Being A Good Person

988 Words2 Pages

What it means to be a good person has always been a matter of philosophical debate. Notably, many ancient philosophers of the Greek and Roman era such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, etc., discussed what it meant to be a good person, and how to attain said goodness. In general, it was agreed that being a good person meant being a moral person, or, in other words, a person of virtue. However, this raises another question altogether when it comes to the field of political science: Is a good and virtuous person synonymous with a good citizen. In this query, it would appear that there is plenty of room for vigorous debate. To define a good person according to guidelines of ancient philosophy we must first look at the various virtues that are …show more content…

In essence, it would seem that a good citizen prescribes and upholds the constitution of the regime under which he or she serves. However, this can mean very different things depending on the virtuousness of the regime. It becomes increasingly difficult to say that a good citizen must be a good person, or vice-versa. While this can exist, it can only occur in an instance where a person is living to his or her highest virtue under the best (most virtuous regime). In any other case, the it would appear that a rather stark dichotomy can exist between being a good and moral individual and a good citizen. To put this argument into a more modern context, we can look at Nazi Germany during the period of World War Two. A good citizen prescribes to the laws and constitution of the regime under which they preside. Thus, a good citizen of Nazi Germany would participate in the oppression and subjugation of Jews and other minorities. This stands in stark contrast to the cardinal platonic virtues of being a good individual. Conversely, an individual who living under the regime of Nazi Germany might stand out against the atrocities committed by the government, and live in a morally righteous manner. However, this would entail them being a poor

Open Document