Aristotle was a man among boys in terms of his philosophical genius and ideas. In the history of human kind Aristotle ranks well up on the list of greatest thinkers. Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre that echo by even today's standards. He was a student of Plato, another genius thinker of the philosophical world, who in turn studied under Socrates. All three men are pillars of philosophy.
When talking about the differences between the function of doctoring or acting as a person, Aristotle felt that we must fulfill our function as a human being to achieve the “good” at which
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You think about it, some people actually do care but for the most part we see ourselves go through the day thinking of how to make our own lives better. Have you ever thought how great watching the Pats game would be from a new 60 inch plasma TV? That’s selfish. What Aristotle speaks of is the difference between being morally good and morally going through the motions. Based on the absurd amount of material items we can posses today to make our lives better it is even harder to follow Aristotle’s idea of functioning as a good person. That does not mean it cannot exist in today’s culture. It just means it’s very very difficult to …show more content…
Aristotle insists that ethics is not a common personal discipline: we are questioning what the good for human beings would be not just simply because we want to have the knowledge, but because we will be better able to achieve our good if we gain a better understanding of what it is to grow. When we ask what is “good” Aristotle assumes that a list of what can be interpreted as “good” can be made easily; almost everybody would think that it is good to have friends, to experience pleasure, to be healthy, to be honored, and to have such valuable traits such as courage. The more difficult question Aristotle brings up is when we ask weather these goods are more wanted than others. Aristotle's quest for good is a search for the highest good. Aristotle believes that this “good” has three most identifiable traits, they are: is it desirable for itself? It is not desirable for the sake of some other good. Lastly, all other goods are desirable for its sake. There is always a selfish gain
Aristotle accepts that there is an agreement that this chief good is happiness, but that there is a disagreement with the definition of happiness. Due to this argument, men divide the good into the three prominent types of life: pleasure, political and contemplative. Most men are transfixed by pleasure; a life suitable for “beasts”. The elitist life (politics) distinguishes happiness as honour, yet this is absurd given that honour is awarded from the outside, and one’s happiness comes from one’s self. The attractive life of money-making is quickly ruled out by Aristotle since wealth is not the good man seeks, since it is only useful for the happiness of something else.
Aristotle 's great-souled man is not only an inaccurate depiction of greatness of soul, honour, perfect virtue and human excellence, but also a hypocritical, short-tempered and insensitive human being. Aristotle describes the great-souled man as being the ultimate person but as Fetter points out in Aristotle’s Great-Souled Man: The Limited Perfection of the Ethical Virtues, we see that there are many flaws in his account. This article looks at the contradictory statements being made about Aristotle’s great-souled man by loyal readers of his works, other philosophers and metaphysicians before Aristotle’s time who seem to have a sense for the worth of honour. We see that nearly all of Aristotle’s statements regarding the great-souled man can
According to Kim’s introduction, Aristotle considered ethics to be the “art of living well.” His writings reflected a perpetual quest to gain a better understanding of human character and how it is intertwined with virtues that are the impetus for human happiness. Aristotle has been deemed the writer of the first “systematic treatise” on ethics. He was essentially the first person to approach ethics from a more organized and deeper perspective. The book is divided into to sub-topics, and each human characteristic is examined and dissected without the constraints of a rigorous rule book. His teleological view of human life originates from his Greek background. He strongly supported the theory that there is an end or fulfillment that should be pursued by each individual. His theories are not as prominent in today’s world, but they are still considered the capstone for the discipline of philosophy.
Aristotle tries to draw a general understanding of the human good, exploring the causes of human actions, trying to identify the most common ultimate purpose of human actions. Indeed, Aristotelian’s ethics, also investigates through the psychological and the spiritual realms of human beings.
In Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, he writes on the principle of the good. Every action or choice that a person makes is aimed at some good, and
Aristotle develops his virtue ethics by first considering ends and goods. He claims that “every action and decision, seems to seek some good” (Shafer-Landau 2013, 615). Aristotle states that we pursue certain things because of the benefits it brings itself and other consequences it may bring. Aristotle suggests that this is the same for goodness. We must pursue what is good for good itself and for any other benefits it may bring. Furthermore, Aristotle suggests that through pursuing the good, we are able to determine the best way of life (Shafer-Landau 2013, 615).
Before beginning to understand how Aristotle is applicable, his viewpoint must be examined, such as his version of voluntary action. As he says in Book III of Nichomachean Ethics “…the terms ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ are used with reference to the moment of action…because the initiative in moving the parts of the body which act as instruments rests with the agent himself” (p.53). So, a voluntary action is one about which we have power. Such as, what to eat in the morning, brushing teeth or even life altering decisions about jobs and marriage. Most of our everyday actions are voluntary, since we do not often act outside our realm of power.
