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Single Idea 135

[filed under theme 20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 1. Intention to Act / b. Types of intention ]

Full Idea

All activity aims at the good.

Gist of Idea

All activity aims at the good

Source

Plato (Gorgias [c.387 BCE], 499e)

Book Ref

Plato: 'Gorgias', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP World's Classics 1994], p.93

A Reaction

He includes non-conscious activity, so this is the 'teleological' view of nature, which seems a bit optimistic to the modern mind.

The 26 ideas from 'Gorgias'

1654 In "Gorgias" Socrates is confident that his 'elenchus' will decide moral truth [Vlastos on Plato]
4320 The popular view is that health is first, good looks second, and honest wealth third [Plato]
114 Rhetoric can produce conviction, but not educate people about right and wrong [Plato]
4321 We should test one another, by asking and answering questions [Plato]
116 Rhetoric is irrational about its means and its ends [Plato]
118 I would rather be a victim of crime than a criminal [Plato]
119 A criminal is worse off if he avoids punishment [Plato]
120 Should we avoid evil because it will bring us bad consequences? [Plato]
122 Moral rules are made by the weak members of humanity [Plato]
123 Do most people like equality because they are second-rate? [Plato]
124 Does nature imply that it is right for better people to have greater benefits? [Plato]
125 Is a gifted philosopher unmanly if he avoids the strife of the communal world? [Plato]
128 Is it natural to simply indulge our selfish desires? [Plato]
129 Do most people praise self-discipline and justice because they are too timid to gain their own pleasure? [Plato]
130 Is the happiest state one of sensual, self-indulgent freedom? [Plato]
131 If absence of desire is happiness, then nothing is happier than a stone or a corpse [Plato]
4319 In a fool's mind desire is like a leaky jar, insatiable in its desires, and order and contentment are better [Plato]
132 If happiness is the satisfaction of desires, then a life of scratching itches should be happiness [Plato]
4322 In slaking our thirst the goodness of the action and the pleasure are clearly separate [Plato]
134 Good and bad people seem to experience equal amounts of pleasure and pain [Plato]
135 All activity aims at the good [Plato]
136 Good should be the aim of pleasant activity, not the other way round [Plato]
137 As with other things, a good state is organised and orderly [Plato]
139 A good person is bound to act well, and this brings happiness [Plato]
140 Self-indulgent desire makes friendship impossible, because it makes a person incapable of co-operation [Plato]
141 A good citizen won't be passive, but will redirect the needs of the state [Plato]