Virtue Ethics: Aristotle Vs. Al’ Ghazili
What is the purpose of life? This is a question that has been argued since the beginning of time. Countless honorable and wise men have pondered and made conclusions about what our true purpose is in life. Aristotle and al’Ghazili are two philosophers that studied this purpose of life for almost all of their human existence. Their two proposals about the purpose of life and the ethics that are required to accomplish this purpose share some common ideas, while also having serious contrasts.
According to Aristotle the ultimate goal to reach is happiness (Fitterer). All of our acts in life have some aim and that aim should be directed towards the end goal, happiness (Aristotle). How do we reach happiness? Aristotle believes that happiness is achieved through developing good virtues and character that leads to doing virtuous acts, which gives our soul pleasure (Wooden, Covey). To understand good ethics and virtues we must learn from teachers, examples, and deep thought. By using intellect, reasoning, and intent these virtuous acts become more easily voluntary (Fitterer). Once these ethics are understood we have the capacity to live a good life and do the right thing in all aspects of life (Wooden, Covey). Good ethics and virtues allow us to make decisions in life with ease (Wooden, Covey). By using these ethics we will not only know what is good but we ourselves will ultimately become good, in turn leading us to happiness. Aristotle discusses some virtues that help us on the path to the ultimate goal of happiness.
The first virtue is bravery. Bravery is not only having courage in some situations but also having fear in appropriate situations. If we practice bravery throughout our life t...
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...f our acts do not have an impact on the ultimate goal. In regard to this response, I would say that it is in our nature to do what makes us happy, whether it is true happiness through virtues or happiness from material things. Either way one is going to do whatever they can to obtain what pleasures their soul. Our acts shape and mold us whether we know it or not. Our acts and decisions shape us, which can change our goals as well. If we perform virtuous acts then our goal will be virtuous which is why all of our acts should be aimed towards that goal.
While both theories are well thought out pieces of work, Aristotle’s theory does make more sense to me, a man centralized around good virtues and happiness. Reading his work has definitely changed me and my own theories about life. My aim is steady upon a life full of good virtues and ultimately true happiness.
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.
As I read Aristotle’s book "Nicomachean ethics," I analyzed and comprehend his thoughts on all ten books. I came to realization that Aristotle thoughts throughout the book are difficult to express and clearly comprehend. But though it was difficult to breakdown, I could clearly see that it was written to determine what a human being is as a whole.
In conclusion, Aristotle’s elucidation of happiness is based on a ground of ethics because happiness to him is coveted for happiness alone. The life of fame and fortune is not the life for Aristotle. Happiness is synonymous for living well. To live well is to live with virtue. Virtue presents humans with identification for morals, and for Aristotle, we choose to have “right” morals. Aristotle defines humans by nature to be dishonored when making a wrong decision. Thus, if one choses to act upon pleasure, like John Stuart Mill states, for happiness, one may choose the wrong means of doing so. Happiness is a choice made rationally among many pickings to reach this state of mind. Happiness should not be a way to “win” in the end but a way to develop a well-behaved, principled reputation.
Happiness is perhaps the only clear ultimate end. Happiness is what we strive for by itself and not to get anything else. "So it appears that happiness is the ultimate end and completely sufficient by itself. It is the end we seek in all we do.';(Aristotle, 461) Mans' good is related to his purpose; the purpose of a man involves the actions of his soul (the soul being a part of his reasoning). By carrying out the activities of his soul and doing so with proper excellence and virtue, man is able to reach a desirable end.
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).
The main question Aristotle asks is” what are we doing here? What’s our purpose in life? What’s the main thing we should be directing all of our energy into? If you look around in society you see people pursuing things they enjoy for pleasure good will achievement wisdoms and so on. But while each thing mentioned as substance is it the ultimate thing to be achieved Aristotle says ok we enjoy money pleasure and material things but why? Because they make us happy therefore happiness must be the ultimate goal to a successful fulfilled life.
The central notion of Aristotle is eudaimonia or “happiness” which is best translated as a flourishing human life . Happiness is a complete and sufficient good , and ever human aims for this “good” . It is a good that is chosen for its own sake and is the mean to the highest good , which is happiness . There is a contemplation about what constitutes as happiness , because it is dependent on each individual . Aristotle argues that a person’s life can not be determined as happy or unhappy until after they are dead . He says this because we consider human’s life as a whole not as a brief moment in time , therefore we can not establish if a person has a happy life until we can evaluate their life as a whole .
Aristotle's thoughts on the concept of happiness are little more than a step-by-step process. One must first know the definition of the good life, and then go about fulfilling the purpose of a human in the specific methods he has prescribed. Aristotle's views have been studied for at least two thousand years, and they will continue to be considered as long as humans continue in the search for happiness.
3. The greatest good that one can receive in one’s lifetime according to Aristotle is a life that is virtuous. Aristotle states that “the happy life is one in accordance with virtue and unimpeded, and that virtue is a mean, then the middling sort of life is best-the mean that is capable of being attained by each sort of individual.” 1295a36. This is also known as the Telos, where anything that we see has a some sort of end or goal. This varies among each and every person. A blacksmiths end will be much different from a shoemakers. This shows that each person must have some sort of different end goal in life.
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.
Aristotle feels we have a rational capacity and the exercising of this capacity is the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For this reason, pleasure alone cannot establish human happiness, for pleasure is what animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is to express our desires in ways that are appropriate to our natures as rational animals. Aristotle states that the most important factor in the effort to achieve happiness is to have a good moral character, what he calls complete virtue. In order to achieve the life of complete virtue, we need to make the right choices, and this involves keeping our eye on the future, on the ultimate result we want for our lives as a whole. We will not achieve happiness simply by enjoying the pleasures of the moment. We must live righteous and include behaviors in our life that help us do what is right and avoid what is wrong. It is not enough to think about doing the right thing, or even intend to do the right thing, we have to actually do it. Happiness can occupy the place of the chief good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end, an act must be independent of any outside help in satisfying one’s needs and final, that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else and it must be
Happiness is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. Aristotle's definition of " happiness is happiness is the activity of the soul in accord with perfect virtue. To become a better person, we must practice virtuous acts regularly. After a while, these acts will become a habit and so the virtuous acts. part of our every day life and the person will be leading a virtuous life.
Everything has a purpose of a goal. For example, an acorn has a goal to become an oak tree. What then would the purpose be of a human being? Aristotle believes the ultimate goal of human life is to be happy, and that lasting happiness can be achieved through virtue. Virtue is defined as behavior showing high moral standards. This happiness looks more specifically on an individual’s behavior and character. A virtuous person shows
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics investigates what is the human good, or “the highest good and end to which all human activity is directed towards” (Aristotle x). Through an argument against Plato’s theory of Forms, specifically that there is an ideal and eternal Form of Good, Aristotle says that the highest good is happiness, or eudaimonia (10). Happiness here refers to the fulfillment, or the flourishing, of one’s life (Aristotle x). It is not a mental or emotional state, the modern views of happiness. Aristotle reasons that in order to know how to achieve this human good, we must first know what is the human function (ergon), meaning “task” or “work,” because happiness means to perform the human function well, which he claims is “a life of
Happiness can be viewed as wealth, honour, pleasure, or virtue. Aristotle believes that wealth is not happiness, because wealth is just an economic value, but can be used to gain some happiness; wealth is a means to further ends. The good life, according to Aristotle, is an end in itself. Similar to wealth, honour is not happiness because honour emphases on the individuals who honour in comparison to the honouree. Honour is external, but happiness is not. It has to do with how people perceive one another; the good life is intrinsic to the...