Oedipus Rex: In the Light of Kant's and Plato's Ideas of 'Good'

Aleena Hussain

Abstract

The debate regarding human morality and human conscience is a crucial part of history in the present and the future of humanity. This debate on what's in actuality is 'good' and right, and what is 'bad' or the evil is an integral part of philosophy, Be specific on the philosophy literature and basic ethical considerations. This research defines and differentiates between good actions and moralistic thoughts. For this purpose, Plato and Immanuel Kant were selected for the moralistic comparison. The philosophy of Kant regarding good and virtuous actions performed through free will and the shift from transcendental aesthetics towards transcendental logic is observed and compared with the theories presented by Plato. Plato details the movement of human morals and intellectuality from sheer ignorance towards knowledge or the intellectual realm with the analogy of the Cave and the Simile of the Divided Line. This moralistic comparison is drawn through the moral analysis on the text of Oedipus the King by Sophocles. This research concludes that although the two philosophies diverge and differ in their perspectives of the good but strive for man to achieve and attain the 'good' and wisdom. However, this research is limited in the sense that not all the angles of these philosophers' theories were analyzed and some parts of the text under consideration was left untouched. This research is open for further study.