Greetings people of Earth and inhabitants of DR. M-B's
"Utopia" class. I found book IV to be full of too many ideas
interesting to just ask one discussion question, so I’m cheating and asking
two, (which is a compromise because I have 3-4 at least).
When I read the quote, "we
aren't aiming to make any one group outstandingly happy, but to make the whole
city so, as far as possible", my mind immediately thought of Bentham, and
Utilitarianism. I thought that was the path book IV was leading me down,
but Socrates and Adeimantus from my understanding were talking about something slightly
different. From my understanding (which could definitely be off), decisions regarding
the treatment of groups, - potters, farmers, ect., - should be based off of accordance
to groups, rather than fairness among groups. I personally believe they were
on to something, as they recognized that they simply cannot make all happy in
the same way. I believe the goal of their logic was to provide each group with fulfillment.
But my question is, are there different types of happiness among these groups,
and are there more fulfilling types of happiness that create disparities in
their society? In other words, when a farmer farms land does he or she feel
more complete then when a potter molds clay, or is their sense of purpose and subsequent
sense of fulfillment equal? (This highlights a problem I have with group
identities in general, but I’m sure we’ll get to that another time).
My second question is much more simple. I found the idea that both
poverty and wealth corrupt a craftsman to be a really interesting concept. I
don’t quite have an opinion; I just want to know what you think? Do both
poverty and wealth corrupt a craftsman??
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