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According to Aristotle, what is the ultimate aim of all human activity?
According to Aristotle, what is the ultimate aim of all human activity?
- Experiencing pleasure
- Achieving happiness (correct)
- Accumulating wealth and honor
- Seeking knowledge and wisdom
Which statement aligns with Aristotle's view on happiness and children?
Which statement aligns with Aristotle's view on happiness and children?
- Children are naturally happy due to their innocence.
- Children achieve happiness through constant parental guidance.
- Children can experience fleeting moments of happiness, but not a complete life of it.
- A child cannot be called 'happy' because happiness requires a completed life and cultivation over time. (correct)
What, according to Aristotle, is the role of virtue in achieving happiness?
What, according to Aristotle, is the role of virtue in achieving happiness?
- Cultivating virtue is the ultimate determinant of our happiness, though externals may play a role. (correct)
- Virtue is a mere means to an end, and that end is happiness.
- Virtue guarantees happiness regardless of external circumstances.
- Virtue ensures that one will never experience misery.
According to Aristotelian ethics, what is the function of a human being related to?
According to Aristotelian ethics, what is the function of a human being related to?
In Aristotelian ethics, what is 'arête' best described as?
In Aristotelian ethics, what is 'arête' best described as?
According to Aristotle, what is required to understand happiness for human beings?
According to Aristotle, what is required to understand happiness for human beings?
What is emphasized as necessary for happiness?
What is emphasized as necessary for happiness?
A character virtue is often a mean between two vices. Which of the following correctly displays a virtue as the mean between two vices?
A character virtue is often a mean between two vices. Which of the following correctly displays a virtue as the mean between two vices?
How does Aristotle’s view of happiness differ from that of ‘the many’ and ‘the cultivated’?
How does Aristotle’s view of happiness differ from that of ‘the many’ and ‘the cultivated’?
What is the meaning of 'telos' in the context of Aristotelian ethics?
What is the meaning of 'telos' in the context of Aristotelian ethics?
Flashcards
Aristotle on Happiness
Aristotle on Happiness
The ultimate goal of all human activity, desired for its own sake.
How to Achieve Happiness
How to Achieve Happiness
Happiness is achieved by cultivating virtue over time.
Moderation
Moderation
A life of balance and avoidance of extremes.
Human Happiness
Human Happiness
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Virtues of Character
Virtues of Character
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Virtue
Virtue
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Cowardice
Cowardice
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Rashness
Rashness
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Miserly
Miserly
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Wasteful
Wasteful
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Study Notes
- Every activity aims at some end, and some ends are superior to others because they are pursued for their own sake.
- Happiness is the ultimate goal of human life, desired for itself and not for something else.
- Philosophers question whether happiness is subjective, whether everyone's happiness is their own, and if there are objective conditions and minimum requirements for happiness.
- Both the cultivated and the masses consider happiness the best kind of life though they disagree on its constituents.
- Wealth, honor, and pleasure are possible candidates for a happy life.
- Understanding happiness requires discovering the function of a human being.
- Humans share nutrition, growth, and perception with plants and animals.
- The human function is the activity of the soul in accord with reason.
- Virtue means leading a rational life, and happiness is the soul's activity in accordance with virtue, expressing reason within a completed life.
- Happiness, being an activity of the soul, must be cultivated over time.
- A child cannot be called happy as life involves reversals of fortune, and happiness needs a completed life.
- Happiness is primarily achieved through learning the art of virtuous living.
- A life of moderation is the happiest and best from the Aristotelian viewpoint.
- Cultivating virtue ultimately determines our happiness, but human life requires certain "externals."
- Virtuous individuals are never completely miserable.
Aristotelian Ethics
- Ethics explores what we should do, serving as a guide to a way of life and it includes morals.
- Every being has a final cause (telos), and knowing it helps decide the virtue of that thing.
- Virtue is also known as arête, and should be sort for its own sake.
Happiness (Eudaimonia)
- Happiness (Eudaimonia) is an outcome of virtue, specifically developing certain virtues of character.
Virtue & Character
- Virtues of character relate to habit.
- Humans can develop habits not given by nature.
- Ethical activity is unnatural, requiring us to do painful things and avoid pleasurable ones; ethicality is not about satisfying appetites.
- Character virtues are a mean between two vices: one of excess and one of deficiency.
- Examples of virtues and their corresponding vices of deficiency and excess:
- Cowardice (deficiency) - Bravery (virtue) - Rashness (excess)
- (Inhuman) - Temperance - Intemperance
- Wasteful - Generous - Miserly
- Vulgar - Magnanimous - Stingy
- Quick-tempered - Mild-tempered - Insensitive (includes righteous anger)
- Too Friendly - Personable - Cantankerous
- Boastful - Rightly Modest - Too Modest
- Buffoon - Good Humor - Boor
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