For Aristotle, he used the Golden Mean, in every situation which he found to be two vices with mean in the middle. For example, as discussed in class, two vices are cheap and wasteful, the mean being generosity, is the way to live by. “It should be said, then that every virtue causes its possessors to be in a good state and to perform their functions well”. (Aristotle II, 6) Aristotle wants people to live a life of balance and temperance to have a fulfilling and happy life, which he defines as, happiness is the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. He does make it a point to say that we can’t just be taught in school how to be moral. Aristotle believes no one is born evil or good, it’s about the choices one make and the values they …show more content…
Confucius on the other hand, was influenced highly by Aristotle, writing with many similarities, including the practice of virtue of wisdom, courage, and the fact that virtues need to be practiced together. He states that a person can’t be wise without being courageous, and facing the dangers of the search for truth. A person can’t be wise without the danger and of true ideal humanity in self and worth interest. “The wise are active; the authoritative is still”. (Confucius 110) And lastly, a person can’t exercise the virtue of their true self without the understanding of self -truth and choice. Confucius is the balancing of personal and social interests of the values I mentioned earlier, which all results in The Golden Mean, stated by Aristotle. Confucius finds that multiple words throughout the text, add significance to his messages. Li which is the ritual, the manner, and civility, meaning that moral initiatives outweigh the knowledge, practicing the good manners and conducting oneself in moral fashion are considered a characteristic of a gentleman. A gentleman is one who follows the Way and morals of the system, but not the beliefs that are common with other people. The Ren is the exemplary action he talks about of the good feeling a virtuous human experience when being altruistic, a main expression of Confucian ideals, the …show more content…
His views on friendship are very like mine, however I do believe some friendships can start as utility or pleasure, and then can grow very much from there and turn into something genuine. I do agree that true friends are hard to come by and that it is reckless to allow too many people to know the most intimate parts about you. Virtues and ethics can be learned through practice and while outside influence may have some impact, it is ultimately to you. Once someone decides what they believe is morally right or not, that starts affecting their decision making Everyone decides for themselves the right kind of life to
There are many reasons why people may feel self-conscious; in which, others may or may not, be able to relate to. “My Name’’ is the fourth chapter in The House on Mango Street and in this chapter, Esperanza and I share some similarities. Being named after a relative, born in the Chinese year of the horse, and a dislike in our own name are similarities we share in this chapter. [Esperanza] “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means to many letters’’(10). Esperanza expresses a dislike in her name due to the length stating, that her name it is too long. When I was younger, I felt the same as my parents placed upon me three middle names at birth. I to felt my name was too long. I would feel embarrassed when my family would address me by my full name although, they would only do so if I was
In Chinese culture, names are not merely "labels" to distinguish one from the other nor are they used as "mediums" that "reflect" one's identity and individuality; names represent all the long-term greetings and expectations from parents to children. A name is the essence of a person, and it is a gift (the first gift) from parents to be carried for the rest of one's life.* A person's name is like a title of a book or poem: we use a title to identify the nature of the book and its "essence", while we use a name to identify a person and his/her individuality. Chinese name is distinctive in a sense that each name has a story behind it, e.g. June's mother named her twin daughters in China "Chwun Yu" and "Chwun Hwa" since they were born in spring ("Chwun"), "Yu" (rain) was given to the first born and "Hwa" (flower) to the second which indicate their sequence of birth ("rain comes before flower": par. 88); furthermore, rain and flower are nature's elements that exist for one and the other, indicating these twin daughters would stay inseparable.
At this point, one might want to examine closer what Aristotle denotes by virtue, by what means it can be obtained, and what the effects of virtuousness are on something that possesses it. Aristotle identifies virtue as “a state that decides…the mean relative to us, which is defined by reference to reason… It is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency.” The key concept in this definition is the mean relative to us, by which Aristotle understands the intermediate between something that is equidistant from each extremity . As he puts it, in everything continuous and divisible we can take either too much of something, too little, or some intermediate that is between the excess and deficiency. Moreover, the mean relative to us is not merely a mathematical intermediate halfway between the two extremes. For if, Aristotle explains, “ten pounds is a lot for someone o eat, and two pounds a little, I does not follow that the train...
names are prevented from being able to reassimilate within society, they are the outcasts. It also
Well my Messas name was Nole William, and we were named for him. But when we was freed, we were told to take freed names.
