We passed over Socrates' description of medicine in The Republic, but I decided to bring up a few lines that caught my attention. Socrates said, "Does it now follow that we should prescribe the kind of medicine and the kind of law we want to see practiced in our city? Those who practice these arts will minister to people who are truly well mannered in body and soul. As for the rest, those with bodily defects they will let die" (The Republic, p. 107-108).
WHOA! It looks like Socrates was a supporter of euthanasia long before it became an issue in America. This made me think of Hitler in Communist Germany. I wonder what idea of goodness caused Socrates to think this way. I don't feel very upset about the use of censorship in this "just" city, but I think that Socrates' idea of medicine is totally wrong.
I commented on Tyler Cofield's post.
I felt the exact same way when I first read this. My eyes literally just popped open because I could not believe Socrates considered killing someone who was physically defected just. I can see if someone had a disease and there was literally nothing they could do to heal them or help them live. But just killing someone because they were born a little abnormal is a little far for me. Although I understand Socrates wanting to have a society that is completely equal. There are just some things that can't be controlled or made equal no matter how hard you try.
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