Plato and Aristotle

Carefully read the detailed guidelines and instructions in The Role of the Discussion Board, a course in ethics should help us to make decisions about right or wrong. This is not the same as a discussion of what is legal. This is what you should do regardless of whether you get caught or not. At this point you should have read excerpts from Euthyphro, Plato and Aristotle. These philosophers attempted to devise ways for us to determine how to make the morally correct choice. In your posts I want you to apply each theory to the fact and determine whether the theory is helpful

By the time Oliver was 15 years old he had been to 7 different foster homes. He understood by the time was 10 that he would not be adopted and would continue to be shuffled through the system until he “aged out,” as they called it. He wasn’t a bad student and despite his moving around, he managed to do ok in school. Although, he hadn’t remained in anyone’s home long enough to make any lasting relationships, he managed to make friends on the street with criminals who amicably referred to him as “family.” Regardless of where he moved, he could catch a bus to their neighborhood and they would give him something to eat and a few dollars to buy himself something. Oliver knew they broke the law but as time passed he started to view them as the good guys in I guess what some would think of as a Robin Hood sort of way. Around 15 they started to suggest he move in with them and find a real home. Some would say that the system had failed him, but as far as those outlaws were concerned, the system hadn’t failed Oliver, it had only done what it was supposed to do, look out for the privileged and disregard the rest. Oliver had some encounters with church and other adults, but he started to wonder how do we know what is right and what is wrong. In his free time he has read the same excerpts from Euthyphro, Plato and Aristotle that you have. In five separate posts explain to Oliver how 1) Euthyphro’s dilemma helps us understand the relationship between religion and ethics; 2) whether Plato’s various definitions of justice mean that there is not one right definition; 3) whether using the Doctrine of the Mean can help him decide what he should do; 4) what you think he should do based on what you have learned and your personal perspective; and 5) respond to one of your classmates posts.

Each post should be at least 200 words. Keep in mind the following points (and feel free to add additional points from the reading if you like):

Euthyphro questions whether actions are pious because they are loved by the gods or if they loved by the gods because they are pious. This is his dilemma and this leads to a greater discussion of the relationship between religion and ethics.
Plato questions how we define justice. An especially interesting definition implies that the idea of justice is way the weak deal with the the strong.
Aristotle advocatcixed the Doctrine of the Mean.

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