Virtue Ethics, Politics, and the Function of Laws
The Parent Analogy in Plato's Menexenus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9689961 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sandrine Berge (0000-0001-6904-3998, Bilkent University, corresponding author), Sandrine Berges |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 211-230 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Dialogue (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0012-2173 • E-ISSN: 1759-0949 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0012217300001724 |
| OpenAlex | W2131378983 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
Can virtue ethics say anything worthwhile about laws? What would a virtue-ethical account of good laws look like? I argue that a plausible answer to that question can be found in Plato's parent analogies in the Crito and the Menexenus. I go on to show that the Menexenus gives us a philosophical argument to the effect that laws are just only if they enable citizens to flourish. I then argue that the resulting virtue-ethical account of just laws is not viciously paternalistic. Finally, I refute the objection that the virtue-ethical account I am proposing is not distinct from a consequentialist account
Analogy · Argument (complex analysis) · Epistemic virtue · Epistemology · Function (biology) · Paternalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Virtue · Virtue ethics · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Ethics in medical practice · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |