We commonly think that men sometimes harm themselves knowing that they are doing so, and that often they do what is morally wrong knowing that it is morally wrong when it is in their power to do otherwise. Incontinence and moral weakness are supposed to be familiar facts of experience; yet the Socrates three paradoxes seem to contraindicate these facts.
Socrates three paradoxes says
- ” If a man desire something that is evil, then he neither knows nor believes that it is evil” .
- when someone wants something bad, they must be unaware of its true nature or don’t believe it’s actually bad
- “If a man who desires something that is evil neither knows nor believes that it is evil, then he believes that it is good”
- while someone wants something bad without realizing or believing it’s bad, then they must think it’s good.
- “If a man desires something that is evil then he believes that the thing is good”
- ultimately , if someone desires something bad, it’s because they mistakenly believe it’s good.
These paradoxes highlights the idea that our desires are guided by our beliefs about what is good or bad , and that we can’t knowingly desires something we believe is harmful.