Where Does Voluntary Begin?
Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle attempts to define the meaning of ethics and to create the perfect society as did Plato in The Republic. In Aristotle’s attempt at definition he discusses the difference and significance of voluntary and involuntary action. Beginning by defining, Aristotle soon realizes many situations are too complex for just black vs. white terms and he introduces another term; non-voluntary. This leads to discussion of choice and deliberation, bringing his viewpoints into applicable terms, out of philosophy and into everyday life.
Before beginning to understand how Aristotle is applicable, his viewpoint must be examined, such as his version of voluntary action. As he says in Book III of Nichomachean Ethics “…the terms ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ are used with reference to the moment of action…because the initiative in moving the parts of the body which act as instruments rests with the agent himself” (p.53). So, a voluntary action is one about which we have power. Such as, what to eat in the morning, brushing teeth or even life altering decisions about jobs and marriage. Most of our everyday actions are voluntary, since we do not often act outside our realm of power.
Aristotle tends to agree that most actions are voluntary and from this fact comes much of the praise we receive for our actions, “…sometimes people are even praised for doing them [voluntary actions], for example, if they endured shameful or painful treatment in return” (p.53). If others feel that an action is worthy or noble they will acknowledge the person’s conscious choice of the action and see they receive due reward. In general, Aristotle feels that people are in control of their actions, whether a thoughtful choice is made or not.
Here Aristotle makes a distinction, a voluntary action is not necessarily a choice. A choice is a thoughtful decision, as he points out “For choice is not shared by irrational creatures…” (p.58). Children and animals are capable of voluntary action, such as eating, running, communicating, but they are not capable of choice, for choice begins to enter into the moral realm. Choice is an action of a creature that can reason because logic is a necessary ingredient for choice.
Only when logical creatures lack knowledge or are under duress do they move away from choice and voluntary action to involuntary action. Aristotle states his point quite clearly when he says, “…actions done under constraint or due to ignorance are involuntary” (p.
The following two paragraphs are a summary of Gloria Jimenez's essay Against the Odds and Against the Common Good. States should neither allow nor encourage state-run lotteries. There are five major arguments that people use to defend lotteries. One is that most lotteries are run honestly, but if gambling is harmful to society it is irrelevant to argue if they are honest or not. The second is that lotteries create jobs, but there are only a small handful of jobs that would be eliminated if lotteries were put out of business. Another argument that would support keeping lotteries is that, other than gambling addicts, people freely choose to buy lottery tickets. This is true, however, there are misleading advertisements that may cause people to buy tickets under false pretenses.
Prior to reading about this study I had always thought that richer people played the lottery much more than those with less money. I always just assumed that because the rich had a lot of money that they just played for the heck of it and could afford to spend hundreds of dollars on purchasing tickets. But after the conclusion of their experiment proved otherwise I was pretty shocked., and after reading why it was that poorer people actually spent more on tickets it made so much more sense and I was able to see exactly why that was.
In respect to the arguments of Ayer and Holbach, the dilemma of determinism and its compatibility with that of free will are found to be in question. Holbach makes a strong case for hard determinism in his System of Nature, in which he defines determinism to be a doctrine that everything and most importantly human actions are caused, and it follows that we are not free and therefore haven’t any moral responsibility in regard to our actions. For Ayer, a compatibilist believing that free will is compatible with determinism, it is the reconciliation and dissolution of the problem of determinism and moral responsibility with free willing that is argued. Ayer believes that this problem can be dissolved by the clarification of language usage and the clarification of what freedom is in relationship to those things that oppose freedom or restrain it. In either case, what is at stake is the free will of an agent, and whether or not that agent is morally responsible. What is to be seen from a discussion of these arguments is the applicability and validity of these two philosophies to situations where one must make a choice, and whether or not that person is acting freely and is thus responsible given his current situation. In this vein, the case of Socrates’ imprisonment and whether or not he acted freely in respect to his decision to leave or stay in prison can be evaluated by the discussion of the arguments presented in respect to the nature of free will in its reconciliation with determinism in the compatibilist vein and its absence in the causality of hard determinism.
Native Americans and Europeans were the begging of the new world. Their differences are more than similarities, whether by the religion, culture, race, and gender. Native Americans and European spoke two different languages, and lived in two different ways. The reason why Native Americans were called Indians, because when Columbus landed in America he thought that he was in India, so he called them Indians. Native American were nomadic people, some of them were hunter and some were farmers. Europeans were much more developed than Native Americans, and had more skills. Also, there were differences in holding positions between Native American women and European women. The cultural differences led to a bloody bottle
In the passage of the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, the author masterfully conveys two complimentary tones of liberation and fear. The tones transition by the use of diction and detail. The passage is written entirely in first person, since we are witnessing the struggles of Fredrick Douglass through his eyes. Through his diction, we are able to feel the triumph that comes with freedom along with the hardships. Similarly, detail brings a picturesque view of his adversities. Since the point of view is first person, the reader is able to be a part of the Douglass’ struggles with his new freedom. With diction, detail, and point of view, the reader is able to get a rare glimpse into the past of Fredrick Douglass.Fredrick Douglass’ diction is powerful as he describes his life as a slave and with his new freedom. Fredrick Douglass calls being enslaved an act of “wretchedness,” yet he was able to remain “firm” and eventually left the “chains” of slavery. Fredrick Douglass expresses that being enslaved is a wretched act and that no man should ever deserve such treatment. Despite being a slave, he kept strong and eventually broke the chain of society. However, Fredrick Douglass experienced great “insecurity” and “loneliness” with his new freedom, and was upon a new “hunting-ground.” His new freedom brought other devastating factors, being a new state without any friends, which caused his loneliness. In this new state, he grew insecure for he was in a new danger zone where at any time his freedom could be rejected. With new freedom come new obstacles, which are described in the diction of Fredrick Douglass.
