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Aristotle's notion of happiness
What is happiness, according to Aristotle? essay
Aristotle views on happiness
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Aristotle believes that happiness is the ultimate goal in life. You can’t reach happiness unless you work hard and become successful. That is where virtue comes into play. A human’s function is to engage in “an activity of the soul which is in accordance with virtue” and which “is in conformity with reason” (page 76, Palmer). The two kinds of virtue are intellectual and moral. Our virtues are what make us all individual and all different. Intellectual virtues are what we are born with and what we learn. It is our nature as humans and what we have inherited that makes desire to learn. As humans, we develop wisdom to help guide us to a good life. With the intellectual virtue you develop two different kinds of wisdom: practical and philosophical. Practical wisdom is your rational actions. The highest virtue is philosophical wisdom, which is scientific, disinterested, and contemplative. Moral virtues are what we learn from imitation, practice and our habits we developed. Moral virtues are what we have learned from our society. “Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit” (page 223, Mayfield). This quote is explaining how you need both the intellectual virtue (nature) and the moral virtue (habit).
The soul is made up of three things: passions, faculties, and states of character. Since virtue is in our soul one of the three must be it. Passions are uncontrolled feelings ...
Wal-Mart has had a significant economic impact on the US, as well as the economies of countries that have relations with the US. Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest company of any kind, with 80 percent of the households in America purchasing something from the superstore; it is the nation’s largest retailer. Wal-Mart’s continuing price reduction has given Americans the advantage of being able to afford 15 to 20 percent more than they previously could. (Hansen) In a world governed by globalization and greed, competition has become rigid; as a result firms like Wal-Mart have utilized advanced marketing strategies to insure that they are on the ‘neck’ of competition, and are the core deciders of the market. (Ortega) However, Wal-Mart made decisions that were of a disadvantage to aspects of the economy, including the depletion on a small scale of Small Town USA.
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story that follows part of the life of a woman in the 1800 's in a diary-like format. The story follows a woman who has moved into a house while waiting for the previous one to be remodeled. She has just had a baby that she is not allowed to see, and her husband continues to keep her locked in a room unless she has an escort. In this era women were seen as delicate objects that were prone to intense emotion and in need of constant control by their husbands the escorts and ability to lock her away were, at that time, deemed appropriate ways to deal with his wife’s depression after birth. Strangely the wife was not forced to run the house, but the husband had his sister come and do this as well as take care
Aristotle’s theories on virtue vary vastly from those of his predecessors. As opposed to the views of someone such as Plato, who believed that goodness came from knowledge, Aristotle argued that goodness, was achieved by building virtuous habits. Aristotle stated “The virtue of man will also be the state of character, which makes a man good, and which makes him do his own work well” (qtd. In Great Traditions of Ethics page 29). This means that being virtuous was a personality trait, which would help to do whatever he had to good. Aristotle believed that a morally virtuous person lives his life by choosing his actions according to a “golden mean”. This golden mean is used as the standard to avoid excess and defect; it is an intermediary o...
Federalism is the division of powers between the state and federal governments. This idea was developed by future president James Madison, who believed that the two governments should control each other as well as themselves in order to provide the people with double security to their rights and freedoms (Doc A). Both governments had the power to tax the people, loan money, set up courts, make laws, and enforce laws (Doc A). However, the federal government would have power over issues regarding the state as a whole such as military and foreign relations, while the state governments would have power over local issues such as establishing schools and deciding personal rights. Neither government would have a say in matters under the other government’s jurisdiction. This way neither the state nor federal government would have more power than the other, thus safeguarding against
...it is necessary to examine human virtue. Something is considered to have reason in two senses: that which has reason in itself and that which listens to reason. These two senses are the origin of the distinction between intellectual and ethical virtues, respectively. The understanding of virtue and happiness is justified in the ideal that happiness is to be found in pleasure, others that it is to be found in honor, and others that it is to be found in contemplation. Happiness is not found in living for pleasure because such a life is slavish. Nor is it found in seeking honor because honor depends not on the person but on what others think of him. In order to be successful in an organization it is key to find a balance between two extremes that is an end within itself, that’s why Aristotle strongly believes that happiness is acquired through political organization.
In the book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses his collection of lecture notes in order to establish the best way to live and acquire happiness. Aristotle says, “Virtue, then, is a state that decides consisting in a mean, the mean relative to us,.. .It is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency.” The virtues that Aristotle speaks about in Nicomachean Ethics are: bravery, temperance, generosity, magnificence, magnanimity, and mildness. According to Aristotle, in order to live a happy life you must obtain these virtues and be morally good. Living a virtuous life is not an activity, but a predisposition. This means that you are genuinely inclined to act virtuously for the appropriate reasons.
