Aristotle Notes Introduction: Aristotle’s Definition of Happiness “Happiness depends on ourselves.” More than anybody else‚ Aristotle enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. As a result he devotes more space to the topic of happiness than any thinker prior to the modern era. Living during the same period as Mencius‚ but on the other side of the world‚ he draws some similar conclusions. That is‚ happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue‚ though his virtues
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Explain Mill’s Utilitarianism [30] John Stuart Mill‚ (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873) was a British philosopher who was principally famous for revising and expanding on Jeremy Bentham’s theory of Utilitarianism. Jeremy Bentham said that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong. He then devised the hedonic calculus or the principle of utility as a measure of working out the usefulness of an action according to how much pleasure it creates for how many people
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Aristotle believes that we need virtue‚ both of thought and of character‚ to achieve that completeness leading to happiness. This is the function: activity in the soul in accord with virtue‚ where soul is defined as what is in us that carries out our characteristic activity. Aristotle is right in believing we need virtue. The end of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book I introduces the idea that since happiness is “a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue‚ we
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STUDY OF VIRTUE ETHICS IN ARISTOTLE AND KANT Aristotle was the first western thinker to divide philosophy into branches which are still recognizable today: logic‚ metaphysics‚ and natural philosophy‚ philosophy of mind‚ ethics and politics‚ rhetoric; he made major contributions in all these fields. He was born in Stagira‚ a city of northern Greece in 384 BC. His father Nicomachus was a doctor at the court of Amyntas of Macedon‚ who preceded Philip‚ the conqueror of much of Greece. Aristotle later
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lifestyle is right for us. More so‚ how do we know which lifestyles are those that are correct for human beings? According to Aristotle‚ to live a just and correct lifestyle we must use reasoning in our actions while also practicing those that are characteristics that are virtuous. Virtue being that of good character‚ good habits and being conducted by reason. Such virtues commonly known are courage or modesty. It is through a series of reasonable actions that form good character that we humans can
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The Many Different Types of Ethics Jean-Paul Sartre said it best when he stated that‚ “We are our choices”. Those four words hold probably some of the most crucial meaning‚ in terms of our human behavior and the verdicts that we as humans form‚ than most people come to realize. They relate to ethics‚ in that they truly question what really defines the obligation of “good” amongst human’s and their behavior‚ because after all the choices that we make ultimately effect how we behave. So what do humans
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Intro to Ethics Kant vs. Mill Philosophers Emmanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill both have different views on moral worth and Utilitarianism‚ which states that an action is morally right if it produces more good for all people affected or suffering from the action. Mainly‚ the question is how much of the morality of an action is predicted by its outcome. Both men have moral theories that differ on this topic. Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism relates moral actions to those that result in the greatest
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John Stuart Mill’s account of Utilitarianism claims “that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill‚ 7). In addition‚ “the happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not the agent’s own happiness but that of all concerned” (17). Individuals are often confronted with a choice which benefits others but fails to contribute something in return. Before deciding how to act‚ one evaluates
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been the concept of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states that in general the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action is directly related to the utility of that action. Utility is more specifically defined as a measure of the goodness or badness of the consequences of an action. Utility is considered to be the tendency to produce happiness. There are two types of Utilitarianism; "act" and "rule". An act utilitarian uses thought processes associated with utilitarianism to make all decisions
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According to Aristotle‚ in order to pursue virtue we must learn to both feel and act correctly. Being a virtuous person entails being affected by pleasure and pain. In book II of “Nicomachean Ethics”‚ Aristotle begins by explaining how virtuous actions are acquired by habit. He writes‚ “Rather‚ we are by nature able to acquire them‚ and we are completed through habit” (Aristotle 18). Essentially‚ Aristotle is saying that we acquire habits as we acquire skills. Virtues are acquired through habituation
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