Aristotle Living a Human Life/Human Nature
Aristotle Living a human life/human nature
Aristotle was a man of philosophy, science, and mathematics. He used these three tools to explain what he thought the purpose of being a human being was, and just what being a human being entailed. To describe what a human being was, he came up with many theories, which involved friendship, happiness, and human nature. He also believed that not everyone was a perfect human, meaning, there were things an individual must do throughout his or her life to achieve becoming a Good person and ultimately becoming a happy person. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining what a full human life really is and then critiquing some of Aristotle's beliefs about human nature. I may agree or disagree with some of his points. The fact remains, I will use my own views in many cases to defend my points because to me, that is the point of this paper and the class, to understand a way of thinking, and argue for or against that way through the use of philosophy and intellectual thinking. So what makes humans unique and any different from an animal according to Aristotle? Our process of rational thought, which allows us to make decisions, whether they be good or bad. A person that makes an effort to be a Good person generally will make decisions that he or she feels is in the best interest of being good. Being a Good person leads to being a virtuous (striving for excellence) person, which eventually will lead to happiness, the ultimate goal for a human being in Aristotle's views. The question is, what constitutes being happy, as a human being. Many will state that having a good sex life is happiness, but because we are not just animals, but rational beings, there is much more to life than just having sex or having a good sensual life. Every action a human being makes aims for an end, a goal or purpose, otherwise known as "telos". An end may not sound like it seems, because an end in Aristotle's world is not always a
Aristotle was a man of philosophy, science, and mathematics. He used these three tools to explain what he thought the purpose of being a human being was, and just what being a human being entailed. To describe what a human being was, he came up with many theories, which involved friendship, happiness, and human nature. He also believed that not everyone was a perfect human, meaning, there were things an individual must do throughout his or her life to achieve becoming a Good person and ultimately becoming a happy person. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining what a full human life really is and then critiquing some of Aristotle's beliefs about human nature. I may agree or disagree with some of his points. The fact remains, I will use my own views in many cases to defend my points because to me, that is the point of this paper and the class, to understand a way of thinking, and argue for or against that way through the use of philosophy and intellectual thinking. So what makes humans unique and any different from an animal according to Aristotle? Our process of rational thought, which allows us to make decisions, whether they be good or bad. A person that makes an effort to be a Good person generally will make decisions that he or she feels is in the best interest of being good. Being a Good person leads to being a virtuous (striving for excellence) person, which eventually will lead to happiness, the ultimate goal for a human being in Aristotle's views. The question is, what constitutes being happy, as a human being. Many will state that having a good sex life is happiness, but because we are not just animals, but rational beings, there is much more to life than just having sex or having a good sensual life. Every action a human being makes aims for an end, a goal or purpose, otherwise known as "telos". An end may not sound like it seems, because an end in Aristotle's world is not always a