Federalism is essentially the system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments (Lowi, A48). It, by definition, does not necessarily favor dividing the power in a particular way that would give more power to either the states or the federal government. When first formed, the American central government was very weak. Though the Constitution strengthened it, the states still had most of the power. Over time more and more power has been given to the United States’ federal government.
Federalism is a governmental principle that has taken over the United States government. This system of government is the process by which two or more governments share a power over the same geographic area. The Constitution divides the country’s power into a national government as being the highest power, and then still recognizing the powers that belong to the American people. Federalism has been changing in America ever since it was adopted with the Constitution until today. American federalism, has changed the country into a unified country with checks and balances between the people and the government. The Supreme Court has played a role in the introduction of the American federalism as well, cases like United States v. Lopez,
Aristotle claims that there are two types of virtue: intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtues must be taught, so it requires experience and time. On the other hand, “none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature.” (Aristotle 23) He says that when we are born, we all have the potential to be morally virtuous; it just depends on our upbringing and habits that determine who actually becomes virtuous. He confirms this with a metaphor to government, when he says, “legislators make the citizens good by forming habits in them.” (23) This is showing that on all levels, virtue is something that needs to be taught.
Political society today, has taken many lessons from Plato and Aristotle’s political ideas. As was the case in Ancient Greece, there are many different political ideologies and regimes that will may serve the purpose for one society, but in another, could cause utter chaos. Aristotle attributed the need for there being a number of political regimes due to the fact that there are “many parts to a city.” (4.3.1) The many parts to a city that he was referring to, simply enforces the necessity of having different forms of office for each of these parts. Not every method will work for each society. Aristotle’s concepts of political regimes have deeply rooted itself in society today. In order to understand the concepts of regime as suggested by Aristotle, this paper will consider the three different types; royalty, aristocracy, and constitutional government, as well as each of their deviations.
According to Aristotle, a virtue is a state that makes something good, and in order for something to be good, it must fulfill its function well. The proper function of a human soul is to reason well. Aristotle says that there are two parts of the soul that correspond to different types of virtues: the appetitive part of the soul involves character virtues, while the rational part involves intellectual virtues. The character virtues allow one to deliberate and find the “golden mean” in a specific situation, while the intellectual virtues allow one to contemplate and seek the truth. A virtuous person is someone who maintains an appropriate balance of these two parts of the soul, which allows them to reason well in different types of situations.
Federalism, by definition, is the division of government authority between at least two levels of government. In the United States, authority is divided between the state and national government. “Advocates of a strong federal system believe that the state and local governments do not have the sophistication to deal with the major problems facing the country” (Encarta.com).
One third of one’s life is spent sleeping. In the average lifetime, one would spend a total of around 6 years just dreaming! Everybody dreams even though one may not remember it. Although most common in children; nightmares affect adults as well. Probably the most common of sleep disorders, nightmares are something that almost everyone has experienced. Nightmares are vivid dreams that cause terror, anxiety and fear. Nightmares occur in the fourth stage of sleep, which is deep sleep. Nightmares are caused by rapid eye movement (REM). REM causes irregular EEG patterns that are like the patterns in stage one which is light sleep. Most people experience REM sleep three to five times a night. Nightmares can also be caused by stress, illness, a loss of a family member or a scary movie. After having a nightmare, it can be extremely difficult to fall back asleep. There are other feelings associated with dreams besides fear, feelings such as guilt, sadness, and confusion also occurs in nightmares. Most people who have nightmares do not remember what they have dreamed. There is no exact treatment for nightmares, but before bed time one should try to avoid late night sna...
In The Metaphysics, Aristotle states, “All men by nature desire to know.” Although, this is a generalization, of this insightful statement about the nature of humans and human understanding this statement truly captures what Aristotle was trying to figure out about humans and their thinking. Everyone has a desire to know or to understand. As rational beings we tend to contemplate very simple ideas to the most complicated, like our existence, or parts of the universe, or the universe as a whole. Aristotle is known as the father of modern day psychology and biology, even though many of his ideas of these two sciences was proven incorrect. The most important concepts of Aristotle’s theory of human understanding are the notion of cause, the infinite, and the soul.
times. Then the sand was sunk. Aristotle was a great believer in virtues and the meaning of virtue to him meant being able to fulfil one's functions. Virtue ethics is not so much interested in the question, "What should I do?" but rather the question 'what sort of person should I become?'