One’s power and position in a society can give them the “right” or ability to name or un-name a person. Someone can gain this right by his or her status socially, financially, and even racially. If it’s their own child, of course, they have every right in the world to name him or her. But in some cultures, as is evident in “No Name Woman”, they have the right to take away someone’s name if they have disgraced their family and/or community. A name is very significant because it gives a person a sense of who they are, an identity. In “No Name Woman”, Kingston’s aunt had no identity except for the story her mother told her and in “Mary” Marguerite’s new boss, Mrs. Cullinan changed her name to Mary which then, in a way, removed Marguerite’s original identity and gave her a new one, one she didn’t want.
Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious teaching built up by Confucius on the ancient Chinese traditions, and still is the state religion down to the present day. Confucianism aims at making not just a man of virtue, but the man of learning and good manners. The perfect man must combine the qualities of a saint, a scholar, and gentleman. Confucianism is a religion without positive revelation with a minimum of dogmatic teachings.
Following the Way in the pursuit of goodness leads people to the status of “gentleman.” However, this status can only be achieved from a lifelong pursuit, which if accomplished by many, will eventually lead to innate goodness within the entire society. Confucius reveals the amount of learning and time required for achieving such status of “gentleman” in book two, chapter four, where he states, “At fifteen, I set my mind upon learning. At thirty, I took my stand. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the will of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was attuned. At seventy, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule” (Analects, in NAWL, eds. Martin Puchner, et al., 3rd edition, vol. A, 1335). Confucius presents the achievement of the “gentleman” status in a superior, yet moderate manner. He does not motivate by promising personal gain or achievement; he instead teaches to always place what is right and morally correct as top priority. It was believed by Confucius that moderation led
“Choosing My Name” by Puanani Burgress is a poem that reflects Burgess idea of her identity and how it is related with her different names. Despite having three different names Chirstabella , Yoshie and Puanani, she particularly likes identifying herself as Puanani although it is not her “official name”. Strange as it sounds, I aslo have three different names: Basanta, Kancho, Xxxxxx. My third name Xxxxxx is my cultural name that I cannot disclose thus I have decided to write it Xxxxxx as it is made up of six letters. Xxxxxx is my favorite and preferred name because it connects me to my family, my culture and my land.
In the article “The Name Is Mine” by Anna Quindlen, she explains her story about her name, why she chose to keep it, and why it has such meaning to her. As a result of keeping her maiden name, there were many positive and negative aspects that went along with it.
For those individuals that choose to look into the philosophy of Confucius, Confucianism recognizes that the quest for virtue is ordinary and providential. However, in this quest of moral aptness Confucius tried to offer other people the fervent self love that he had greatly embodied. To actually make oneself as perfect as possible was the central concern of life. Al...
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle says that virtue and happiness come from achieving the moral mean. The moral mean is the midpoint between deficiency and excess in any particular behavior. For example, the moral mean of recklessness and cowardice is courage. In matters of ple...
In the category of view of society, each belief has a different view. The Confucians believed that you develop good character through a good life and that everyone has their own role.
...rtuous ruler wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; and wishing to enlighten himself, seeks also to enlighten others." To establish mean is to rectify; and to enlighten means to possess a rich, spiritual and material life. " The ideal of love in government is by far more fundamental than such modern political ideals as liberty, equality, fraternity, and democracy. When these rules are practiced, there will be no class conflict in the nation, no exploitation, no inequality, no autocracy, no social injustice." Confucius also believed in moral rule. All moral rules have implicit in the some principle or principles. A rule can thus always be judged by it success in realizing these principles. In other words, moral rules have built-in standards by which they can be judged. If they are found wanting, this point is the way of their improvement.
For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He believed in the importance of individuals who knew their roles in an well-structured society, that was a feudal system. In his opinion, the ideal gentleman should be obedient to his elders, have humanness and be morally righteous. Through his teachings, he was able to reform an entire country; the Chinese found Confucianism to embody practices of humaneness that they could apply in their daily lives through his religion.