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Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Socrates

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One of the major concepts behind philosophy is the idea of perpetual peace. What does it mean? How do we attain it? That is the question several philosophers across the centuries have aimed to answer. Two of the most prevalent philosophers being Socrates and Martin Luther King. Although from completely different time periods, both of these philosophers share very similar ideas that tend to go hand in hand with each other. Sadly, from reading both Socrates and Martin Luther King’s speeches as well as others over the span of history, it seems as if the concept of perpetual peace is quite glim. Even from Socrates time, leaders were still making the same mistakes they are now, and people were still prioritizing things such as status and wealth, just as they are now. It seems as though, over the course of history, as many philosophers as have come around, we never learn to change our destructive ways of living life. Priorities are …show more content…

I am not sure there is anything we can do from where we are now to change that unfortunate fact, because this way of living has been ingrained into the people from the beginning of time. We can hope for perpetual peace, but the chances are we can never make it happen. Perpetual peace is a seemingly hopeless idea that seems impossible to achieve around the basis of ethics. In Plato’s “Apology,” Socrates is defending himself in front of a Jury to decipher whether or not he will live or die due to several seemingly false accusations of not believing in the Gods at the time. Although somewhat arrogant, Socrates has virtually done nothing to disobey the law besides challenge the people to think deeply. He speaks about perpetual peace on the basis of providing truth and knowledge around him, in order to make a better society. Socrates has absolutely no speech prepared for his time in court, and speaks wholeheartedly off the basis of truth and honesty. The first quote I noticed was on page 23, and this was where socrates addressed his

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The laws are suppose to protect the society and its people, yet when the order of the government turns corrupt, then the validity of everything is at stake. As one can see, the corrupt laws placed Socrates in prison and he chose to abide by the impartial laws in order to be consistent and loyal to the

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900 Words | 4 Pages

Disobeying the law would cause anarchy and hurt Socrates's people. Hence, Socrates considers a law-abiding society crucial to its

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287 Words | 2 Pages

Several philosophers have wrestled with ideas to decide under what conditions that humans are morally permitted to disobey the law. Civil disobedience is a concept that both Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr. strongly believed in, but they did not have the same viewpoints on it. Socrates dismissed any form of civil disobedience that got a person into conflict with the State, and Martin Luther King concluded that there were times when a man needed to partake in a protest that was non violent and take disobedient acts in in order to defend his freedom. Socrates believed that if a person lives in a government where he was given the chance to argue his case, he should not practice civil disobedience. Socrates thought that if a person was given

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1957 Words | 8 Pages

What this suggests is that Socrates would be supporting the wrong-doing of his adversaries in following through with their commands. But Socrates argues that laws are just and one should never do wrong. No matter how much one thinks the act was just. He explained that he could not break the law, just because he believed the reason he was being punished was unjust. He was a man that lived his whole life following the Law of the Athenians.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr. were both great revolutionary speakers of their time. They both questioned the society around them and voiced their contradictory ideas. These historical figures were viewed as criminals in the eyes of their society. In the Crito, by Plato, Socrates is in a prison cell and awaiting his trial. Martin Luther King Jr wrote A Letter From Birmingham Jail, when he was impressed for holding a nonviolent campaign.

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1692 Words | 7 Pages

The most important decision of a leader is the style of leading they decide to use when inspiring others, or providing a vision for the future. By looking at the past, it is proven that some leadership styles are guaranteed to be more effective than others. The leadership style of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights provides significant evidence of how different styles of leading can turn out to be a major success or defeat. Malcolm X’s leadership style included using violence to protest against violence and unequal rights, as well as supporting the segregation of African Americans and the whites. Martin Luther King’s style included nonviolent marches and protests against violence, and peacefully fighting for integrating the blacks and whites.

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Their radical thoughts were necessary even though they were perceived to be extreme and radical figures. Though Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr. lived in different times, their theme of justice is similar. They believed that equality and inclusion had to be incorporated with justice for their society's fundamental and cohesive development. To them, obedience did not have agency and progress required ideas of principle. Socrates and King offered a plethora of principles in their defense against their accusers and the wrongs of their societies.

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1327 Words | 6 Pages

Issues with racism and equality have plagued America for centuries. 50 years ago, the tensions came to a peak, and two key figures wrote to inspire the nation to come together. These two leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, impacted the thoughts and actions of many people throughout their lives. They each wrote influential essays that persuaded the rest of the nation to fight for equality. While in a Birmingham jail cell, MLK composed a letter to eight clergymen from Alabama who did not believe it was the right time to fight for equality.

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1187 Words | 5 Pages

How can we tell the true essence of a man? Why is it that we focus on the outward image of a person so much that we blind our eyes from the true spirit of the individual within? Unintentionally, we separate people based off the judgements we preconceive and conclusively bypass the full essence of a person There once were two extremely intellectual men who enlightened the world with their own unique optimism and opinions. Niccolo Machiavelli and Martin Luther King Jr. set off sporadic flames of change within their individual eras that ignited revolution and constant metamorphosis amongst society. Although Machiavelli had a more deterred conception when it came to certain ideologies and moral principles, it as because of honesty that people began to broaden their viewpoints of life and welcome new ways of thinking,

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1125 Words | 5 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr said,“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”. In the late 1960s, racial tension was high, African Americans were not given the right to vote, the right to a fair education, and the right to a fair judgement. This then led to the separation of schools and the destruction of a normal livelihood. Dr.King and Malcolm X, two men in the face of oppression rose up to challenge the racial barrier, thus changing the world forever. Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X seem to have mutual respect and an equal understanding of the inequality, their philosophies were quite different from each other.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

This quote found on the page 25b conveys moral characteristics from Socrates. As convicted guilty that he

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1250 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout his speeches, he spoke about the importance of violence and how it was often necessary to endure such harm, once stating, “Power real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action” (www.biography.com). Although these two men differed in their thought on violence, they often agreed on how important their fights were. Without Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Civil Rights would have been nonexistent,

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1382 Words | 6 Pages

Socrates bases this view of justice on the worth of living a good life. “And is life worth living for us with that part of us corrupted by unjust actions” (47e) If we corrupt our soul with injustice, our life would not be worth living, therefore one must never commit an injustice. “When one has come to an agreement that is just with someone, one should fulfill it.”(49e) It is this agreement with the Laws that Socrates would be violating, if he were to

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457 Words | 2 Pages

“A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies” The “Acceptance Speech” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “A Just And Last Peace” by Barack Obama demonstrate how both leaders want a change. The two made some progress with their achievements and hard work. Martin Luther King and Barack Obama may have been working at different times, in different places, but their products are

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933 Words | 4 Pages

And for us, we believe that capitalism and the freedom of religion is the right way of live. So how can peace be achieved, if everyone thinks that they are doing the right thing? How can peace be achieved, if who the “bad guys” and “good guys” are remains frustratingly unclear? How can peace be achieved, if children are never taught to think about others with different ways of

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