Aristotelian Vs. Aristotelian Ethics Essay - 1876 Words

In this paper, I will refute the claims made by Aristotelian and other virtue ethics systems in their suggestion that ‘it is good for you to be virtuous’ and the Aristotelian claim that being virtuous is how you can live good life. I will do this by showing that in attempting to be virtuous you are subjecting yourself to unreasonable and unachievable levels of personal expectation. I will then suggest that this becomes even more counter-intuitive when you become aware that you cannot even guarantee you would achieve the good life should you manage to meet the expectations you are placing on yourself. I will argue instead that you are better off trying to focus on something else within reach and within which you have a better chance of living your own good life and achieving your goals of being a good person – the helping of others. In his Nicomachean ethics Aristotle suggests that virtue is a purposive disposition, lying in a mean that is relative to us †¦ and by that which a prudent man would use to determine it (Aristotle. et al., 2004: Book II). This in itself brings the concept of Aristotelian virtue to its most concerning trait; if doing what is virtuous is to do as a virtuous person would then we are given little direction as to what to do, especially on a circumstantial basis, beyond a difficult to define idea of ‘what a virtuous person would do’. This becomes a problem when we are faced with difficult real world scenarios and turn to ideas of virtue andShow MoreRelated The Study of Rhetoric Essay1038 Words   |  5 Pagesthe time comes to apply this stuff we have learned. Carolyn Rudes approach to education is one that I see Pirsig and Johnson both approving of, but there are differences in strategies towards the education as well as the demonstration of the know vs. know-how of the technical communications education. I will attempt to tackle this paradigm in two parts: Pirsigs point of view and Johnsons. Part I: Quality is a characteristic of thought and statement that is recognized by a nonthinking processRead MoreVirtue Ethics Vs. Sentimentalist Virtue1858 Words   |  8 PagesVirtue Ethics vs. Sentimentalist Virtue Ethics Virtue Ethics is defined as â€Å"any character-based approach to normative ethics that emphasizes some conception virtues and vices; often including a universal conception of human flourishing† (Blakley, Christopher). Aristotle and David Hume developed accounts of ethics that remained true to their own empirical philosophies; both of which stray away from the more traditional accounts. Their opposing theories contain the overall theme of how a virtuousRead MoreAnalysis Of Spinoza And Nietzsche s Spinoza 1699 Words   |  7 Pagesour power, ethics is a problem of power, never a problem of duty. In this sense Spinoza is profoundly immoral. Regarding the moral problem, good and evil†¦he doesn t even comprehend what this means. What he comprehends are good encounters, bad encounters, increases and diminutions of power. Thus he makes an ethics and not at all a morality. This is why he so struck Nietzsche. Historically, the distinction between ethics and morality was set up to distinguish between an Aristotelian/Stoic emphasisRead MoreDeontological Moral Systems : Ethics1532 Words   |  7 Pageslike no other notion. Its applications range from elemental theory and chemistry, to psychology, biology, astronomy, ethics and politics. Surveying the uses of teleology throughout his philosophy can thus serve as a good introduction to Aristotle s overall philosophy. Monte Ransome Johnson s study provides such a survey, and in the process gives us an in-depth analysis of Aristotelian teleology, its nature and its limitations. The various teleological moral systems differ not only on exactly whatRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 Pages Indeed, in the light of what Aristotle says, we might offer ‘worthwhile life’ as the most appropriate translation of his word ‘eudaimonia’. But we will continue to use the traditional translation ‘happines s’, where necessary qualifying it as ‘Aristotelian happiness’. Aristotle was well aware that human beings may have the most varied and bizarre notions of what makes them happy. But whatever they present as their ultimate ambition, it must, he thinks, as a matter of logic, pass certain tests ifRead More Aristotelian Ethics and its Context Essay6933 Words   |  28 PagesEthics as Politics: On Aristotelian Ethics and its Context ABSTRACT: This paper argues that the assertion of Nicomachean Ethics I.ii that the art that treats of ethics is politics is to be understood properly not in the sense of politics qua nomothetike but just as politike, i.e., direct, participatory politics as was enjoyed in the Athenian polis and as the formed background to Aristotle’s philosophizing on the nature of ethics. The ethical import of politics can be retrieved from Aristotle’sRead MoreBusiness Ethics: Miriam vs. Jenny Case Study2804 Words   |  11 Pagesthere are problems around us, many of these rules conflict, and so moral thinking often requires analysis of the underlying assumptions that determine when various rules apply or not. Hence metaethics provides guidance after normative and applied ethics fall short or contradict each other, as they do here for Miriam. Stakeholders have shared and conflicting perspectives The list of potential stakeholders extends beyond the space for this discussion if the results of this decision are traced beyondRead MoreCategorical Imperative2266 Words   |  10 Pagesassert that whatever leads to greater  eudaimonia, or happiness, is what is moral. Kant, however, believes that any action taken for a deliberate end, whether it be happiness or some other goal, is morally neutral. Kant rests his rejection of the Aristotelian position on a number of points. He points out that all the imperatives are hypthetical, they are performed merely to attain a certain end. More importantly to Kant, this end is one dictated by desires, implying that the human will is no more thanRead MoreEvolution, Structure, And Ultimate Fate Of Neil Degrasse Tyson2479 Words   |  10 Pagesencompassed the earth and extended to the moon. All matter in the terrestrial region was comprised of the four elements—water, earth, wind, and fire. Aristotle also expected all celestial bodies to be moving in circles and do not exhibit violent motion (Aristotelian Physics, Impetus Theory, and the Mean Speed Theorem, 2001). Aristotle was the first to distinguish between two different kinds of motion. He divided motion into categories, which consisted of natural motion and violent motion. Natural motion inRead MorePlato And Aristotle s Political Situation2648 Words   |  11 Pagesmother had familial connections to Solon, an influential, Greek statesman. As he was a member of the Ancient Greek upper-middle class, Plato was taught by educated tutors, and so was enabled to explore a wide range of topics which focused mainly on ethics. (Allen and Wilbur 1986: 99-101) Later in life, he became a student and, eventually, good friend of Socrates, but his studies with Socrates were interrupted by the Peloponnesian War where Athens fought against Sparta. Plato himself fought as a soldier