QuestionDecember 13, 2025

How should we understand Socrates' claim that "no man knowingly does evil"? People are frequently not fully conscious of what they're doing, performing an action without fully willing it As with an "akratic'person, someone may choose to do something she knows is evil because she doesn't have the strength to do the right thing. Those with virtue naturally act in accordance with it. Only those who do not have knowledge of it may do evil things.

How should we understand Socrates' claim that "no man knowingly does evil"? People are frequently not fully conscious of what they're doing, performing an action without fully willing it As with an "akratic'person, someone may choose to do something she knows is evil because she doesn't have the strength to do the right thing. Those with virtue naturally act in accordance with it. Only those who do not have knowledge of it may do evil things.
How should we understand Socrates' claim that "no man knowingly does evil"?
People are frequently not fully conscious of what they're doing, performing an action without fully willing it
As with an "akratic'person, someone may choose to do something she knows is evil because she doesn't have the strength to do the right thing.
Those with virtue naturally act in accordance with it. Only those who do not have knowledge of it may do evil things.

Solution
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Answer

Those with virtue naturally act in accordance with it. Only those who do not have knowledge of it may do evil things. Explanation Socrates believed that wrongdoing results from ignorance rather than weakness of will. According to him, if someone truly knows what is good and right, they will act accordingly, since knowledge and virtue are inseparable. Evil acts occur only when a person lacks true knowledge of the good.

Explanation

Socrates believed that wrongdoing results from ignorance rather than weakness of will. According to him, if someone truly knows what is good and right, they will act accordingly, since knowledge and virtue are inseparable. Evil acts occur only when a person lacks true knowledge of the good.
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