Ethics

The Socratic school specifically his principles on virtue are a manifest representation of the dilemma I face. The virtue school believes in the intrinsic goodness in humankind. As it is, the experiences we face in our everyday lives define our knowledge of what is evil. My experiences in the military have influenced how I perceive what is right from what is wrong. Though war has undoubtedly made a mark in my being there are things that for a fact, are unquestionably righteous. In spite of the violence and atrocities I have witnessed in the battlefield or the problems we face in our society today, there are certain truths universal to humankind. These virtues are not taught nor are they passed on or acquired, I believe as Socrates does that they are central to being human. They may be enriched through dialogue or study but these morals are within us (Morley, 1889).

Virtue often equates to knowledge, and such is perceived as the road to enlightenment. In battlefield situations, sometimes, what pervades is our instinct, raw and arousing. Yet, there is a voice within us instructing us to be human, in the sense that we are withheld from our tendency to total carnage. I see the humanity in war that in my mission there were things that needed to be done in order to attain a greater good. This greater good is a manifestation of our unending desire to attain the virtues, intellectual and philosophical (Dickinson, 1898).

Just like the cities of old, our society is faced with similar problems in the military as we question the justness of killing a person for just means. But upon examination it is not only Socrates who addresses these moral dilemmas even Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle tackles the issue in part. War is often a central theme in the lives of the Greeks for they lived in independent city-states often at war with each other (Zimmern, 1922).

Such virtues are indispensable in our existence but when we are faced with taking the life of another, is it justified Yes, if it was truly necessary and given that it is a just war. The war that we engaged in is after all for the achievement of a greater good (Morley, 1889). The Socratic virtues are without question a humanistic perspective, which applies not only in my life as a soldier but to all of us who try to live each day of our lives the best way we can.