Preview

Aristotle's Definition Of Virtue In Book II Nicomachean Ethics

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1406 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Aristotle's Definition Of Virtue In Book II Nicomachean Ethics
The definition of virtue is the “quality of being morally good or behavior showing high moral standards” and, a person is either virtuous or not virtuous based upon how they perceive and react to the situations that life gives us. Aristotle talks a lot about this in Book II Nicomachean Ethics and he illuminates on the fact that the natural development of virtues is the key to achieving the goal of life, which is happiness. His view on ethics is also more practical meaning that it should be the acting upon being virtuous that leads us to true happiness. He continues to explain that as human beings we are not born inherently with moral virtue or without, but rather we have the potential to develop and practice it. He also states that virtue …show more content…
The article “Aristotle’s on the Good Life” written on the website Reasoning and Meaning talks about “that having living well is the end for humans; it is not a means to anything else. Things are really good because they are the means to living or living well”. But different people have different ideas and desires about what a good life really is and should be. From this same article, it continues to talk about acquire desires, which are different for everyone, and natural desires, which is the same for everyone; “Acquired desires or wants correspond to apparent goods; things that appear good because you want them. Natural desires or needs correspond to physical goods; things that are good for you whether you want them or not.” The good life, according to Aristotle, involves possessing over the course of a lifetime, all the things that are good for us like bodily goods: healthy, vigor, and pleasure; external goods: food, drink, shelter, and clothing; and soulful goods; knowledge, love, and friendship. This is a small list of the tangible goods that a person should seek to obtain to have a good …show more content…
Developing on these good habits leads us to obtaining what is good for us, and not toward things that merely appear good because they show us that when we make the rich choice it leads us down a path to acquiring achieving that “good life”. “Happiness is a not a destination, it is a way of life” is a very famous quote and it is the best way to pursue life, because we may have grief, pains, and trouble in life, but it can still be a happy life. To pursue happiness, we need to act because we need to be the ones that bring the source of happiness into our lives by doing things that make us happy by learning, teaching, growing, helping others, and doing what makes our lives every day more

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Though Aristotle does not explicitly speak of meaning, he surely considered the reality of impartial values and meaning. While his primary concern was on the happiness gained by accounting for these values, he does not say that the happy life means the meaningful. However, we can infer that he thought that the good life and the meaningful life are equals. Therefore, Aristotle’s plan in order to live a good life is understandable, and is a guide to a meaningful life.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    PHI2000 The Good Life

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Aristotle believes that one’s accomplishments in being happy are the driving force to a “Good Life”. The good life creates a happiness that relates to one functioning well and reason. Aristotle believes that it takes time, hard work and restraint to get to the employ the habits of reasoning and according to him everything has a purpose (Rachels and Rachels, pg 54). Aristotle states that “Good” has rightly been defined as “that at which all things aim” and that people identify happiness with living well or doing well (Sommers & Sommers, 2010).…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves. Aristotle is the main philosopher of Virtue Ethic. Aristotle’s writings have been read more or less continuously since ancient times, and his ethical treatises continue to influence philosophers working today.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the quest to find out what is the ultimate human good, Aristotle dedicated Book 1 of the Nicomachean Ethics to provide an account of what is the ultimate human good, and what it consists of. This essay will examine why Aristotle thinks that eudaimonia (happiness), is the ultimate human good. Through this discussion, we will see Aristotle suggest four central views which are critical to eudaimonia being the ultimate human good. Firstly, one has to live a life according to one’s function. Secondly, natural, virtuous activity is required in order to live a life of happiness. Thirdly, one requires possessing external goods such as wealth, power and friends in order to be happy. Last but not least, in order to live a life of happiness, one has to live a whole life in accordance to virtue in order to determine if the person lived a happy life.…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Virtue, Aristotle suggests, involves finding the 'mean' between the two extremes of excess and deficiency. Not mediocrity, but harmony and balance. If we achieve this, he thinks, then we will be psychologically content. For example, as good humans, we should try to be reasonably courageous, but not ridiculously reckless or absurdly timid. Apart from courage, the other moral virtues are listed as: temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, proper ambition, patience, truthfulness, wittiness, friendliness and modesty.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My reaction to this movie is that people started eating more food over the 30…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle uses politics and ethics together to explain the good life. People generally disagree as to the nature and conditions of happiness. Some people believe that happiness is wealth, honor, pleasure, or virtue. Aristotle thinks that wealth is not happiness because wealth is just a monetary value, but can still be used to gain some happiness. Not directly of course, money can only buy a person objects that can bring them happiness for a short period of time. Just like wealth, honor is not happiness, because honor focuses more on the people, rather then the honoree. Pleasure is not happiness, because "the life of gratification" is "completely slavish", since most of the people in the polis decided to live their life based on the way animals live. The people are punished for things not accepted and reward for actions excepted. The last is virtue, and virtue is not happiness either, since one could be virtuous and not use it. Instead, Aristotle says that happiness is a combination of the four. Thus, Aristotle describes the good life by saying that, "the…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It is clear that Aristotle thinks happiness is what every human desires. He defines happiness as the highest good (Ethics 1095a), which by definition every person pursues as an ultimate end (1094a). Furthermore, he says that happiness can only be achieved through fulfillment of our characteristic activity, which is the thing that something does which makes it be that thing; for example, the characteristic activity of a flute-player is playing the flute. The good of anything with a characteristic activity is to perform that activity well (1097b). The characteristic activity of a human, says Aristotle, is a life concerned with reason (1098a), or more specifically, the activity of a soul concerned with reason. Therefore, the good of a human is to perform this activity well; that is, to live a life in accordance with virtue. Because this is a good of the soul, and goods of the soul are the best type of good (1098b), and because achieving the good of a human is the ultimate goal of being a human, Aristotle says that a life in accordance with…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Money, clothes, cars, houses, and even marriage – these are all things that some may consider to determine whether or not they are living the “good life.” Others may view the good life as being able to enjoy nature every day, being able to run and jump, or even being able to read as many books as they please. Whatever one’s view of having or living the good life may be, there are certain assets or factors in their lives that makes them believe that their lives are good. There are also certain things they did, qualities they possess or steps they took to get to their good-life status. Different people world-wide have different cultures and beliefs, and this leads them to have different perspectives on what the good life exactly is and how one goes about obtaining it.…

