Generous Ethos
Derived From
Additions to the Derived:
Declarations
Ethos is Generous
- short:
generous - long:
This ethos defers public judgments where possible to the opposite [non-binding](non-binding.md) ethos.
Historical Examples
Jesus' Ethos
Matthew 5:
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well."
Luke 6:
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Socrates' Ethos
Plato, Apology:
28b–29b: Socrates says a good person must not calculate “living or dying,” but only whether an action is right or wrong, and compares himself to a soldier who must hold his post even at risk of death.
29c–30b: He insists he will not stop philosophizing to save his life, even if the jury offers acquittal on the condition that he cease.
31c–31d: Socrates describes the daimonion as a divine sign that has been with him since childhood and always functions as a warning—it stops him from doing something, rather than telling him what to do.
32a–32e: He points to past occasions where he risked death rather than do what he believed was unjust.
40a–40c: After the guilty verdict (and effectively facing death), Socrates says the sign did not oppose him at any point during his defense. He takes that silence as evidence that what happened is not an evil for him, and that accepting the outcome is right.
Plato, Crito:
Crito 49a–54d: Socrates reasons that committing injustice is never justified, and escaping would wrong the city’s laws, so he must accept death.