Keywords

Socrates, deontology, virtue ethics, virtue, ancient, metaethics

Abstract

Plato's 'Crito' depicts Socrates in prison awaiting his execution and arguing that despite the injustice of his sentence, he is morally obligated to remain there so that it can be carried out. The early Socratic dialogues were concerned with the nature of the virtues which formed the foundation of Athenian morals. This "primacy of virtue" has developed into the modern theory of virtue ethics. In this thesis, I argue that in the 'Crito', Socrates sets aside his typical virtue ethics approach, and instead utilizes a deontological framework for his arguments. I apply the deontological theories of Immanuel Kant and W. D. Ross to the 'Crito' in an attempt to demonstrate that it has a distinctly duty-based focus that is consistent with the work of Kant and Ross. Finally, I raise the question of whether Ross' theory can be viewed as a bridge between virtue ethics and deontological ethics.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Stanlick, Nancy

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Graduate Studies

Department

Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies

Degree Program

Interdisciplinary Studies

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002553

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002553

Language

English

Release Date

May 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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