Compare And Contrast Callicles And Gorgias

Aristippus believed this because the importance of pleasure would change and become uncertain when pleasures are hard to reach. He felt since there was no certainty in future pleasures, there is no reason to take a chance. Especially since one does not know what lies in the future. Pleasures must be your own and never someone else’s because only you can experience them. Happiness is considered only secondary to pleasure.

The great philosophers of ancient Greece concerned much of their time with what is the best path of life and how to achieve it. Many people question what true happiness is and how it can be achieved. In Plato’s Gorgias, Socrates talks and muses about what happiness is, why people seek happiness, how it is achieved and what the best way to achieve it is. In one part, Socrates tries to explain to Callicles why not all pleasure is happiness and that one must use restraint and temperance to control ones desires and help them achieve happiness (Gorgias, 488). Callicles argues with Socrates, stating that happiness can only be truly achieved when one allows their goals to flourish without any boundaries or anything to stop them (Gorgias, 489).

Thus although virtue is inseparable from pleasure and necessary if we are to be happy, it is to be chosen not for its own sake but for the sake of pleasure. Beauty and the virtues and the like are to be honored if they provide pleasure, but, if they do not, we must say goodbye to them.(Intro. Epicurus, 124)

However, although this provides us with a way of categorising pleasure, it does not bring us any closer to a theory of happiness, as there is no suggestion that it too has three different forms. From this I conclude that Plato considers the notion of pleasure to be insufficient as an explanation of happiness, and that these instead represent two different, but interrelated, concepts.

Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen is a beautiful, short, though enigmatic, speech that demonstrates sophist, Gorgias’ mastery of the art of rhetoric. In this speech, Gorgias attempts to accomplish two important tasks. One, by presenting a reasoned argument to his audiences, Gorgias tries to lift the blame off of Helen for causing the Trojan War. Two, by demonstrating his mastery of the art of rhetoric, Gorgias attempts to attract future consumers of his teaching of the art of rhetoric. This might also be very likely given that Gorgias is a sophist that traveled from one city to another looking for students that will purchase his ability to teach them rhetoric. Sophists were needed in Greek cities as they provided education in public speaking, a

Eventually, there was a change in how Phil acted, and he began to follow Aristotle's recipe for happiness. In the Aristotelian viewpoint, pleasure is not the meaning of life because it does not fulfill the two requirements for a chief good. Aristotle writes, “Since there are evidently more than one end, and we choose some of these for the sake of something else, clearly not all ends are final ends; but the chief good is evidently something final.“ (Nicomachean Ethics, I, 7) Therefore, the chief

The concept of living “the good life” means something different for everyone. There is a general understanding that living “the good life” is associated with unyielding happiness and lasting satisfaction. The exact meaning of this desired life was pondered by thinkers and philosophers for hundreds of years. They constructed principals of behavior, thought, and obligation that would categorize a person as “good”. Although some of these ancient philosophies about “the good life” had overlapping ideas, their concepts varied widely. This contrast of ideas can be examined through two major characters in two famous works: Aeneas in “The Aeneid” and Socrates in “The Apology”. Aeneas exemplifies the philosophy that the direct route to “the good life" is through faith, trust in the Gods, and family, while Socrates in “The Apology” emphasizes free will, and vast knowledge of life.

In evaluating the philosopher’s goal of determining how to live a good life, Epicurean philosophers argue that pleasure is the greatest good and pain is the greatest bad. Foremost, for the purpose of this analysis, I must define the pleasure and pain described. Pleasure is seen as the state of being pleased or gratified. This term is defined more specifically by the subject to which the pleasure applies, depending on what he likes. Pain is the opposite of pleasure, which is a type of emotional or physical un-pleasure that results in something that the person dislikes. “Everything in which we rejoice is pleasure, just as everything that distresses us is pain,” (Cicero 1). Through this hedonistic assessment of pleasure and pain, epicurean philosophers come to the conclusion that, “the greatest pleasure [is that] which is perceived once all pain has been removed,” (Epicurus 1).

For example, a soldier is born to be a solider. He has certain characteristics that separate him from being a craftsman or a guardian. He will also be unhappy if he tries to challenge the tasks of the craftsmen and guardians. I disagree with Plato on this point because I think that in present day, many people are capable at doing many jobs and often succeed at more than one field of work. Therefore, I agree with Aristotle’s view of everyday life more than Plato’s. Aristotle speaks of balance and what it means for one to live a balanced life to achieve happiness. Many of us have a subjective view of happiness because certain things can make us happy, but that does not mean they’re good. For example, completing numerous hours of community service work which could make us feel happy and think we are doing good, but that does not mean in itself that we live a life of happiness. Aristotle says we must find the balance. We cannot do too much or too little of certain aspects in our lives. However, he says that happiness is an action. It is something we must do not a feeling or emotion. Therefore, I agree with his view of happiness because of the importance of balance in order to be rational.

Aristotle lists honor, pleasure, and wealth as the things believed to make humans happy. He believed that because honor could be easily taken away it was superficial and that pleasure, although enjoyable, was merely an “animal like quality”. Wealth was described as a vehicle to achieve greater status. The moderation of the three vices could be achieved but would not, in-itself produce or guarantee eudaimonia. Instead, Aristotle was of the opinion that wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice, would better lead person to happiness.

In Gorgias we have a conversation between Socrates, Gorgias, and Polus, Gorgias' young assistant. They speak on the matters of rhetoric, knowledge, and whether injustice and suffering is better to do or have done onto you. While conventional wisdom tells us that it is better to inflict suffering than to receive it, Socrates argues that it is completely the opposite. Part of Socrates view is that moral goodness is connected with knowledge, and that morally it is better to receive suffering than inflict it.

In fact, however, the pleasures differ quite a lot, in human beings at any rate. For some things delight some people, and cause pain to others; and while some find them painful and hateful, others find them pleasant and lovable…But in all such cases it seems that what is really so is what appears so to the excellent person. If this is right, as it seems to be, and virtue, i.e., the good person insofar as he is good, is the measure of each thing, then what appear pleasures to him will also really be pleasures…and if what he finds objectionable appears pleasant to someone, that is not at all surprising: for human beings suffer many sorts of corruption and damage. It is not pleasant, however, except to those people in these conditions.

Socrates’ rhetoric in the argument of pain versus pleasure stems from his desire to actually make the audience understand his argument through emotions; he wants to make them grow a better understanding of the difference between pain and pleasure and show him how the proper use of rhetoric can impact rather than just persuade. Throughout Gorgias, Socrates makes it a point to attack Gorgias’ position as an orator by asking questions about the true meaning of his craft, like when he states “Then

We are a pleasure driven society always waiting to be amused. Self indulgence is a very natural aspect of human life. Does pleasure affect our lives? Will it make us happy at the end? Well, Aristotle will let us know what it means to be happy and have a good life in the Nicomachean Ethics. In the process, he reveals his own account of pleasure as well as other philosophers opposing views on the subject. The author highlights the key them by telling us that pleasure is not the chief good. However, it is an end in itself, which makes it good. In addition, pleasure is also not a process because it doesn’t involve any movement from incompleteness to completeness. According to Aristotle, happiness is

Aristotle was a particularly influential Grecian philosopher and student of Plato who lived from 384BC- 322BC (ADD CITATION). Within Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle outlines the thoughts of the general population along with his regards and rationales in explaining many philosophical premises. But to concentrate on how Aristotle feels about the role of pleasure in morality, Aristotle introduces the idea that “most people think happiness involves pleasure.” He goes on to interpret the roles of different pleasures and their virtues and vices, giving examples such as as bodily pleasures and soul pleasures.