Aristotle's Virtue By Aristotle

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle said happiness is the value and reason for every good thing, so happiness is deserving of respect. For Aristotle, happiness involves flourishing or prospering by striving for a purposeful life of excellence. Happiness depends not on a feeling, rather the whole about your moral character, and the ability to exercise proper temperance and suitable ethics over a period by virtue. In Politics, Aristotle explained that humanity does not gain virtue by possession of meaningless material substance, happiness is found with the people who are most refined in their thinking and character. According to Aristotle, bravery, unselfishness, intelligence, love, friendship, lawfulness, family relationships, political participation and citizenship are indispensable character traits for one to prosper and experience happiness.

I believe virtue is anything that may be advantageous in one’s own way. It may be good, it may be bad in

In one of Plato's many dialogues, Socrates tries to answer the questions, "what is virtue?" and "can virtue be taught?" I believe virtue is "conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles" (dictionary.com) provided by God. If God is the highest esteem of a virtuous being, anything in the absence of God is vice, "immoral conduct; depraved or degrading behavior." (dictionary.com) Since scripture says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, ESV) we are all started in vice. Because of this, in order for man to have virtue in must be able to be taught. This leads to another question, who teaches virtue? It is not something you can learn in school no matter what education level you obtain. So where does it come from?

When I think of what it means to be virtuous, I am drawn to the idea of commitment to the good and an unrelenting desire for greatness. To me, the virtuous are those who strive to perfect themselves and approach every issue with the intent of doing what is best. I am led to this conception of virtue because I acknowledge that in life, perfection is unattainable. Therefore virtue is not complete goodness, but rather a genuine commitment to the pursuit of what is right.

Virtue can be defined as behavior that shows high moral standards. Virtue is a useful quality that can drastically improve the quality of living for a person. Lucius Annaeus Seneca did not agree with the idea of the liberal studies being able to give us virtue, he believed that the right way to becoming virtuous was through doing good deeds and gaining morality in order to become a better person. Once virtue is gained, it affects the person positively and they are left with many desirable characteristics such as temperance, wisdom, and loyalty.

One of the most important things that the famous philosopher, Aristotle, argued about was the topic of virtue. This was also a very important issue that his teacher, Plato, argued about on numerous occasions. But, the two of these men had very different ideas on what virtue was and how it was obtained, and Aristotle had a completely different moral philosophy.

Aristotle contemplates that happiness can only be achieved if human actions are in accordance with their ability to reason. For this he concedes that human beings who are capable of reasoning are the only ones who can be happy. Aristotle considers happiness as the highest form of good because it is decided for its own particular purpose as opposed to an obligation. It is an intrinsic good in which it is those for the soul that are the most vital. Aristotle classifies human actions to fall into this category. There has been a debate about what happiness is really comprised of, whether it be honor, wealth, knowledge, pleasure or something more meaningful in relation to one’s soul. On the other hand, he acknowledges that happiness is unattainable in living for pleasure because a life filled with pleasures could be submissive. Together with honor he argues that respect is only attainable depending on what others consider (to

In Aristotle 's idea of happiness, he believed that was the chief good in which every other good lead to the superior good. In his book, Wigs, he stated that “if, then, our activities have some end which we want for its own sake, and for the sake of which we want all the other ends --if we do not choose everything for the sake of something else (for this will involve an infinite progression, so that our aim will be pointless and inefficient) it is clear that

In brief, the aforementioned quote can be simplified to the following: the entire basis of life is dependent on something that, in itself, is completely satisfying and is pursued for its own sake. This “something,” according to Aristotle, is happiness. Human actions are what separates beings from animals; they are done on purpose, with a specific goal, and use both reason and intelligence. Since every human action aims at some good, every human action should, ideally, result in happiness, which is the highest good. Considering that happiness is in itself arbitrary and

Virtue Ethics is developed through training, by being repeatedly exposed to demonstrations of decent behavior within families and communities. According to (Halbert/Ingulli

Aristotle’s notions of virtues are the heart of the subject matter in Aretaic Ethics. The concept of Aretaic ethics comes from the Greek word “arete” which translates as human excellence or excellence of character, virtue (Virtue Ethics, 2013). Virtue ethics emphasizes being a certain person with certain quality of character. Its basic concept is that the virtue or value of the actions is not in the act itself, rather it is in the heart of the actor. Though it may seem not overly compatible with today’s notions, I believe Aristotle’s notions of virtues are an important precursor towards self fulfillment and harmonized society.

In Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the ultimate human goal or end is happiness. Aristotle describes the steps required for humans to obtain happiness. Aristotle states that activity is an important requirement of happiness. He states that a happy person cannot be inactive. He then goes on to say that living a life of virtue is something pleasurable in itself. The virtuous person takes pleasure in doing virtuous things. The role of virtue is an important one for Aristotle. Without virtue, it seems one cannot obtain happiness. Virtue acts as a linking factor to happiness.

According to Aristotle, happiness and virtue are tied together. For a person to be “good” they must actively practice virtue, and happiness is considered to be the highest good. Aristotle says that the function of a human is to lead a good life, so people aim to be happy. For people to be happy, they must cultivate habits that give them the “right” character. When a person reacts to a certain situation with the right attitude and outlook, they are virtuous. Both virtue and happiness consist of constant activity, and something being at its best state. Aristotle points out a difference between living and living well, and for one to live well, they must practice the right actions and behaviors, ones that can only be done by virtuous people. By living a virtuous life, one gives their life meaning and value.

I will be discussing what makes a person moral or just according to Aristotle. In addition, I will talk about what Aristotle believes is the explanation and cause for bad moral choices. In order to answer these questions, however, we must first learn about how Aristotle approached philosophy. Aristotle was a student of Plato, and as one might expect, he is a virtue theorist much like his mentor. This means that he emphasizes virtues and moral character and that the best way to resolve moral questions is by focusing on the moral agent. However, unlike Plato who is a rationalist, Aristotle is an empiricist. Since he is an empiricist, he uses his senses to first to observe the world, then later uses reason to understand it. It is because of these two reasons that he will develop his definition of a moral and just person which to him is someone who follows the Golden Mean. The Golden Mean is the cornerstone of Aristotle’s entire argument of what makes a person just and it is defined as the idea that all actions have a middle ground that lie in a mean and that virtue is this mean which lies between two extremes. The first step in understanding exactly what the Golden Mean is, and thus determining what makes a person virtuous, is to look at what makes up the basis of the Golden Mean: happiness.

Aristotle believed that achieving happiness lead to a perfect human life. But, the question is how can we obtain that happiness? Of course, by agreeing with common goals and virtues. By having the same common goals and virtues in a society would mean that everyone has to be an equal. When referring to equality in this context, I simply mean society; everyone has to be equal in health, wealth, and friends. If everyone agreed with the same goals and virtue, it would mean that everyone has to have the same expenses to support itself and family. As well, health, if one is healthy, it’s only fair that everyone else has to be healthy. Just like, if an individual dies of a disease, unfortunately another one has to