The Ethical Theories Of Aristotle 's Theory Of A Life Well Spent On The Planet

Nicomachean Ethics brings up five points of ethical philosophy that, when followed, allow one to attain a virtuous life. According to Aristotle, the highest good and the destiny toward which all human activity is focused is happiness,

To discover the nature of human happiness it is necessary to determine what the function of a human being is. A person's happiness consists of fulfilling the natural function toward which they are being directed. This natural function is something that is specific to only human beings. This function is something that sets human beings apart from everything else in the world. Generally speaking, a person is primarily his intellect. Where the spirit and desire are also important, it is the rational part of the soul that should be considered the person's identity. Aristotle emphasized that eudaimonia was constituted by rational activities that were associated with human virtue rather than human power, or honor. According to Aristotle, the rational activity has to be indicated as pride, bravery, or friendships that are mutually beneficial, pride and honesty among others.

A married couple, both addicted to drugs, is unable to care for their infant daughter. She is taken from them by court order and placed in a foster home. The years passed. She comes to regard her foster parents as her real parents. They love her as they would their own daughter. When the child is 9 years old, the natural parents, rehabilitated from drugs, begin court action to regain custody. The case is decided in their favor. The child is returned to them, against her will. Do ethics support the law in this case? Discuss.

Through the works of Epicurus, Epictetus, and Aquinas, it is evident that their philosophies inherit a great deal of virtue. Although roughly specified, virtue is implanted within their different ideologies. From achieving happiness, stoic beliefs, and in respects to Christian idealism, virtue turns out to be the driving factor in determining the ideal meaning of life from the perspective of each philosopher and it gives them their value. Backed by firm evidence, it is notable that virtue is more apparent in the Thomism philosophy.

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’s Nichomachean Ethics explores the idea of an ethical framework based on virtues, deliberation, and choice. The key to being virtuous is to strike a balance between the extremes on either side of a virtue. Arriving at what constitutes as a virtuous balance is achieved through the process of deliberation and then action. Sartre and the existentialists say that existence precedes essence; the good starts from human subjectivity rather than from known virtues. Through a person’s choices, they determine what is good. Though their theories of what constitutes the good may differ, choice is a key element of both ethical frameworks. The differences that each ethical framework has about what the good is are not mutually exclusive. In

What is the purpose of a human being? “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence” (Nicomachean Ethics). When one thinks about happiness, these words said by Aristotle allow us to understand its significance. Through Aristotle’s teachings, he made it clear that the point of life is to be happy. Aristotle uses the word happiness as having to do with a person’s life as a whole, and not as the constant desire of wanting to experience pleasure (Aristotle’s Ethics). People tend view happiness as an emotion that is not long lasting, while it is really about accumulating the good experienced an entire lifetime. To Aristotle, happiness is about flourishing, virtues, focusing on our well-being, and self-sufficiency.

The theory of moral responsibility by Aristotle will be used as a foundation to analysis the moral responsibility on dream. The theory is used because Aristotle is the earliest philosopher who discuss about moral responsibility in Nicomachean Ethic. Aristotle concept of moral responsibility is focus on “the role of knowledge in taking the proper course of action” (Hsieh). According to Aristotle, moral responsibility is the notion that “it is sometimes appropriate to respond to an agent with praise or blame on the basis of her actions and/or dispositional traits of character” (Eshleman). This concept similar to Plato’s ideas that “the issue of moral responsibility primarily arises as a result of the investigations into the connection between knowledge, desire, and right action; his discussions generally center around whether those who desire evil do so knowingly or due to ignorance or error” (Hsieh). However, the notion of moral responsibility by Aristotle is more complex and details.

In our society today, we are mostly challenged by two questions: ‘is it right to do this or that? And ‘how should I be living in society?’(Bessant, 2009). Similar questions were greatly discussed in the history by our ancestors in their philosophical discussions. The most ancient and long-lasting literature on moral principles and ethics were described by Greek philosopher Aristotle. He had an excellent command on various subjects ranging from sciences to mathematics and philosophy. He was also a student of a famous philosopher. His most important study on ethics, personal morality and virtues is ‘The Nicomachean Ethics’, which has been greatly influencing works of literature in ethics and heavily read for centuries, is believed to be

In James Rachels’ book, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, he expresses ideas within the concluding chapter, “What Would a Satisfactory Moral Theory be like?” that lay an silhouette of every moral approach we have discussed so far and compounding it into a final discussion with a couple of final contentions towards a comprehensive understanding of morality and the approaches we can make as moral guides to make decisions that are virtuous for each class without exception. Rachels’ gives thoughtful perspective on all subjects that we have learned about and makes final accumulations for the way we can decide to use these for our own benefit. While then expressing the virtues we must value for ourselves to have a best plan, and the ways our choices can help others in a positive aspect.

In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the idea of moral virtue. Aristotle emphasized the importance of developing moral virtue as the way to achieve what is finally more important, human flourishing (eudaimonia). Aristotle makes the argument in Book II that moral virtue arises from habit—equating ethical character to a skill that is acquired through practice, such as learning a musical instrument. However in Book III, Aristotle argues that a person 's moral virtue is voluntary, as it results from many individual actions which are under his own control. Thus, Aristotle confronts us with an inherently problematic account of moral virtue.

Everyone wants to be happy and live a good life, but how is this achieved and sustained? In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle writes about how to live the good life by reaching a state of Eudaimonia or “happiness”. Eudaimonia is the optimal state of being that is achieved by living at full capacity and utilizing all of your potential to internally benefit yourself and externally benefit those around you. In order to attain this Aristotle believes a person needs to practice what is right through living their moral values and practicing good habits. We are often misled to believe that happiness and the good life are found in superficial pursuits, such as wealth, honor, and bodily pleasure. However, Aristotle believed that these perceptions are what blocked people from reaching true eudaimonia. Aristotle’s teachings are over 2000 years old, but are they still relevant in today’s modern world? Can we achieve the good life and happiness he describes, and, if so, in today's contemporary society is it the type of happiness that people really want?

In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, every point, every major idea, and every argument made, is all connected back to the concept that every action seeks an ultimate good. Aristotle felt that there is an intrinsic good that humans aim for and that there is this "good life" we all mean to have. However, what does it mean to be good? That means something different to everyone; we all inhabit many different roles in our day to day lives, whether we strive to be a good parent, a good sibling, a good student, a good citizen, or a good leader. All emphasize the importance of our own well-being, as well as that of others, and the greater community as a whole. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics he accounts that humans should make sacrifices and should ultimately aim first and foremost for their own happiness . In the paper I will argue that it is really in a person’s best interest to be virtuous . I will do this by first describing Aristotle’s notion on both eudaimonia and virtue , as well as highlighting the intimate relationship between the two . Secondly I will talk about the human role in society. Thirdly I will describe the intrinsic tie between human actions . Finally I will share the importance of performing activities virtuously .

As well as being a devoted biologist, botanist, moral philosopher, psychologist, zoologist and many more things besides Aristotle held a view about human nature that he interwove into his concept of virtue theory, this is described at some length in the text Nicomachean Ethics. It is this view on human nature that I intend to explain and discuss throughout this essay with reference to some more recent philosophers to show that Aristotle’s view was not only linked directly to Athenian society but has managed to stand the test of time. A point I will return to later in a yet to posted article ‘Can we Consider Modern Ethics to be Aristotelian or Nietzschean?’, this article is much better written and argues the points in greater detail. I must admit this was in fact a very early work of mine and although some editing has been made it still lacks the strength some of my later pieces possess.