government and the philosophy that explained jurisprudence. With a little regional history out of the way, let’s delve deeper into the philosophy of law as interpreted

by classical Greece through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Themis is the goddess of Equity and Fairness. You see depictions of the blind-folded

goddess in our nation’s capital. Being blind -folded, the goddess is incapable of being unethical when it comes to determining equity and fairness: a quality not

inherent in mortals, it would appear; but nonetheless a good goal. And it is important to understand the principle of developing a goal that seems to be almost

unattainable. The Greeks give us a sense of what life should be like, if one wished to live the good life: a concept accredited to Socrates, as penned by his student

Plato. Virtù, a concept described differently by Machiavelli from how Socrates would describe it, expresses qualities desirable in a person, according to Professor

Peter Kreeft, on this audio CD presentation titled What Would Socrates Do? He made the point that virtù is not the same as virtue. Although virtù and virtue appear to

be similar, they are not. The ancient Greek understanding of virtù has been corrupted over the centuries, enough so to make it sharply different from virtue. And even

the concept of virtue is often a lost ideal in Western culture in the 21st century. For Socrates, the good life meant that a citizen obeyed the law, was just,

respectable, ethical, and honorable. For Machiavelli, it could describe qualities of pride, bravery, strength and ruthlessness. Initially, Western law was based on the

Greek notion of the good life, before becoming the means to legally deceive or mistreat another citizen. There still exists elements of virtù in society and therefore

in the practice of law, but it must compete with more unseemly uses of the legal system. When judges determine verdicts before the trial and when justices rule in

favor of the attorney the court likes best, rather than on the merits of the argument, doing the right thing might not be rewarded, and for very silly reasons. As

described by Plato, the good life ensured that a citizen would be free of the type of aggravation that exists when one is disobeying the law or is being unjust toward

another

citizen. Doing the right thing for the right reason was more important than winning at all costs. For Hammurabi, and for ancient Israel, during the reigns of David and

Solomon, and for the Greeks, at the height of their philosophical prowess, wisdom guided the hearts and minds of those who governed. It was the custom in the Academy

to discuss all sorts of ideas. Socrates would question his students, without necessarily giving away the right answer, if there really was one, right answer. Finding

the right answer was a journey worth the taking, if one was willing to downplay his ego so that his mind could engage freely, and explore uncharted territory. Being

predisposed to an idea without being willing to discuss it was for the unschooled and the foolish. However, once an idea had taken root, and if the idea was worthy

enough, then it was most important to protect that thought. And so day after day, philosophers guided the minds of the young: those who one day might become teachers

or might participate in ruling the people. Of the three most popular Greek philosophers, Aristotle would have a greater effect on Western law than either Socrates or

Plato. And yet in Aristotle’s work, you can see echoes of his mentors’ philosophical ideas. So perhaps the combined effect is what we sense. Regardless, there are

several philosophical constructs, devised by the Greeks that would influence American jurisprudence. The first has to do with arguing from different cosmological

perspectives, and the second construct has to do with how one argues a case.

Activity
On your tablet, notebook, laptop, or smart phones look up the word cosmology. Ask your instructor to discuss how one’s cosmological perspective could create a sharp

disagreement between persons supporting alternative views.

Hopefully, you found a suitable definition for cosmology. And I hope that you engaged your instructor in a discussion about that subject. If you were fortunate, you

found the definition. I used my smart phone to find this definition using the Merriam-Webster dictionary app.