Read Book I text available at: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html journals due on Mar. 7 Guidance questions: 1. what are people pursuing in the end? 2. what are the criteria of happiness? 3. What is the function of man?
Aristotle stated that every actions aims at the good and we have to believe that happiness is an activity. As I was reading, I believe that Aristotle definition of happiness is not with money or goods but a happy person will come to the balance of reasons and desires which will lead to a virtue life. The function of man according to Aristotle is whether you’re dead or alive, you have to have a function which you will perform. The function of man also relates how Aristotle carries out his ideas and intellect. I agree with the theory of the function of man but I believe that it also relates to women. Women also need to have function or plans to perform and reasons. In my opinion, the theory function of man can benefit both men and women. To live a virtue life, people has to perform their function in an excellent way.
In Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics I, people are pursuing the higher good at the end. People choose happiness as the highest of good at the end. Aristotle said, “Must no one at all, then, be called happy while he lives; must we, as Solon says, see the end? Even if we are to lay down this doctrine, is it also the case that a man is happy when he is dead? Or is not this quite absurd, especially for us who say that happiness is an activity? But if we do not call the dead man happy, and if Solon does not mean this, but that one can then safely call a man blessed as being at last beyond evils and misfortunes, this also affords matter for discussion; for both evil and good are thought to exist for a dead man, as much as for one who is alive but not aware of them.” Aristotle believes someone that is “happy” is not getting pleasure out of life but the success in life. Being successful in life is just one moment in life that is enjoyable but not true happiness. Aristotle believes that happiness is not just for a moment or a period in time; he think happiness should be a apart of someone’s whole life. So, Aristotle talks about death and he feels that a person can be happy only after they are dead. Aristotle says, “Virtue too is distinguished into kinds in accordance with this difference; for we say that some of the virtues are intellectual and others moral”. We learn intellectual virtue through direction, knowledge from teachings, and information. We also learn the moral virtue from our customs, routines, practices, and traditions. I have a question for everyone, do you think this is enough to make someone happy in life, or being successful in life is well enough to make someone happy?
Every example Aristotle used seemed to add up to a pursuit of good. He wrote that even an action in search of something else is aimed at some good. Aristotle also wrote that when an action is taken just to be taken, it's also good. Wouldn't that mean that any action or activity is in the pursuit of good? "The end of medical art is health." That line to me made more sense than anything because despite what the doctors are aiming for, whether it's to benefit from the money or to help patients, the end result is health, which something I think we can all agree is good. I can't say that I agree completely with Aristotle despite he's valid points. Mainly because certain actions are taken in the pursuit of doing bad or harm. Hence, the news always bringing up negative daily findings.
The pursuit of happiness, some associate happiness with sensual pleasure, others with receiving honors; the supreme good is happiness. “Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action”. People are good if they perform their function well. For instance, a person who plays the flute well is a good flutist. The function of a man is an activity of the soul which follows or implies a rational principle. “Human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue”. We see a happy person as virtuous, rational and active. Aristotle says all human actions are for the sake of the good. Some goods are subordinate to others. The good in itself is the good at which all men and women aim; ethics and politics are subjects that together aim at that good for all. Intermediate goods are subordinate to the good in itself toward which every good is aimed.
Sometimes we do bad things, and that’s because we are doing so based on our best interests. Most of the evil men in the world do so; because they believe what they are doing is for the good, even if everyone disagrees. Most people do bad things, because most people think its right.
A virtue is always ablsolute good. Happiness is a virtue therefore is always good. But being that every person differs from one another and we all have our own definition of happiness, that really leads back to what in fact makes us happy? The journey that I am on to achieve complete happiness may be opposite of someone else's journey. Children are always happy or seeking happiness and most adults hate life because of their unhappiness which was either their fault from their own wrong doings or the effect of someone else's. Does happiness have to do with age and does it increase or decrease as we get older? Is it somehow implanted in us biologically and we only strive to keep our happiness at a stable level, or is it never there at all and we continue to find it daily? Is it the level of our happiness and positivity that giuides us to our accomplishments or do our accomplishments bring us happiness in themselves? Without accomplishments there would be no happiness but then again, does happiness come with any sort of satisfactory level? We never reach true happiness in mye eyes because we always want more. We as living human beings can never obtain absolute happiness, but only yearn for it. Then maybe once we are dead, we will find the absolute truth of happiness, and the truth of every other virtue we are seeking for our entire lives....?
