Kevin J. Brown - Designed for Good: Recovering the Idea, Language, and Practice of Virtue

Whatever the cross and the gospel are about, it is not a slap on the hand for kids refusing to heed the rules of the cookie jar. It is not mere advice to get you to clean up your life and morals. It is not mere ideas to inform you about what it takes to be nice. It is restoration and re-creation, a physicians meditation; it is about human flourishing and discovering life.

Stuart McAllister

One of the most critical battles in human history took place over two thousand years ago. But you have probably never heard of it. By todays standards, it might seem rather tameor worse, boring.

Why?

Well, to begin, the battle was not physical (no spears, swords, gladiator fights, etc.); it was philosophical. Furthermore, the conflict was not historical; it was literary. The parties involved were not military representatives, and the dispute had little to do with state or culture. No kings were crowned, no enemies vanquished, no kin avenged, and no damsels saved. Because this skirmish is stripped of these seductive storytelling characteristics, we might be justified in neglecting the details.

But we would be making a mistake.

In fact, this clash of beliefs may be one of the most important confrontations ever recorded. It wasand isa battle over the nature of human purpose, significance, meaning, and fulfillment. It is about living wellwhat we tend to refer to as a good life. It speaks to flourishingbeing blessed or happy. Understood in these terms, everything is at stake, for everyone.

The confrontation is set in Platos most famous work, The Republic. The books main character is Socrates, who served as Platos teacher in real life. After initiating a discussion about the meaning of justice, Socrates is challenged by a Greek teacher named Thrasymachus, who famously describes justice as nothing other than the advantage of the stronger. According to him, being a good and decent person actually holds one back from having a better life. It is an impediment to real satisfaction and contentment. The virtue exhibited by the just, so goes the argument, is a barrier to climbing up the social ladder, accumulating wealth, and ultimately attaining happiness. To summarize, Thrasymachus believes that in order to live a happy life, assuming that happiness is attained through status or wealth, one is better off being unjust than just.

Thrasymachus is not alone. Chiming in on the argument is one of Socratess students, Glaucon. He affirms the belief that injustice is something of a necessary evil, for the life of the unjust man is, after all, far better than that of the just man, as they say. To prove it, Glaucon provides an argument in the form of a thought experiment, a familiar story called the Ring of Gyges.

Here is a modern-day version of the story. Imagine that while on a solitary hike in the woods, you stumble upon an alluring gold ring lying on the ground. As you will soon learn, this is no ordinary ring. When you turn the ring half a rotation on your finger, those around you speak and act as if you were not there. But when you turn the ring back to its normal position, they recognize your presence. To your amazement, you have stumbled upon a ring that can make you disappear and reappear at will.

What would it mean if such power were granted to you? It would mean that you could do whatever you wanted without the threat of judgment, consequence, or retaliation. You might be tempted to steal desirable goods, fulfill all manner of lusts, or perhaps enact cruel revenge against your enemies.