Aristotle discussion questions PDF

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Weekly content assignment on Aristotle...

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First, explain either a) the 3 types of life that Aristotle says we must choose between to pursue happiness, or b) why he says that happiness is an activity, not a state. Happiness is the goal. Second, explain either a) why virtue can be spoiled by either defect or excess, or b) how virtue is preserved by a mean relative to us. Third, explain one (1) of the moral virtues that Aristotle wants us to pursue. Fourth, apply one (1) of the ideas you have explained above to a contemporary event, and argue that an Aristotelian explanation is either convincing or unconvincing in that situation. We dont know what happiness is. We all want to be happy, that’s what we’re all trying to do, thats the supreme Good Idiots think happiness is fucking and getting married, but that’s just the animals in us Theory of forms There is a form of good and all good things are good in the same way Humans are good if they are good at the thing they are supposed to do. If capitalism deems you useful, then you are a good person. A good person will always behave in a virtuous manner Dying doesnt change what u do Divide the soul into two parts, the emotional sude, and the logical side. The irrational has the lazy part, which is our food and how to get big, little connection to being good The second part is the appetite, the hunger, which gives us our impulses Our rational soul controls impulses, a person with virtue with better rationality can control their impulses better Eudaimonia is living life and being successful at living life The greeks were so attached to where you were from, if u got banished it was a fate worse than death, their identity was so where they are from No difference between public and private Happiness was your position in society Happiness is living the right way If you are in a society, Happiness is the goal telos Every action has a goal

Intellectual virtue and moral virtue

Aristotle says that happiness is an activity, not a state because it’s the only thing we do just because. When we talk about happiness, it stretches more than a day, it usually means your whole life. You cannot achieve happiness and then be happy forever. It is an activity, you have currently achieved the ability to be happy. You can only say you had a happy childhood once you actually leave childhood. People who are useful and functional are good in society. They can perform their task well, and society values this. This is what makes people happy, the ability to be good at the thing you are supposed to be good at. To be happy, you have to be good at a task and then continue to do it. We have to find the middle ground between vice and virtue to seek happiness. There are always going to be obviously easier choices along the way to deter you, but true virtue is to do the right thing. True virtue also needs to be maintained over time, it cannot be taught to someone or written down and explained. We owe each other virtuous behavior, otherwise society would never function properly. One virtue that Aristotle wanted us to discuss is honor and dishonor. To be virtuous, Aristotle wants the everyman to experience Greatness of Soul. I think this is a really good virtue to prioritize, because you have to be nice to yourself if you want others to be nice to you. It is much harder to be nice to others if you are not nice to yourself. But, you can be too nice to yourself, too confident, too much. You can also not like yourself at all, but still be nice to others. This is one of the ones where the options are unequal; the people who are not nice to themselves are usually nice to others. Some of the meanest people you’ll meet will be the nicest to themselves, and some of the nicest people you’ll meet will be so mean to themselves. The balance of this is finding the middle, having self confidence while also caring about other people. A modern day example would be someone posting something not particularly nice about someone else on a private account. Is it honorable to show the person the mean post, or is it more honorable to keep it a secret because you are on the private account? Aristotle believes that both the ambitious and the unambitious are to be rewarded depending on the circumstances, so his stance needs to be interpreted. I personally think that Aristotle would encourage the viewer to inform the person who the post is about it’s existence, then ask if the person who it’s about wants to know what they said. It is coincidentally what I would do, but Aristotle values honestly and the truth, and it would be lying if you did not alert the person.

Virtue has to be maintained throughout your whole life. You cannot be a virtuous person if you had to become a virtuous person. There is no way to truly learn virtue. We base our decisions on what we know, and if you don’t know the right thing, ask a more virtuous person. Virtue

cannot be taught at a college. You cannot major in being a good person. We have to be virtuous all the time to be virtuous. Virtue cannot not be selected, then you no longer have it....