In book I Aristotle starts off saying that every action we take is aimed at the good. But what is “the good”? Further into the reading, we come to a conclusion that the good that Aristotle is pointing at is happiness. Aristotle begins his speech about politics, but politics cannot be a precise science because what is best for one person may not be best for another. Thus we are only able to aim at only a rough outline of the Good. Everyone agrees that the supreme Good is happiness, but there is disagreement on what constitutes happiness. Some people equate happiness with sensual pleasure while others say that receiving honors is the greatest good. Since everyone has their own definition of happiness, what is truly happiness? And how is it obtained? Well, the belief is“…the happy man lives well and does well; for we have practically defined happiness as a sort of good life and good action.” So if happiness is defined as a good life and good actions, should we concern ourselves not with this abstract concept but with the practical ends we can actually pursue in everyday life?
Aristotle defines "happiness" as the ultimate state that all man strives for. How we achieve this is what is in question. The truly virtuous man shall be the one who experiences such happiness. For through life's obstacles whether good or bad does not compromise the ways in which he handles them but instead he is steadfast in achieving this happiness through virtuous actions. The virtues are advocated only in the pursuit of the happiness. The goodness of soul is where this divine happiness is to be established, for the actions of such will follow suit.We all have different definitions of what our own happiness is and where it lies but the universal happiness can only come from within. Is it possible to achieve this ultimate end to which everything we do in life aims? After all, to be happy is what we all want. I believe that the argument that the text provides concerning rational and irrational, what we control and what we can't control is where the struggle for our own happiness begins and ends.
In Book One, Aristotle states that all men strive for happiness. The man who reaches happiness by feeding the soul is the one who is truly happy,not by superficioul means. A man who has no purpose will not gain happiness, I think Aristotle would agree that people need goals and need to achieve these goals to reach hapiness(like a family good health etc). With constant goals in ones life(not just having one and then giving up)one will gain happiness.
People are pursuing happiness, and one can achieve that happiness by living a virtuous life. Training yourself and your rational mind can result in happiness by way of striving to be more perfect. Eve if one cannot ever be perfect, their attempts at it will have served a higher purpose regardless of success in that end: happiness. Fulfilling your duty as a human can mean many things, but most of all it comes with a responsibility to exercise your humanity by way of demonstrating moral and ethnical constraint, and by doing whatever activity one pursues well.
According to Aristotle that everything we do is in order to obtain happiness. Every action taken wether you are doing it to obtain money or awards or the recognition in the end it will cause you happiness in the way it satisfies your own needs. It all aims towards some good. "The end of medical art is health". Doctors seek recognition and respect for saving the life of their patients. Maybe they act in a selfish way but in the end they are lookin for the health and well being of their patient.
In the end, people are pursuing good. According to Aristotle, "Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim." This allows me to question whether this good is for the benefit for the person pursuing it , or if it is possibly for the good of others.
Idavil Almachi According to Aristotle, what all people are pursuing in the end is good. No matter what a person’s actions are, all that they do is to pursue some type of good. Aristotle also said that happiness is the highest good, but people always have different ideas on what happiness is to them. What people identify as happiness depends on the kind of life they lead. There are three prominent types of life. The first is the life of enjoyment in which people would identify happiness with pleasure, the second is the political life in which people associate happiness with honor, and the third is the contemplating life.
Aristotle stated,” Happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue,” (book I, Ethics) I strongly agree with Aristotle. We pursue in every activity we do for the ultimate end happiness; However he contradicts himself by saying,” but honor, pleasure, reason and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves for if nothing resulting from them we should choose them”(book I, Ethics) Its hard to believe people would pursue honor if it didn’t make one happy as well as pleasure or reason. Aristotle presented to different ideas but both sides are debatable.
Human activities aim at some result that we consider to be 'good'. The ultimate results of our actions or activities are in fact results in themselves. These results are pursued for their own sake and also for their own consequences. For example, an education is what we pursue to eventually get a good job. with that good job one now has the ability and mean (money) to acquire whatever he or she desires in life.The ability to attain all that one desires e.g materialistic pleasures is in this case the highest end. People pursue happiness and happiness depends on each individual. One's happiness can only be determined by he or she's desires in life.
In Book I Aristotle spoke on a few points that I must say I agree with. In his speech he talks about the pursuit of good and happiness and how we as mankind try our best to be happy. The act of good is in almost everything we do, both intentionally and unintentionally. Aristotle stated that happiness is the highest good. And for this I agree with him because happiness is what we as humans view as our ultimate goal. In everything we do is to ensure that its outcome would possibly take us one step closer to our goal of happiness, whatever that happiness might be. we all share this want for happiness but every man's ultimate goal of happiness might not be the same because our passion and interests varies. Our life long journey is a virtue to find this thing called happiness.
