There is no doubt that Plato’s classical conception of what constitutes a real and indubitable knowledge has to be something static, for what fluctuates cannot satisfactorily be a source of knowledge. With his classical doctrine of the two worlds, the world of Forms and the world of appearance (the changing world), he demonstrates how the ability to rise above the changing world to the world of Forms or ideas gives a guarantee for certainty in knowledge.
Here, we are interrogating the knowledge of the Good, which of course, following Plato’s classical two worlds doctrine, there is an objective Good which transcends the changing world of appearances, and whose knowledge is achievable (the knowledge of the Good in itself). That is to say that, there exists a great doze of objectivity in moral pursuits, meaning that what passes as a morally good action cannot be relative, for the Good in itself objectively exists. The task then becomes how this Good which exists, and how this Good that is the principle of objective moral acts (moral objectivism) could be reached. In other words, how could it be known.
The article under review presents as well as interrogates intuition (moral intuitionism) as the faculty that seems to make it possible for moral objective principles to be arrived at. (that is to say, because the Good exists outside the visible boundaries of the physical world of physics and other sciences, it could only be arrived at through intuition). In other words, this article under review tries to find out how plausible it is in the first place to argue for moral objectivism, and how rational it is to conclude that if moral objectivism is plausible enough and that there exist objective moral principles, that intuition seems to be the way that leads to their knowledge as well as the Good. The article checks to know if the knowledge of the Good is as objective as Plato claims it is and whether intuition through which the Good could be reached (as the article claims) is as objective and as reliable as other sources of knowledge like the sciences.
Table of Contents
1. Moral Objectivism in doubt
2. Plato and moral intuitionism
3. The Good and its knowledge
4. Evaluation and conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this review is to examine the plausibility of moral objectivism within Plato's Republic and to investigate the role of moral intuition as the potential faculty for accessing objective moral truths. The research explores whether objective moral principles can be known through rational, scientific processes or if they necessitate an appeal to non-natural, intuitive capacities.
- The tension between moral objectivism and the requirement for empirical grounding.
- Plato’s use of inductive and deductive reasoning versus the appeal to moral intuition.
- The definition and accessibility of the "Form of the Good" in human life and the polis.
- The distinction between scientific knowledge of particulars and the apprehension of stable, non-sensible properties.
Excerpt from the Book
Moral objectivism in doubt
In the opening moments of Socrates’ dialogue with Polemarchus in Plato’s Republic, it is shown that Socrates urges Polemarchus to think of justice as a craft just like medicine (332c-d). There is no doubt that each life’s endeavor has its own unique craft which is different from others. As such, the article raises the question if actually the craft of justice could be as objective as that of medicine or indeed that of any of the physical sciences. This is more so for in the Republic, Socrates is presented to define crafts by their distinctive final ends, such that the final end of medicine is nothing else than providing health for the body (341e), that of horse-breeding is none other than the well-being of the horses (342c). Achieving these ends are dependent on faithful adherence to specific norms which guide those who practice the crafts to actually arrive at their various ends. As such, it could be said that there are observable and objective modes of conduct one must follow as well as the ones to avoid. This being the case, the article tries to take the position that the ends of crafts which are scientific enough like medicine and horse-breeding are very easy to define, that such cannot easily be said of anything moral, just as Polemarchus didn’t find it easy to identify the end of the craft of justice (332c-334b). In fact, it is argued in the article that moral objectivism is argued for and defended from the point of view of queerness as the author notes;
A commitment to moral objectivism brings with it a commitment to the existence of moral properties as ‘queer’ as Platonic Forms that are apprehended only through occult faculties like so-called ‘moral intuition’. Since we have no reason to believe that there is any faculty such as moral intuition that serves as a reliable Form detector, we equally have no reason to accept moral objectivism.
Summary of Chapters
Moral Objectivism in doubt: This chapter analyzes the definition of justice as a craft in the Republic to question if moral principles possess the same objective, observable nature as medical or scientific fields.
Plato and moral intuitionism: This section investigates whether Plato endorses an intuitionist perspective for grasping the Forms, contrasting the direct apprehension of moral truths with inferential reasoning.
The Good and its knowledge: This chapter examines the methodology Plato employs to arrive at the nature of the Good, exploring the role of dialectics and whether it relies on intuition or rational hypothesis-building.
Evaluation and conclusion: This final section evaluates the claim that moral objectivism requires intuition, offering a critical synthesis of how scientific reasoning might interact with Platonic ideals.
Keywords
Moral Objectivism, Moral Intuitionism, Plato, Republic, The Good, Justice, Epistemology, Inductive Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning, Platonic Forms, Ethics, Moral Norms, Dialectics, Scientific Method, Occult Faculties
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research?
The work examines the moral epistemology found in Plato's Republic, specifically focusing on how one comes to know the "Good" and whether moral objective principles are defensible.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
Key themes include the comparison between moral objectivism and intuitionism, the role of scientific reasoning in ethical inquiry, and the nature of Platonic Forms.
What is the core research objective?
The research aims to determine if moral objectivism can be reconciled with rational, scientific methods or if it inherently necessitates a reliance on "mysterious" moral intuition.
Which scientific methods are analyzed in the context of morality?
The author discusses the application of inductive and deductive reasoning processes to ethical questions, similar to their application in the natural sciences.
What does the main body of the text address?
It addresses the challenges of identifying moral norms, the interpretation of the Good within the Republic, and whether Plato genuinely relies on intuition or a more structured, logical formation of hypotheses.
Which keywords best describe this academic study?
The most characterizing terms are Moral Objectivism, Moral Intuitionism, The Good, Platonic Forms, and Moral Epistemology.
How does the author interpret the "queerness" of moral properties?
The author suggests that moral properties are considered "queer" because they do not seem to align with empirical, observable facts, thereby requiring an unconventional or "occult" faculty like intuition to be apprehended.
How does the text link the "sun analogy" to the knowledge of the Good?
The text uses the sun analogy to explain how the Good serves as the source of clarity and knowledge for moral principles, much like the sun provides the light necessary for sight.
What is the conclusion regarding the necessity of intuition?
The author ultimately argues that while Plato attempts to build an objective framework, he appears to lean on intuition when formal logic and scientific observation reach their limits in defining the highest Good.
- Quote paper
- Evarist Kenechukwu Okpala (Author), 2024, Moral Objectivism vis à vis Moral Intuitionism. The Moral Epistemology of how to know the Good in Plato’s Republic, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1514638
