished? However, how can a thing that causes you to be good be bad? Could we say that as long as the outcome is good, than the deed is good, or is this getting back to the definition of a just man Socrates talk about?
However, I feel as though Socrates forgot the guilt factor. Macbeth, Crime and Punishment, and A Tell-Tale Heart all have similar themes, the perfect crimes that are then thwarted by the criminal feeling so guilty that they confess. Where does this guilt come from, is it a nature human emotion or is it taught to us? As a child, do we naturally feel guilt? Or is it the threat of getting in trouble that guilt is birthed out of?
Sorry that I am mostly questions, I don't feel like I have a definite answer to any of these.
Tiffany, I feel like you pose a lot of really good questions in this blog. I think that your question about guilt is a very well-founded and challenging question to pose. Especially grounded in the texts of those other works. I do believe that guilt is something we feel, perhaps partially because society has told us what to feel guilty over and what not to. BUT... I believe it goes deeper than that, to an examination of what is innately right and wrong...
ReplyDelete