The Ethical Inner Voices Of Socrates And Arjuna
Kelli Smith
Professor Erickson
PHI2010 – 415049
November 20, 2014
The Conscience: The Ethical Inner Voices of Socrates and Arjuna Each of us has an inner voice with which we make ethical decisions. Our moral values are both learned and instinctive. The word conscience is defined as “the part of the mind that makes you aware of your actions as being either morally right or wrong; a feeling that something you have done is morally wrong” (merriam-webster.com). Our conscience allows us to act, or not act, a certain way. The correlation between Socrates’ daimonion and Krishna’s advice to Arjuna is the concept of the human conscience. In The Apology, Socrates said to his fellow Athenians, “You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice that comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything” (Kessler). Socrates is speaking of his daimonion, or his …show more content…
The war required Arjuna to fight against his family, friends, teachers and elders. Arjuna said, “My limbs sink, my mouth is parched, my body trembles, the hair bristles on my flesh. The magic bow slips from my hand, my skin burns, I cannot stand still, my mind reels. I see omens of chaos, Krishna; I see no good in killing my kinsman in battle” (Kessler). The law of karma states that positive acts reap positive results and negative acts reap negative results: “what you sow, so shall you reap” (Kessler). Samsara is a cycle of rebirth, death and suffering. While Arjuna knew that it was his duty to fight, in the war he feared that the act of killing his kinsman would adversely affect his karma and he would not be able to escape the cycle of samsara. Krishna tells Arjuna that as a warrior, it was his duty to fight. Arjuna was torn between his values and his duty to fight in the
Professor Erickson
PHI2010 – 415049
November 20, 2014
The Conscience: The Ethical Inner Voices of Socrates and Arjuna Each of us has an inner voice with which we make ethical decisions. Our moral values are both learned and instinctive. The word conscience is defined as “the part of the mind that makes you aware of your actions as being either morally right or wrong; a feeling that something you have done is morally wrong” (merriam-webster.com). Our conscience allows us to act, or not act, a certain way. The correlation between Socrates’ daimonion and Krishna’s advice to Arjuna is the concept of the human conscience. In The Apology, Socrates said to his fellow Athenians, “You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice that comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything” (Kessler). Socrates is speaking of his daimonion, or his …show more content…
The war required Arjuna to fight against his family, friends, teachers and elders. Arjuna said, “My limbs sink, my mouth is parched, my body trembles, the hair bristles on my flesh. The magic bow slips from my hand, my skin burns, I cannot stand still, my mind reels. I see omens of chaos, Krishna; I see no good in killing my kinsman in battle” (Kessler). The law of karma states that positive acts reap positive results and negative acts reap negative results: “what you sow, so shall you reap” (Kessler). Samsara is a cycle of rebirth, death and suffering. While Arjuna knew that it was his duty to fight, in the war he feared that the act of killing his kinsman would adversely affect his karma and he would not be able to escape the cycle of samsara. Krishna tells Arjuna that as a warrior, it was his duty to fight. Arjuna was torn between his values and his duty to fight in the