The Unaborted Socrates: A Modern Day Discussion with Socrates

Essay by SimonAdebisiCollege, UndergraduateA+, March 2005

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We first begin in a present day abortion clinic of Athens, Greece. Socrates, unaware of his new surroundings, begins to question Dr. Herrod. However, the doctor is very skeptical and he himself quickly doubts that it is the real Socrates that he's speaking to. But, this is beside the point, as Dr. Herrod asks Socrates if he's in the right place, Socrates makes note that this is indeed an abortion clinic, and that he himself is an abortionist of thoughts. This is the starting point to a back-and-forth discussion, where Socrates asks the doctor to indulge him with conversation. The doctor is hesitant and is quite defensive when Socrates simply asks him what he does at the clinic. This is because, as Dr. Herrod put it, his work is very controversial. Socrates takes note of that, saying that, while some would feel his work is a good thing, others think it is evil.

To this statement, Herrod retorts by saying that his work is neutral, that abortions are strictly a medical issue, not to be judged morally. However, Socrates gets the doctor to say that it is a moral issue. He does this by having Herrod acknowledge the fact that he is paid for his services, and people only pay for services that are helpful, and being helpful is a good thing. Therefore, they can then judge his actions as good or bad, in moral terms, because it is indeed applicable. From here, Socrates asks the doctor whether or not he feels his work is good or bad, and he says that he believes it to be good. Then, upon reaching this argument, Socrates questions why it's good, to which Herrod replies to by saying that the burden of proof is on his opponents, pointing to the "liberal...