In Book II, Aristotle makes a distinction between two types of virtues; those which are considered ethical and those which are considered intellectual. Ethical virtues deal with actions of courage, generosity, and moderation. Intellectual virtues deal with wisdom and contemplation. Ethical virtues are created through habitual actions. Aristotle says that humans are not born with a natural capacity for virtue. He believes that education and cultivation as youth by one’s parents are pivotal in setting up humans’ ability in making virtuous acts habitual. He feels that humans have to perform virtuous actions as much as possible and through this humans can make a step in becoming virtuous. Aristotle also states that ethical virtues have to be attended by pleasure. He believes that humans cannot be pained when committing a virtuous action. If a human is pained by an action then it is not considered virtuous.
Aristotle begins his ethical account by saying that “every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and every choice, is thought to aim for some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim” (line 1094a1). Though some things might produce higher good than others, Aristotle looks for the highest good, which he says we must “desire for its own sake” and our actions are not decided on some other goal beyond this good itself (line 1094a20-25).[1] This highest good is then realized to be happiness (line 1095a16-20).
To achieve this topic, I have sectioned my paper into three main sections, in which I have subsections supporting. In the first section, I will provide much information about Aristotle and his beliefs in virtue and obtaining happiness. Using information from his book of ethics I will provide examples and quote on quote statements to support his views. In the second section, I will provide my agreements as to why I relate and very fond of Aristotle’s book of Nicomachean Ethics. In the third section, I will provide research as to why there are such objections to Aristotle’s book of ethics, and counter act as to why I disagree with them. Lastly I will conclude much of my and as well as Aristotle’s views on ethics and why I so strongly agree with this route of ethics for humans.
For Aristotle the Chief Good of any being is in the exercise of their purpose. For Aristotle, it seems that life cannot be the work of man, as any number of plants possess simple life; nor can sensation be his calling, as all manner of animal possess sensation. Rather, says Aristotle, we must look to reason as the foundation of Man's work, as Man possesses reason where others do not. And, he continues, as work may be of a good or bad nature, it can be assumed that, "the Good of Man comes to be 'a working of the Soul (reason) in the way...
Interest is sparked in this area that Aristotle writes of because there is a natural need for Ethics in human life. John K. Roth states, “Aristotle assumes that all things, human beings included, have a good, a purpose or end, which it is their nature to fulfill”. This helps one understand Aristotle’s way of thinking, and provides insight to the basis of his theories. A common theory explored by Aristotle is the Ethics of Virtues, and how to practice them. A theory included in Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics is the unity of all the virtues, and in order to be virtuous, one must exhibit all the virtues. One of these virtues being practical wisdom, or Phronesis.
Aristotle’s thoughts on ethics conclude that all humans must have a purpose in life in order to be happy. I believe that some of the basics of his ideas still hold true today. This essay points out some of those ideas.
To Aristotle leading a good life, for the most part, means fulfilling one’s purpose in a way that is good by balancing life’s pleasures. In order to determine if an object fulfills its function in a good way, we must first consider the object. If we were to agree that a car should be reliable, then we could also agree that reliable car should be considered a good car. Similarly, animals, for example, possess certain traits like the power of locomotion, and the desire to seek nourishment and reproduce. According to Aristotle, an animal that is a fast runner, or a very successful hunter would be considered a good animal. Following this reasoning, Aristotle believed that in order for a human to be good, he or she must also fulfill their purpose. Yet, as an advanced species, we must go beyond fulfilling these animalistic functions like eating right and reproducing well. In order for a human to live the good life, he or she must first be good at using powers of intellect and reason, which Aristotle believed were unique to only humans and, as a result, constitute our purpose (McManaman). It seems that in addition to being a good human, Aristotle also recognized pleasure must play a role in the good life. Still, he recognized the importance of balance when indulging in acts of pleasure claiming that a life of only pleasure was too animalistic (Richter, 2008). In this way, Aristotle believed the key to a good life was to fulfill one’s function a good way, while balancing life’s pleasures in a way that allowed the...
Aristotle made contributions to logic, physics, biology, medicine, and agriculture. He redesigned most, if not all, areas of knowledge he studied. Later in life he became the “Father of logic” and was the first to develop a formalized way of reasoning. Aristotle was a greek philosopher who founded formal logic, pioneered zoology, founded his own school, and classified the various branches of philosophy.