Aristotle, Immanuel Kant And John Stuart Mill
Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill all discuss their philosophical systems, each striving to uncover the standard that guides morality. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle outlines his system, beginning with the Chief Good towards which everything aims. The Chief Good is happiness, and is achieved through a life well lived. A life well lived results from performing our characteristic activity well, and humans’ characteristic activity is reason. Thus Aristotle uses reason to differentiate the higher from the lower life. Mill in his work titled Utilitarianism describes the standard of morality to be based on happiness; this standard Mill calls the Principle of Utility and it determines actions as right in accordance with the degree of
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According to Aristotle, the human soul is partly non-rational, which contains within it the appetitive part. The appetitive refers to the aspect of human nature that desires and seeks pleasure; from this part of the soul results the lower, pleasure-driven life. While humans share the appetitive with animals, Aristotle describes the uniquely human rational part of the soul. In Aristotle’s system, rationality is the characteristic activity of humans, which through performance leads to happiness. As Aristotle states, “…the virtue of a human being too will be the state that makes a human being good and makes him perform his characteristic activity well” (Aristotle, 29). Thus the notable characteristic of humans is their ability to reason. Aristotle goes further to distinguish the lower, pleasure-driven life from the higher life based on reason. In his words, “For we praise the reason of the self-controlled and of the incontinent, that is, the part of their soul with reason, because it urges them in the right direction, towards what is best…” (Aristotle 21). According to Aristotle, the rational life is higher because rationality enables humans to act contrary to desire and forego pleasure; it is through rationality that humans can live a higher life by overcoming the urges of the appetitive part of their
According to Aristotle, the human soul is partly non-rational, which contains within it the appetitive part. The appetitive refers to the aspect of human nature that desires and seeks pleasure; from this part of the soul results the lower, pleasure-driven life. While humans share the appetitive with animals, Aristotle describes the uniquely human rational part of the soul. In Aristotle’s system, rationality is the characteristic activity of humans, which through performance leads to happiness. As Aristotle states, “…the virtue of a human being too will be the state that makes a human being good and makes him perform his characteristic activity well” (Aristotle, 29). Thus the notable characteristic of humans is their ability to reason. Aristotle goes further to distinguish the lower, pleasure-driven life from the higher life based on reason. In his words, “For we praise the reason of the self-controlled and of the incontinent, that is, the part of their soul with reason, because it urges them in the right direction, towards what is best…” (Aristotle 21). According to Aristotle, the rational life is higher because rationality enables humans to act contrary to desire and forego pleasure; it is through rationality that humans can live a higher life by overcoming the urges of the appetitive part of their