As the lottery is held annually, there is not much apparent concern for the deaths of one lost friend or family member a year. Basically, “The lottery was conducted-as were the square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program…” (Jackson 121) To these ignorant people, the tradition is almost a holiday in a sense...
In the Article “Lotteries Cheat, Corrupt the People” George Will presents the idea that lotteries are bad for the people, stating that legal gambling boost the productivity of illegal gambling, victimizing poor and minorities populations, and painful way of raising revenue. Will gives many reasons as to why he believes gambling is bad and backs his opinion with many facts on percentages of losers as well as quotes from Thomas Jefferson on the importance of hard work. Although Will presents many different facts I disagree with the general statement that “Lotteries Cheat, Corrupt the People” The reason a Lottery is good for the people starts with the mental aspect, some people can’t live without gambling much like those with a coffee addiction
Frederick was moved around frequently transferring from master to master. Like many slaves, it was not uncommon for a slave to be moved around multiple times and have different masters. After Douglass’s stay in Baltimore, he returned to Thomas Auld. However, Thomas loaned Frederick to a man named Edward Covey due to unmanageable behavior. Covey was well-known fo...
Human beings always believe that what they want to do is ‘up to them,' and on this account, they take the assumption that they have free will. Perhaps that is the case, but people should investigate the situation and find a real case. Most of the intuitions may be correct, but still many of them can be incorrect. There are those who are sceptical and believe that free will is a false illusion and that it only exists in the back of people’s minds, but society should be able to distinguish feelings from beliefs in order to arrive at reality and truth.
Aristotle begins his ethical account by saying that “every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and every choice, is thought to aim for some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim” (line 1094a1). Though some things might produce higher good than others, Aristotle looks for the highest good, which he says we must “desire for its own sake” and our actions are not decided on some other goal beyond this good itself (line 1094a20-25).[1] This highest good is then realized to be happiness (line 1095a16-20).
Modern sciences have either directly emerged from philosophy or are very closely related to multiple philosophical questions. Understanding philosophy, as well as the way problems are addressed by philosophers, is the key to understanding science as we know it today and in the future. There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers – perhaps there are even more. Philosophy is said to be the mother of all disciplines. It is also the oldest of all disciplines and has given a rise to modern science, both social and natural conclusions. After three millennia of philosophical discourse and disagreement, it is extremely unlikely that we will reach an exact consensus. My thoughts are that a philosopher is basically a person who engages in the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with the intention of improving or reconstituting them; this is otherwise known as the study of philosophy.
Gambling has been an activity that has been around many states for a while. People like to gamble to test their luck and hopefully get lucky enough to win a prize. Nowadays you don 't have to go to the casino to test your luck, at majority of grocery stores they offer the ability to buy scratch off ticket and or play the powerball. Many people gamble to have fun, as well as, have a good time, but there are others that gambling becomes an addiction that is hard to control. The odds of winning are less favorable than the odds of losing. According to Jost, “lotteries in 43 states” as well as, DC “collectively” made “18 billion in revenue for the state,” along with the “local government.” (Jost,525) The lottery is a great investment for many states and the local government. Something that everyone has to be aware of is that the the lottery will always make a profit. Someone might get lucky enough to win 100 dollars, while 2 other people loss 100 dollars each. The big picture is that nobody is going to invest in a company that is not going to
Aristotle tries to draw a general understanding of the human good, exploring the causes of human actions, trying to identify the most common ultimate purpose of human actions. Indeed, Aristotelian’s ethics, also investigates through the psychological and the spiritual realms of human beings.
Aristotle’s thoughts on ethics conclude that all humans must have a purpose in life in order to be happy. I believe that some of the basics of his ideas still hold true today. This essay points out some of those ideas.
Over the years, there has been an extended running controversial debate as to whether free will truly needs an agent to encompass a definite ability of will, or whether the term “free will” is simply a term used to describe other features that individuals may possess, which leads to the controversy of whether free will really does exist. The result of free will is assumed to be human actions, that arise from rational capabilities, which as a result means that free will is depended normally on are those events, which leads us to believe that the opportunity of free action depends on the leeway of free will: to state that a person acted freely is simply to say that the individual was victorious in acting out of free choice (Van Inwagen 1983).