Aristotle Character Analysis

In John Shanely’s Doubt there are two sides the reader can take at the end of the play. The side of Sister Aloysius, claiming the Father Flynn was guilty, or the side of Father Flynn, claiming that he is innocent. For the majority of the play I leaned more towards the side of Father Flynn, however evidence that is brought up at the end of the play caused me to doubt Father Flynn’s innocence.

In Aristotle’s Book II of Nicomachean Ethics, he states that virtue of character is how someone gets to the ultimate end, which is happiness. Aristotle states that, without a goal or ultimate end (happiness), life does not have a purpose. Therefore every action in a person’s life has to be made with true virtue of character in mind in order to achieve the final end. Aristotle states that virtue arises in us neither by nature nor against nature but since we are humans, by nature, we are able to acquire virtue and perform it later (Book II, p. 18). With that being said, how people behave in their lives and how they interact with people, and how they repeat similar activities determines their virtue of character. Which leads into Aristotle stating that, this is why we as people should perform the right activities, since differences in these activities imply differences within the states which is why it is important to acquire virtuous habits at a young age (Book II, p.19). From this you can determine that people must act accordingly or with the correct behavior and with habit if they want to acquire certain states of virtue. Aristotle gives the example of excessive exercise and being deficient in exercise can ruin the strength of a persons body, just as eating too much or too little can ruin the health of a persons body, but when you do these things in the correct amount it helps the body (Book II, p. 20). This example shows that the goodness of an action can naturally be

Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’

Will-power and determination plays a major role when it comes to people accomplishing goals and performing the tasks they are given. When a person possesses these two qualities they are motivated, focused, will not give up easily, determined along with many other things. The word determination is defined as, “the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.” Will-power is, “the strength or will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.” In the short story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix carried out the meaning of these two words throughout the whole story. She had experienced many road blocks during her journey, but she did not let them stop her from reaching

     With the possible exception of Plato, Aristotle is the most influential philosopher in the history of logical thought. Logic into this century was basically Aristotelian logic. Aristotle dominated the study of the natural sciences until modern times. Aristotle, in some aspect, was the founder of biology; Charles Darwin considered him as the most important contributor to the subject. Aristotle’s Poetic, the first work of literary notice, had a string influence on the theory and practice of modern drama. Aristotle’s great influence is due to the fact that he seemed to offer a system, which although lacked in certain respects, was as a whole matchless in its extent.

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, at an absolute basic sense, aims at the title of this course: the good life. In an age where philosophy and ethics were not largely developed, Aristotle aims to provide a universal standard for human flourishing and happiness, or the good life. His main argument is that all of our actions and goals are aiming towards human flourishment, but that each action falls into a range of virtues, where excess is one extreme and deficiency is the other extreme. The virtue that we all strive for, he states, is in the middle of these. For example, temperance is a universal human virtue, with pleasures and pains as the excess and deficiency. He states that virtues can be developed and learned over time and through practice,

Wealth causes people to ask the question “How much is too much?” Aristotle believed a person could have too much wealth. He believes it is more important to buy leisure time than inanimate objects. Too much wealth leads a person away from happiness according to Aristotle. Honor is something some people have great amounts of, while others have very little. It is good to be honored and respected in life. Some people, such as political leaders and even actors and actresses are honored more than others. Being overly honored can also cause people to be unhappy since most honored people have people who despise and resent them. Aristotle came to the conclusion that it is far better to be honorable than honored. This brings up the final quality of happiness, EXCELLENCE. This quality is key for human’s pursuit of happiness. Aristotle believes in personal happiness and when defining virtue itself, he used the word “excellence.”

Hartman, E. (2006). Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(2006), 68-81.

In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the characters Sylvia, Sugar, and Mercedes are different in their personalities, behavior, and the way they decide to handle the lesson taught by Mrs. Moore, but alike by all living in poverty and having a positive elder as Mrs. Moore, to teach them the lesson.

Aristotle is a dichotomist, which means that he believes that human beings consist of two major elements, the body and the soul. The body is the physical matter that one can see, where the soul is the feelings and desires one has; the things you cannot touch. Aristotle believes that we have three major elements of the soul which are pleasures, desires, and feelings. These elements are where we find our virtues. In book one of The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses that virtue is the highest human good. This being said, there are two qualifications that the highest good must have, “The good must be something final and self-sufficient,” (Aristotle, 10). By final Aristotle means that which is in desirable in itself, and not sought for the sake of something else. By self-sufficient Aristotle means something that does not depend on other’s bestowing it. Aristotle gives us the sense that he believes that politics is about the human good and one cannot begin to practice politics or political science well; unless one has the idea of what the good actually is. In book one; with many arguments to support his theory, he tells the reader that the good is intellectual and moral virtue. One of his arguments is he believes that you need a moderate amount of both health and wealth to be able to fully develop the virtue. He sees these two aspects as a form of equipment because if one is constantly ill or does not have a sufficient amount of money there will be many obstacles in reaching

Alexander is a man of conviction. When he sets himself to a task he will not stop until such time as the task is completed to his satisfaction. He has proven time and time again that he is willing to do what must be done to complete his goal. Following his Appointment to Captain of the 3rd Division set about reworking the information system of the Shinigami. He Made it faster and more practical to fit a modern day setting. Believing that Information was the domain of the future, he would push his division into that future with an iron fist if need be.

Aristotle believes that there are two kinds of virtue, one being intellectual and the other being moral virtue. He states that Intellectual virtue comes from being taught meaning we’re not born with it. Moral virtue on the other hand we develop as we grow and gain an understanding of life. “The stone which by nature moves downwards cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times” (N.E. II.1) Right there he is talking about how if you are designed to do one thing, it is impossible to do the opposite no matter how hard you force it. He talks about how we gain our virtues by practicing them and using them on a regular basis. That is how we learn

To Aristotle, ethics is not an exact science, it’s ruled by broad generalizations that work most of the time and are found with those of experience, the men of practical wisdom (Nicomachean Ethics, 1094b15-1095a10). We don’t need a focused study in the sciences to understand the good, all one needs is a proper understanding of how the external aspects of life: friendship, pleasure, honor, and wealth operate in concert. No aspects of friendship, pleasure, honor, and wealth ought to be practiced too much (excess) or too little (deficient); moral virtue is action performed between two extremes (Nic. Ethics, 1106b5-25). And it is by consultation that one may find the middle ground between excess and deficiency, The Golden Mean (Nic. Ethics, 1097b5-20; Nic. Ethics, 1104a10-25).

First, Aristotle believes that humans should only focus on one goal and is to live a happy life by being virtuous. Therefore, we must acquire the highest good by choosing good acts over bad acts. The Highest good of human action is based on the activity of the soul by using virtue. Therefore, Aristotle believes that we need to focus on virtue because he is concerned with a persons’ character. For example, by not being virtuous can affect a person character because they are not showing moral standards. For example, temperance can effect on how we react to a situation .Also, temperance can affect us neatly because we are responding to the