CHAPTER 4 - ARISTOTLE Chapter 4 79 ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY OF LAW by Fred D. Miller‚ Jr.1 4.1. Life and Writings of Aristotle Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. at Stagira in northern Greece‚ the son of Nicomachus‚ a physician of King Amyntas II of Macedonia. At age seventeen he entered Plato’s Academy in Athens‚ where he studied for nineteen years. In addition to composing a number of dialogues now lost‚ he may have then begun work on his Rhetoric. After Plato’s death (348) Aristotle grew alienated
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individual might behave in the same situation or circumstance. The majority of theories of virtue ethics were inspired from Aristotle’s concepts of moral philosophy. The philosopher "Aristotle" has proclaimed that the virtuous human is the human who possesses the traits of ideal character . Such traits are drawn from
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Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who was fascinated by the physical world around him which he wanted to understand and explain. Aristotle highly admired his tutor Plato; however he dismissed his theories about the alternative world of forms and the true form of objects. Instead he tried to explain why things exist as they do in the real world. Aristotle believed we can only know a thing fully when all its causes of existence are understood. So he explored how things come into existence and tried
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one is in. Aristotle essentially argues that any action can be “destroyed by excess and defect”‚ and that the virtue of any action is only “preserved by the mean” (2.25-26‚ p. 25). For example‚ being kind as an action can become immoral when taken to an extreme or a deficit – being too kind could constitute agreeing to help someone even in immoral things like committing a crime‚ and not being kind enough would likewise be immoral in failing to help others when needed. Instead‚ Aristotle argues that
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Upon conclusion of the Mythic Time worldview‚ the era of the gods‚ there emerged a new philosophy‚ the introduction of the Ancient Time worldview and reason. The Ancient worldview‚ driven by philosophers like Plato‚ Aristotle‚ and Lucretius‚ focused on the idea of the cosmos and nature being self-sustaining and harmonious. Aristotle’s work The Proper Function of Man and its Relation to the Good Life‚ revolved around many of the essential ideals of the Ancient worldview. Within Aristotle’s work three
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good‚ come from forms and ideas‚ which are eventually processed into the physical world as images in our minds. These images can then once again be manipulated into forms by using thought towards principles. In a completely contrasting perspective‚ Aristotle proposed that the essence of the soul could be formed based on a deduction from several individuals. In the Porphyrian Tree‚ several
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on those traits. The theory’s great power is that it canproduce useful‚ independently verifiable categories of analysis--if we all can agree on the epic’s essential traits‚ then we can conduct reasonable scholarly discussions about epics. Since Aristotle also was interested (like his teacher‚ Plato) in the proper organization of human communities‚ from the one-family "oikos" (whence "economy") to the city-state of the "polis‚" he also tried to describe the social functions of literature. This continues
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mean "Virtue‚ then is a state of character concerned with choices‚ lying in mean‚ that is‚ the mean relative to us‚ this being determined by a rational principle‚ and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom can determine it" Aristotle maintains that virtues are always located between two vices‚ each vice either involves an excess or a defiance of what is required. For example‚ courage is the mean between foolhardy bravado on the one hand and cowardice on the other. Each vice involves
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According to Aristotle‚ various individuals believe that the concept of happiness involves pleasure wealth‚ and honour. Many individuals have separate interpretations of what happiness is. However‚ Aristotle states that there are three of the most favoured lifestyles that involve happiness. These include: gratification‚ therefore involving pleasurable feelings and living a constantly satisfying and rewarding life. The second favoured lifestyle is “political activity” which involves the idea of honour
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“best state”; here is where we tie back in the idea of the rational mind and in being in accordance with virtue. Aristotle tells us to avoid the thing that may blurry our judgement and steer clear from the things we are most prone to; it is in this place that we would not be able to reach our means. It is “moral in that we are well or ill disposed towards the emotions”‚ states Aristotle. With our ability to rationalize and avoid these extremes to the best of our abilities is where we are able to reach
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