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Greek schools of thought
Essay on ancient greek philosophy
Essay on ancient greek philosophy
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What are the characteristics of pleasure and pain? (pp. 32-33, 36, 57-59) • The eradication of all pain is the highest attainable level of pleasure. Whenever pleasure is felt, there will never be a corresponding sensation of pain or distress (III). • A single pain will never be felt for a long duration of time. The sharpest pains leave the body relatively quickly. Those sensations that exceed pleasure will be only temporarily felt (2-3 days). However, prolonged sicknesses are accompanied by sensations of pleasure that outstrip feelings of pain (IV). • There is no pleasure that is disadvantageous in its own right. However, certain producers of pleasure can cause great difficulties that outweigh the advantages of such pleasure (VIII) • All pleasures …show more content…
• Finally, mental pain and pleasure are stronger than bodily pain and pleasure. 2. What is justice? (pp. 34-36) • Justice, in its natural state, is an agreement/contract with others neither to harm one another nor to be harmed. • Those animals that do not possess the ability to make such contracts cannot be held to a standard of justice and injustice. Additionally, those countries that do not engage in pacts with other nations (either through inability or choice) cannot be held to notions of justice or injustice. • Justice does not exist in its own right, but is only generated by mutual agreements between individuals. Injustice is not an evil in its own respect, but only because of the terror created by the prospect of potential punishment for certain actions. • Justice is universal to all people because it is simply a useful tool to regulate human associations. However, standards of justice will vary between locations and people groups. • For an action to be termed just, it must simply be useful in mutual associations. When an action hitherto believed to be just no longer proves beneficial, it can no longer be held as just. Ultimately, notions of justice are transitory and …show more content…
Gods are idle beings that do not engage in labor, pay attention to earthly or celestial complications, or lack pleasure. Rather, they celebrate their wisdom and virtue and are always confident in the permanence of their pleasure. These beings can be best described as “blessed” because they constantly enjoy rest and leisure. Because the world was created (and currently operated) by nature, the gods do not have to concern themselves with its maintenance. Because they are constantly at rest, human beings no longer have to look to the gods for truth or fear their divine retribution. Rather than stating that the gods are an aggregation of atoms that will someday dissolve, Epicurus asserts that they have “quasi-bodies” and “quasi-blood.” In other words, there are images of the gods that are not comprised of atoms, but are amorphous and translucent. These images take on a human-like appearance because 1) the human form is the most conducive to the divine nature, 2) the human body is the only earthly form that can possess an intellect, and 3) human beings innately envision the gods in human form. Finally, the gods can only be observed through thought and therefore are mental depictions created by human minds out of the infinite
We need to feel both pleasure and pain from doing the right thing. Pain can also cure pleasure because the pain could hurt the pleasure and steer us away. This is how we learn to be better people. We combine our experiences with pleasure and pain and find out what actions are good for us. Those who handle pain and pleasure seem to be the best people. Aristotle then shifts to asking the question that we might feel we are
incredible amount of pain. Janice has requested her physician to give her a painless life-ending drug. The question is whether the physician is morally allowed to end Janice’s life (given that physician assisted suicide is legal). I will
Krabs exemplify Epicurean characteristics. Epicureans believe that pleasure is the greatest good, though one should make balanced decisions about one’s indulgences. Sandy finds the greatest pleasure in exercise and activity such as sand boarding, martial arts, and jelly fishing. In the episode “Pre-Hibernation Week,” she drags Spongebob with her to do all of her favorite activities in an excited and giddy manner (“Pre-Hibernation Week”). Mr. Krabs also holds pleasure in a very high regard. He buys
On the other hand, when determining the morality of the act of giving money, John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian ethical theory would focus on consequences as well as two main components: deriving highest pleasure and avoiding pain for the majority (Mill 8). Mill argues, “He who saves a fellow creature from drowning does what is morally right, whether his motive be duty or the hope of being paid for his trouble” (Mill 18). Through this example, John Stuart Mill describes the importance of consequences
