Question

Plato believed that if you genuinely know what is good, then you will do it; that is, all morally bad acts are the product of ignorance of moral truth. Some think that Plato’s claim is too strong, but still hold that if you know what is good, then that must involve at least some motive for doing what is good or pursuing the good; that is, they would say that you cannot consistently believe that it is good to help your friends when they are in distress and yet have no inclination whatsoever to aid your distressed friends. Does knowing what you ought to do, knowing what is right and good, necessarily supply some motivation for action? Can I genuinely believe that honesty is good and yet have no inclination toward honesty?

Answer 1

Most of the time, we do what we have to do and few times we do what we like to do due to various things that take control of our lives such as, parents, family, education, culture, religion etc. This would mean that at times, we overcome what we ought to do and do what we like to do for the mere pleasure and satisfaction such action would fetch but only when no one is around. However, when people know what they have to do just as the laws and norms that determine what’s right and wrong actions, people would do it for the sake of following the laws and norms but they may or may not like doing them. It’s obvious that we may know what’s good and what’s not yet choose to act on our impulses and personal choices which may or may not reflect honesty or good actions as prescribed by the society or the government. Thus, people look for opportunities to be on their own or do whatever they like to do at some point in life which may make them dishonest but would make them happy and content.

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