    • 2229 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle makes the case for the fulfillment of Eudimonea, the greatest happiness and good that a person can achieve. He states that there are 3 ways in which creatures, human specifically go about trying to fulfill Eudimonea. The first is through pleasure, be it sensual, tactile or mental. Through this basic ingredient me experience such things as food, games, and science fiction novels. The 2nd part of Aristotle’s Eudimonea is honor and recognition, be it recognition from friends, or from an achievement. This also represents political achievements as Aristotle claimed that through service to others you strengthened you self. The third, final and most important aspect of Eudimonea is reflection. Being able to subject you own beliefs and experiences to rigorous self examination and reinterpretation. This is the key part of Aristotle’s teachings, being able to take your pleasures and recognition and reflect and glean from them. One thing that Aristotle is very clear on is that to achieve these objectives one must have been subjected to the proper society when growing up, a society steeped in order. A lawless or anarchic society would not meet the base prerequisites for this objective to be fulfilled.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle believes that virtue, or excellence, can be distinguished into two different types. One being intellectual virtue, and the other being moral virtue. Aristotle encompasses intellectual virtue as being philosophical wisdom, understanding and practical wisdom. He considers moral virtue to be of liberality and temperance. Aristotle distinguishes between the two types using his previous argument about the irrational element. Aristotle shows that the irrational element is comprised of a vegetative element as well as a desiring element, while the rational is separate from the vegetative. The point that Aristotle makes is that the irrational can be composed of subdivisions and each could have an impact on the other. The same idea is carried into his argument about virtue being distinguished into two types. Intellectual virtue comes from a sense, logical reasoning, or rational thought. The ability to understand and act in accordance with that which is held to be virtuous. Aristotle defines the split between intellectual and moral virtue in its perception of how it is obtained. Intellectual virtue is obtained through teaching requiring time and experience. This goes hand in hand with his definition for logical reasoning and rational thought. How can one distinguish between that which is considered virtuous? Since it is the person who must decide what is virtuous and that which is not, they must rely on life teachings to understand the difference.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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 everything in life. Just doing nice things doesn’t make you a virtuous person; first you must have the knowledge, then act, and then finally do it with an unchanging character (N.E. II. 4). In doing that you must also have only good will in mind, for any other reasons doesn’t make it morally right.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Aristotle believes that there is only one goal, one ultimate end for every individual—that is eudaimonia, translated as happiness, not as a feeling but happiness as the highest human good or a life full of activity. He claims that a person should live a way of life distinct from the lives of animals, where they only live for the sake of living or pleasure.1 As human beings, people should use their power of speech to communicate and make rational decisions within a polity, striving to live their lives up to their full potential and to their full capacity for a happy life.2 The life of politics, the via activa, is thus the key to the chief good or the best life for humans; however, the life of action must be of certain type of quality, in accordance with reason, since different actions may lead to the good or the bad life. In other words, a person’s actions must be in line with arête, with virtue or excellence.3…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Informative Speech Outline

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages

    2. Type 2 diabetes is caused by obesity, and according to the Diabetes Update; it is the most common form of the disease.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aitezaz Munir

    • 7163 Words
    • 29 Pages

    All rights are reserved. No part of this project report can be reproduced in any form or any means such as photocopy or electronic media etc. with out prior approval of authors…

    • 7163 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays