Kant's Nicomachean Ethics Vs. Modern Ethics
Aristotle and Kant - as ancient to modern ethics on virtue and happiness.
The following essay aims to compare Ancient versus Modern theories of ethics, particularly those of Aristotle and Immanuel Kant. The central concepts of virtue, happiness, and the human good are relevant to modern ethics, but do not play the same role as they did in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The concepts are also relevant to Autonomy “as autonomy is the capacity for self-government. Agents are autonomous if their actions are truly their own. The necessity of this moral liberty is a cornerstone of Kant’s ethical theory, in which possessing autonomy of the will is a necessary condition of moral agency.”1
Thus, several significant concepts separate Kant from Aristotle. …show more content…
Kant suggests that although virtue is embodied in the highest good, it does not compose its entirety. Instead, the highest good is the combination of virtue and happiness. More specifically, this involves the Kant suggests that morality, referred to as the ‘supreme good’, is the primary condition of the highest good. In turn, happiness may be recognized as the secondary condition of the highest good. In this, happiness is only possible with, but also a necessary implication of morality. In addition, Kant notes that humans do not have the capacity to reach a level or complete morality. As a result, the highest good necessitates the potential for immortality of the soul. It follows that only God is capable of the highest good as a final end, as God does not experience the same limitations that arise for humans. Thus, only God would be able to manifest the totality of the highest good.7
Both Aristotle and Kant believe the rationality is a distinct quality of human nature. Additionally, each suggests an account of morality that relies on the human propensity for rational thought. However, reason does not play the same role in Modern theory, as it does in Ancient. For Aristotle the capacity for rational thought is what makes happiness an activity that only possible for humans. A person is only virtuous when the act is performed deliberately, and is valued in itself for the sake of its goodness. Thus, the capacity for reason is necessary to deliberate and determine which action to
The following essay aims to compare Ancient versus Modern theories of ethics, particularly those of Aristotle and Immanuel Kant. The central concepts of virtue, happiness, and the human good are relevant to modern ethics, but do not play the same role as they did in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The concepts are also relevant to Autonomy “as autonomy is the capacity for self-government. Agents are autonomous if their actions are truly their own. The necessity of this moral liberty is a cornerstone of Kant’s ethical theory, in which possessing autonomy of the will is a necessary condition of moral agency.”1
Thus, several significant concepts separate Kant from Aristotle. …show more content…
Kant suggests that although virtue is embodied in the highest good, it does not compose its entirety. Instead, the highest good is the combination of virtue and happiness. More specifically, this involves the Kant suggests that morality, referred to as the ‘supreme good’, is the primary condition of the highest good. In turn, happiness may be recognized as the secondary condition of the highest good. In this, happiness is only possible with, but also a necessary implication of morality. In addition, Kant notes that humans do not have the capacity to reach a level or complete morality. As a result, the highest good necessitates the potential for immortality of the soul. It follows that only God is capable of the highest good as a final end, as God does not experience the same limitations that arise for humans. Thus, only God would be able to manifest the totality of the highest good.7
Both Aristotle and Kant believe the rationality is a distinct quality of human nature. Additionally, each suggests an account of morality that relies on the human propensity for rational thought. However, reason does not play the same role in Modern theory, as it does in Ancient. For Aristotle the capacity for rational thought is what makes happiness an activity that only possible for humans. A person is only virtuous when the act is performed deliberately, and is valued in itself for the sake of its goodness. Thus, the capacity for reason is necessary to deliberate and determine which action to