PL 201 Discussion 4 Aristotle’s Conception of Virtue

Aristotle’s Conception of Virtue

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Aristotle’s Conception of Virtue

Aristotle applied a lot of patient and also included careful approach in his moral philosophy. In his philosophy, Aristotle tried to show the methods which can be used to achieve happiness. Wealth, honor or neither ordinary notions of pleasure can provide the goal of happiness because even those individuals with materials wealth may lack happiness. According to this great man, variety of thing have particular characteristic in which they function. In addition, the good for human beings should therefore involve proper function of life in general which should be expressed genuinely to build happiness (Sorabji, 2003).

A person will be called happy if he or she will exhibit personality appropriately which should be balanced between the human desires and reasons in cooperation with moderation. According to Aristotle, true happiness can only be gained through the in cooperation of virtues which are important for making life complete. As people grow up, they tend to be more purposeful in life but also less aimless. He claimed that we should have a plan in life that should direct us on what we should do in life and why we should do that. Aristotle knew that the end of human life is to flourish, to live well and also have a good life whereby there must be food, shelter and clothing (Sherman, 2009).

In conclusion, having a good life does not mean that you should have all the wealth but living life to the end with temperance, courage and justice. The virtue helps us not to enter in completion of limited good which may restrict us from peace of mind. Courage helps us to interact with other people and enjoy the benefits of friendship which adds to good life. According to Aristotle, living well does not only constitute our own control but also the control of our environment including those we are interacting with (Sorabji, 2003).

References

Sherman, N. (2009). The fabric of character: Aristotle’s theory of virtue.

Sorabji, R. (2003, January). Aristotle on the R? le of Intellect in Virtue. In Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (Vol. 74, pp. 107-129). Aristotelian Society, Wiley.