Philosophy Aristotle
A. A brilliant young attorney comes to you. She is employed as a new counsel in the state Department of
Justice. According to her, however, her workplace is a political nightmare. While hiring seems to be done on the basis of genuine merit and skills, promotion seems to go to people who politic well and make strong connections with senior staffers. Those promoted are not by any means the best litigators, but are certainly the best “brown-nosers.” Furthermore, the head of the Department is an appointed political hack who has turned it into a support system for his own political party. There are a few good attorneys in senior positions, but they do not seem to be able to override the general culture of the Department. What, she asks you, should she do? Should she stay, or leave? If she stays, how should she comport herself?
Sometimes, Aristotle notes, the end in one activity-end formula can become an activity in another.
If the pursuit of happiness is never pursued for the sake of some other thing, then according to Aristotle it is the "highest of all goods" or the "complete good" or the "good that is self-sufficient".
1. You practice carpentry (activity) in order to build wooden objects (end).
2. You build wooden objects (activity) in order to sell them for money (end).
3. You acquire money (activity) in order to buy things that are needed like food, clothes (end).
4. You acquire things that are needed (activity) like food, clothes, in order that you do not starve or freeze (end).
5. You strive not to starve or freeze (activity) in order that you are not in pain (end).
6. You strive to not be in pain (activity) in order that you may achieve a state of pleasure (end).
7. You strive to acheive a state of pleasure in order that you may be happy (end).
According to Aristotle,
(a) All activities -- if we proceed on to ask "why?" in the sense answered by 1 to 7 -- have happiness as their eventual aim and goal.
(b) Happiness itself is
Justice. According to her, however, her workplace is a political nightmare. While hiring seems to be done on the basis of genuine merit and skills, promotion seems to go to people who politic well and make strong connections with senior staffers. Those promoted are not by any means the best litigators, but are certainly the best “brown-nosers.” Furthermore, the head of the Department is an appointed political hack who has turned it into a support system for his own political party. There are a few good attorneys in senior positions, but they do not seem to be able to override the general culture of the Department. What, she asks you, should she do? Should she stay, or leave? If she stays, how should she comport herself?
Sometimes, Aristotle notes, the end in one activity-end formula can become an activity in another.
If the pursuit of happiness is never pursued for the sake of some other thing, then according to Aristotle it is the "highest of all goods" or the "complete good" or the "good that is self-sufficient".
1. You practice carpentry (activity) in order to build wooden objects (end).
2. You build wooden objects (activity) in order to sell them for money (end).
3. You acquire money (activity) in order to buy things that are needed like food, clothes (end).
4. You acquire things that are needed (activity) like food, clothes, in order that you do not starve or freeze (end).
5. You strive not to starve or freeze (activity) in order that you are not in pain (end).
6. You strive to not be in pain (activity) in order that you may achieve a state of pleasure (end).
7. You strive to acheive a state of pleasure in order that you may be happy (end).
According to Aristotle,
(a) All activities -- if we proceed on to ask "why?" in the sense answered by 1 to 7 -- have happiness as their eventual aim and goal.
(b) Happiness itself is