Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sophrosyne and Lincoln's Pig
Lincoln said that he helped the pig stuck in the mud for his own benefit- not the pig's. But what if Lincoln hadn't done it for his own sake? Imagine if Lincoln saw the pig stuck in the mud and went, "Ugh. I really don't want to go help that pig and ruin my clothes. I don't even care about the pig, but I think it's the right thing to do so I will force myself to help it." This would be an example of the interpretation of sophrosyne that means self-restraint and chastity. Lincoln would be forcing himself to do the right thing, and restraining from the temptation of ignoring the pig. But Lincoln claimed that he did it because he wanted to. So we can assume his thought process went more along the lines of "I should go help that pig because it's the right thing to do and I want to act morally. This is more important than ruining my clothes." This exemplifies the true meaning of sophrosyne. I know that I am taking the story very literally here, and probably more seriously than it was ever intended to be, but I'm just doing that for the sake of understanding Lincoln's behavior in relation to the idea of sophrosyne.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I enjoyed your blog but I feel that something needs to be addressed. Lincoln may have been acting with regard to the pigs best interest which would make him a moral person, however, I don't feel that that would consider him to be acting out of good will. I feel that he is technically acting out of obligation to his own sanity by saving the pig. Knowing how he is as a person, he would not be okay with himself if he just left the pig there. So because he is obligated to make sure he can sleep that night coming up, he acts on the pig. I feel that when someone is acting out of obligation to do something not just because they actually want to do it, then they are not acting out of good will. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought (and a challenge to Kant): what if Lincoln's alleged decision to help the pig (out of concern for his own conscience) was in fact an act of a pure good will, precisely because of the content of that conscience? Doesn't it effectively treat BOTH Lincoln and the pig as moral ends?
ReplyDelete