Opening page…
Can you know what's right and still not do it?
Socrates held that nobody does wrong knowingly, so anyone who does must not really know. Everyone who has broken a promise to themselves has doubts.
Your answer
A little context
You know you should go to sleep. You know the message you're about to send will make things worse, and that the third slice is a mistake. You do it anyway, and you knew the whole time. Or did you?
Nearby questions
- The oracle you can't refuseAn oracle exists that always gives the wisest possible answer to any decision — which city, which job, whom to marry. It has never once been wrong. How much of your life do you hand it?
- Do you have free will?Your genes, your upbringing and the laws of nature were all in place before you chose anything. The choice still felt like yours.
- If you've done nothing wrong, should you mind being watched?The argument sounds airtight until you picture every message, search and place you've been, laid out for the people who know you.
- Predicted before you choseIf a system can predict what you will choose before you know it yourself, is the choice still yours?
- Should the law protect you from your own bad choices?Mill argued that the only reason to restrain someone against their will is to prevent harm to others. Seatbelt laws, sugar taxes and drug bans all disagree.
