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Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics???
Tobias Funke:
Having not done this in a while, i'll try my best
1. As all activity aims at some good, there must be a chief good which all things aim for. Aristotle concludes it is happiness (although it begs the question, why there can not be a variety of chief goods). So from that point he seeks to find a clearer account of what happiness is
I think if I was reminded more of the content I'd be able to answer more, but really, I've forgotten a lot
Whenever you do the soul though, my teacher provided a fairly decent analogy/explanation of the three aspects; imagine a person using a hose (the faculties), the hose itself is what keeps the water (passions) together, and it is up to you where you want to shoot the water (character).
mel_77777:
'We must not expect more precision than the subject-matter admits of. The student should hav reached years of discretion'
Anyone have an idea as to what this means?
Im understanding it as, we must not be precise when discussing Good as there are fluctuations in what is Good and what is deemed Good for one man may not be deemed Good for another, so as such we must discuss roughly and in outline.
Please let me know if i am way off the mark haha.
Tobias Funke:
Yeah basically you're right.
I think later he says something which makes what he's aiming to say much easier to understand
goes along the lines of 'it would be foolish to expect probable reasoning from a mathematician as it would be to expect demonstrative proofs from a political scientist?'
mel_77777:
--- Quote from: AndyLedHead on January 31, 2011, 11:01:31 am ---Yeah basically you're right.
I think later he says something which makes what he's aiming to say much easier to understand
goes along the lines of 'it would be foolish to expect probable reasoning from a mathematician as it would be to expect demonstrative proofs from a political scientist?'
--- End quote ---
Thanks :) yeahh... 'it is foolish to accept probabal reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetician demonstrative proofs', that quote does kinda help.
Wondering whether this sounds about right, though this is only referring to dicussion within the first 20 pages of the text.
Im still very unsure about this text :(
Happiness, or Eudemonia, is central to Aristotle’s conception of the good life. This happiness that Aristotle speaks of ‘is the highest of all goods achievable by action’ and what it is that constitutes for happiness appears to differ; man identifies happiness ‘with health when he is ill, with wealth when he is poor’ and there is an admiration of ‘those who proclaim some great thing that is above ones comprehension’. What must be emphasised is the fact that happiness is made of these numerous other subordinate ends and happiness is always pursued as an end and never a means to an end; it is not a state but an activity, it is a constant motion.
Aurelian:
--- Quote from: mel_77777 on January 31, 2011, 01:11:53 pm ---Wondering whether this sounds about right, though this is only referring to dicussion within the first 20 pages of the text.
Im still very unsure about this text :(
Happiness, or Eudemonia, is central to Aristotle’s conception of the good life. This happiness that Aristotle speaks of ‘is the highest of all goods achievable by action’ and what it is that constitutes for happiness appears to differ; man identifies happiness ‘with health when he is ill, with wealth when he is poor’ and there is an admiration of ‘those who proclaim some great thing that is above ones comprehension’. What must be emphasised is the fact that happiness is made of these numerous other subordinate ends and happiness is always pursued as an end and never a means to an end; it is not a state but an activity, it is a constant motion.
--- End quote ---
I couldn't be bothered reading this properly but just one thing; don't use the phrase "happiness" when talking about Aristotle. Use only eudaimonia or flourishing.
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