Aristotle stated that every actions aims at the good and we have to believe that happiness is an activity. As I was reading, I believe that Aristotle definition of happiness is not with money or goods but a happy person will come to the balance of reasons and desires which will lead to a virtue life. The function of man according to Aristotle is whether you’re dead or alive, you have to have a function which you will perform. The function of man also relates how Aristotle carries out his ideas and intellect. I agree with the theory of the function of man but I believe that it also relates to women. Women also need to have function or plans to perform and reasons. In my opinion, the theory function of man can benefit both men and women. To live a virtue life, people has to perform their function in an excellent way.
ReplyDeleteSaleem Bradley March, 6th
ReplyDeleteIn Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics I, people are pursuing the higher good at the end. People choose happiness as the highest of good at the end. Aristotle said, “Must no one at all, then, be called happy while he lives; must we, as Solon says, see the end? Even if we are to lay down this doctrine, is it also the case that a man is happy when he is dead? Or is not this quite absurd, especially for us who say that happiness is an activity? But if we do not call the dead man happy, and if Solon does not mean this, but that one can then safely call a man blessed as being at last beyond evils and misfortunes, this also affords matter for discussion; for both evil and good are thought to exist for a dead man, as much as for one who is alive but not aware of them.” Aristotle believes someone that is “happy” is not getting pleasure out of life but the success in life. Being successful in life is just one moment in life that is enjoyable but not true happiness. Aristotle believes that happiness is not just for a moment or a period in time; he think happiness should be a apart of someone’s whole life. So, Aristotle talks about death and he feels that a person can be happy only after they are dead. Aristotle says, “Virtue too is distinguished into kinds in accordance with this difference; for we say that some of the virtues are intellectual and others moral”. We learn intellectual virtue through direction, knowledge from teachings, and information. We also learn the moral virtue from our customs, routines, practices, and traditions. I have a question for everyone, do you think this is enough to make someone happy in life, or being successful in life is well enough to make someone happy?
Ruby Rios
ReplyDeleteEvery example Aristotle used seemed to add up to a pursuit of good. He wrote that even an action in search of something else is aimed at some good. Aristotle also wrote that when an action is taken just to be taken, it's also good. Wouldn't that mean that any action or activity is in the pursuit of good? "The end of medical art is health." That line to me made more sense than anything because despite what the doctors are aiming for, whether it's to benefit from the money or to help patients, the end result is health, which something I think we can all agree is good. I can't say that I agree completely with Aristotle despite he's valid points. Mainly because certain actions are taken in the pursuit of doing bad or harm. Hence, the news always bringing up negative daily findings.
Bianca Gayle
ReplyDeleteThe pursuit of happiness, some associate happiness with sensual pleasure, others with receiving honors; the supreme good is happiness. “Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action”. People are good if they perform their function well. For instance, a person who plays the flute well is a good flutist.
The function of a man is an activity of the soul which follows or implies a rational principle. “Human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue”. We see a happy person as virtuous, rational and active. Aristotle says all human actions are for the sake of the good. Some goods are subordinate to others. The good in itself is the good at which all men and women aim; ethics and politics are subjects that together aim at that good for all. Intermediate goods are subordinate to the good in itself toward which every good is aimed.
Sometimes we do bad things, and that’s because we are doing so based on our best interests. Most of the evil men in the world do so; because they believe what they are doing is for the good, even if everyone disagrees. Most people do bad things, because most people think its right.
Jennifer Bacigalupo
ReplyDeleteA virtue is always ablsolute good. Happiness is a virtue therefore is always good. But being that every person differs from one another and we all have our own definition of happiness, that really leads back to what in fact makes us happy? The journey that I am on to achieve complete happiness may be opposite of someone else's journey. Children are always happy or seeking happiness and most adults hate life because of their unhappiness which was either their fault from their own wrong doings or the effect of someone else's. Does happiness have to do with age and does it increase or decrease as we get older? Is it somehow implanted in us biologically and we only strive to keep our happiness at a stable level, or is it never there at all and we continue to find it daily? Is it the level of our happiness and positivity that giuides us to our accomplishments or do our accomplishments bring us happiness in themselves? Without accomplishments there would be no happiness but then again, does happiness come with any sort of satisfactory level? We never reach true happiness in mye eyes because we always want more. We as living human beings can never obtain absolute happiness, but only yearn for it. Then maybe once we are dead, we will find the absolute truth of happiness, and the truth of every other virtue we are seeking for our entire lives....?
In book I Aristotle starts off saying that every action we take is aimed at the good. But what is “the good”? Further into the reading, we come to a conclusion that the good that Aristotle is pointing at is happiness. Aristotle begins his speech about politics, but politics cannot be a precise science because what is best for one person may not be best for another. Thus we are only able to aim at only a rough outline of the Good. Everyone agrees that the supreme Good is happiness, but there is disagreement on what constitutes happiness. Some people equate happiness with sensual pleasure while others say that receiving honors is the greatest good. Since everyone has their own definition of happiness, what is truly happiness? And how is it obtained? Well, the belief is“…the happy man lives well and does well; for we have practically defined happiness as a sort of good life and good action.” So if happiness is defined as a good life and good actions, should we concern ourselves not with this abstract concept but with the practical ends we can actually pursue in everyday life?
