Aristotle
In Book I and II of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle makes some assumptions about the character of the human soul, dividing it into a part that governs (reason), a part that is or ought to be governed by reason and a part that is normally unresponsive to reason. Thus, in his argument he is referring to virtue and virtuous issues. Some virtues will have reason as their subject while others will have the passions-qua-governed-by-reason as their subject. The differences among virtues will mirror the differences among the various passions and among the various functions of reason. In Aristotle's eyes, Virtues are habits of the soul by which one acts well, i.e., for the sake of what is fine and noble. As Aristotle puts it, virtuous actions express correct (right) reason. They are acquired through practice and habituation. One becomes virtuous by acting virtuously or good, i.e., by acting as the virtuous person acts, doing what one should when one should a
Aristotle also speaks on the issue of frugality. They reach two different conclusions: in the first part, that virtue is knowledge and can therefore be taught; in the second, that it is reliable true opinion and can therefore be acquired only by divine inspiration. I feel that the person's soul is rewarded in the end. It is believed by those addicted to physical pleasures or who want life but not the good life. Hence, even though we have a natural desire for happiness, our inborn inclinations often lead us away from our true happiness. I feel that this is true in some aspects; (i. For example, the intermediate between two pounds and ten pounds of food is (absolutely) six pounds, but the mean relative to the individual will be different for the athlete than it is for the non-athlete (e. And the virtuous person comes to take pleasure in acting virtuously. Hence, one sign that we have not acquired a certain virtue is that when we perform actions of the sort associated with that virtue, we do not take pleasure in those actions but instead find them burdensome.
Common topics in this essay:
Ethics Aristotle,
Stewart Aristotle,
Meno Socrates,
Carmelo Anthony,
relative individual,
acting virtuously,
mean relative individual,
mean relative,
goodness happiness,
role teacher,
virtuous person,
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