1. Ethics and Fragility

2. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Martha Nussbaum argues that to understand Platonic ethics, it is important to recognize his consideration of the relationship between tuche and techne

3. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Tuche (too-kay) means “luck” or “what happens” beyond our control

4. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Tuche (too-kay) means “luck” or “what happens” beyond our control Techne (Tek-nay) means “skilled craft that aims at the good” – it’s related (obviously) to our word “technology”

5. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Tuche (too-kay) means “luck” or “what happens” beyond our control Techne (Tek-nay) means “skilled craft that aims at the good” – it’s related (obviously) to our word “technology” Note: in Gorgias, medicine, gymnastics, legislating, and justice are technai

6. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Nussbaum argues that the Greeks were obsessed with tuche– and the way it can ruin an otherwise good life.

7. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Nussbaum argues that the Greeks were obsessed with tuche– and the way it can ruin an otherwise good life. Take a moment to reflect on an example of how tuche (luck or what happens) can disrupt life.

8. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Nussbaum argues that the Greeks were obsessed with tuche– and the way it can ruin an otherwise good life. She argues that the tragic poets and others were very aware of what she calls the fragility of goodness.

9. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Nussbaum’s claim is that Plato sought to invent/discover techne capable of overcoming tuche– in order to “protect life from luck” and arrive at “goodness without fragility”

10. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Nussbaum’s claim is that Plato sought to invent/discover techne capable of overcoming tuche– in order to “protect life from luck” and arrive at “goodness without fragility” In her judgment, Platonic ethics ultimately has to sacrifice too much of what it means to be human–

11. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
Let’s give this some thought with the Gorgias and Crito in mind.

12. Luck and Ethics in Greek Thinking
What is the proper or best way to address the fragility of goodness and the intrusion of tuche (related, in some ways, to what Caputo calls “the disaster” and “the flesh”)?

13. Another, different, critique of Plato

14. Another, different, critique of Plato
Nietzsche (nicknamed Callicles by friends) offers a sharp critique of the idea of justice as formulated by Plato/Socrates

15. Another, different, critique of Plato
In his Genealogy of Morals, he distinguishes Good vs Bad And Good vs. Evil

16. Another, different, critique of Plato
Good vs. Bad is, he claims, more original. Aristocratic warriors (like Callicles’ tyrants) gratified themselves and held that what they did and loved was good. The “bad” was an afterthought and referred simply to the low, ugly, disorganized life of the commoners or slaves.

17. Another, different, critique of Plato
Good vs. Evil is, he says, is an invention of the weak who look upon what the strong do and rejected it as Evil. Goodness means doing the opposite of what the strong love– weakness and docility becomes a virtue.

18. Another, different, critique of Plato
This is, he says, a form of “slave morality”—barred from doing anything to change their situation they simply imagine the strong as “Evil”—this is their only creative act.

19. Another, different, critique of Plato
In a final turn, a priestly class convinces them to turn direct their perception of Evil onto themselves– you, slave, suffer because you are evil and must purge yourself of sin to be free.

20. Another, different, critique of Plato
So Nietzsche finds great violence to self (and other) contained in the Socratic judgments that it is better to suffer than do wrong and the punishment can heal the soul.