Epicurus states that the pleasure is ‘The starting point and the goal of the happy life’, we learn about if it is actually good to seek each and every pleasure and also we read about the possibilities of leading a virtuous but unpleasant life. Epicurus believes that pleasure is ‘the starting point and the goal of the happy life’. Epicurus invokes psychological hedonism (“starting point”) to support his ethical hedonism (“the goal”) in this statement. He claims that pleasure is the goal of life and
Webster's dictionary defines hedonism as "the ethical doctrine that pleasure, variously conceived of in terms of happiness of the individual or of society, is the principal good and the proper aim of action" or "the theory that a person always acts is such a way as to seek pleasure and avoid pain." With this definition in mind, and with further examination of John Stuart Mill's theory on hedonism, I am going to argue that hedonism is not an exclusive or distinct way of thinking. In fact
utilitarian applicant is the criterion of utility, which states that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.” (IEP, 2014) Mill and Bentham's theories are different, although Mill discovered the school of Utilitarianism by using Bentham's criteria. Bentham will not acknowledge any differences in disposition however
Aristotle's Poetics: Complexity and Pleasure in Tragedy Aristotle 384-322 BC First, the instinct of imitation is implanted in man from childhood, one difference between him and other animals being that he is the most imitative of living creatures, and through imitation learns his earliest lessons; and no less universal is the pleasure felt in things imitated. We have evidence of this in the facts of experience. Objects which in themselves we view with pain, we delight to contemplate when reproduced
In the first section of Beyond The Pleasure Principle, Freud begins by addressing the concept of the pleasure principle itself, saying “…that the apparatus strives to keep the quantity of excitation within it as low as possible, or at least constant” (Sigmund Freud, 52). Meaning that humanity possess an instinctual drive toward experiencing pleasure and shielding itself from pain. Freud understands the existence of the pleasure principle, and states that it if it weren’t for various other human instincts
Deontology and Utilitarianism in the Accounting Profession The American Association of Public Accountants first implemented ethical rules in 1905. Since then, accounting ethics has been heavily scrutinized. It has been said "that the relationship between personal values, codes of conduct and decisions to engage in financial misrepresentation are 'weak at best'" (Douglas, Davidson, & Schwartz, 2001), p. 101). It is essential for Accountants to make ethical decisions. In order to promote ethical
When one asks the question: what is a meaningful life? one is looking for an answer that can adequately satisfy a set of desiderata, and a good answer will be one that if the characteristics of a meaningful life are taken away, then it will no longer be considered a meaningful life. I maintain that a moral life makes a meaningful life. Before diving into the questions that arise with meaningfulness of life, it is helpful to examine two extreme views on the meaning of life, namely, the religious
Human Nature is defined as the general characteristics and behavioral aspects of mankind that is shared among all humans. However, pertaining to antisocial behavior others’ are more likely to act on impulses, experience lack of guilt, and disregard normalcy in society. Through exaggerated self-worth, and the ability to easily manipulate peers, they are known to use extreme exploitation. Therefore, are we born to crime as the classical criminologists believe, or with positivists who think specific
The fundamental objective of Hedonistic Utilitarianism would be to maximize happiness while minimizing pain (Sober 416). Supported by philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the theory of Utilitarianism has been criticized, reformed, and researched in order to view the different situations in which this theory may produce positive or negative outcomes. Although this moral theory, was established with positive intentions there have been ethical conflictions created by this theory. Such as
An existence exempted as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments and pleasure, both in point of quantity and quality. The test of quality, and the rule for measuring it against quantity, the preference felt by those who in their opportunities of experience to which people must be added to their habits
Bentham and Mill maneuver utilitarianism’s calculative and quantifiable characteristics on the established thought that human happiness, pleasure, pain, and suffering are synonymous with moral rightness and moral wrongness, all in accordance with scientific experience. The utilitarian’s moral theory is advanced on a subjective quality that the vast majority of animals share. Kant’s deontology finds this characteristic to be paramount in the development of ethical theory as the difference between