ReplyDeleteAristotle defines "happiness" as the ultimate state that all man strives for. How we achieve this is what is in question. The truly virtuous man shall be the one who experiences such happiness. For through life's obstacles whether good or bad does not compromise the ways in which he handles them but instead he is steadfast in achieving this happiness through virtuous actions. The virtues are advocated only in the pursuit of the happiness. The goodness of soul is where this divine happiness is to be established, for the actions of such will follow suit.We all have different definitions of what our own happiness is and where it lies but the universal happiness can only come from within. Is it possible to achieve this ultimate end to which everything we do in life aims? After all, to be happy is what we all want. I believe that the argument that the text provides concerning rational and irrational, what we control and what we can't control is where the struggle for our own happiness begins and ends.
ReplyDeleteIn Book One, Aristotle states that all men strive for happiness. The man who reaches happiness by feeding the soul is the one who is truly happy,not by superficioul means. A man who has no purpose will not gain happiness, I think Aristotle would agree that people need goals and need to achieve these goals to reach hapiness(like a family good health etc). With constant goals in ones life(not just having one and then giving up)one will gain happiness.
ReplyDeletePeople are pursuing happiness, and one can achieve that happiness by living a virtuous life. Training yourself and your rational mind can result in happiness by way of striving to be more perfect. Eve if one cannot ever be perfect, their attempts at it will have served a higher purpose regardless of success in that end: happiness. Fulfilling your duty as a human can mean many things, but most of all it comes with a responsibility to exercise your humanity by way of demonstrating moral and ethnical constraint, and by doing whatever activity one pursues well.
ReplyDelete(its Kyle)
ReplyDeleteAna
ReplyDeleteAccording to Aristotle that everything we do is in order to obtain happiness. Every action taken wether you are doing it to obtain money or awards or the recognition in the end it will cause you happiness in the way it satisfies your own needs. It all aims towards some good. "The end of medical art is health". Doctors seek recognition and respect for saving the life of their patients. Maybe they act in a selfish way but in the end they are lookin for the health and well being of their patient.
In the end, people are pursuing good. According to Aristotle, "Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim." This allows me to question whether this good is for the benefit for the person pursuing it , or if it is possibly for the good of others.
ReplyDeleteIdavil Almachi
ReplyDeleteAccording to Aristotle, what all people are pursuing in the end is good. No matter what a person’s actions are, all that they do is to pursue some type of good. Aristotle also said that happiness is the highest good, but people always have different ideas on what happiness is to them. What people identify as happiness depends on the kind of life they lead. There are three prominent types of life. The first is the life of enjoyment in which people would identify happiness with pleasure, the second is the political life in which people associate happiness with honor, and the third is the contemplating life.
Preston Charles
ReplyDeleteMarch 8th 2011
Aristotle stated,” Happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue,” (book I, Ethics) I strongly agree with Aristotle. We pursue in every activity we do for the ultimate end happiness; However he contradicts himself by saying,” but honor, pleasure, reason and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves for if nothing resulting from them we should choose them”(book I, Ethics) Its hard to believe people would pursue honor if it didn’t make one happy as well as pleasure or reason. Aristotle presented to different ideas but both sides are debatable.
Sheena Lambert
ReplyDeleteHuman activities aim at some result that we consider to be 'good'. The ultimate results of our actions or activities are in fact results in themselves. These results are pursued for their own sake and also for their own consequences. For example, an education is what we pursue to eventually get a good job. with that good job one now has the ability and mean (money) to acquire whatever he or she desires in life.The ability to attain all that one desires e.g materialistic pleasures is in this case the highest end.
People pursue happiness and happiness depends on each individual. One's happiness can only be determined by he or she's desires in life.
Shaunelle Hall
ReplyDelete03/07/11
In Book I Aristotle spoke on a few points that I must say I agree with. In his speech he talks about the pursuit of good and happiness and how we as mankind try our best to be happy. The act of good is in almost everything we do, both intentionally and unintentionally. Aristotle stated that happiness is the highest good. And for this I agree with him because happiness is what we as humans view as our ultimate goal. In everything we do is to ensure that its outcome would possibly take us one step closer to our goal of happiness, whatever that happiness might be. we all share this want for happiness but every man's ultimate goal of happiness might not be the same because our passion and interests varies. Our life long journey is a virtue to find this thing called happiness.