Abstract
Abstract How can we become good? According to Plato, we, animals, have a natural desire for our own good, manifested in our seeking pleasure, and in the case of humans, doing what we think is best and inquiring into what is in fact good. This natural desire grounds ‘the Socratic paradox’ that no one does bad or wrong things willingly: our pursuit of our good is hindered by bad actions, for these make us bad, and being bad is contrary to the good we desire. This contrariety notwithstanding, the desires that lead us to do bad actions are ours, a fact reflected in the soul’s tripartition, with each part aiming at our good under some more or less adequate conception, the whole having been designed to enable us to achieve our good. This design stance informs Plato’s account of virtue education by the management of non-rational desires and bodily movements.
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