... began an argument by stating "But presumably the remark that the best good is happiness is apparently something [generally] agreed, and we still need a clearer statement of what the best good is. Perhaps, then, we shall find this if we first grasp the function of a human being" (1097b22-25). For Aristotle's Closing statement he said "And so the human good [happiness] proves to be activity of the soul in accord with virtue, and ... to be a certain kind of life, and take this life to be activity and actions of the soul that involve reason; hence the function of the excellent man is to do ...

• Word Count: 773
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... life" and what conditions and characteristics make up this "good life". Virtue ethics prescribes that we imagine a picture of the good life and of the good person and act in accordance to those ideals. In virtue ethics the standard of right action is as follows: "An act is morally right just because it is one that a virtuous person, acting in character, would do in that situation" (Shafer ... , and that this good is only achievable through activity of the soul exhibiting excellence; that is being virtuous. And at the heart of Nicomachean Ethics and virtue ethics is the search for "eudaim...

• Word Count: 1642
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to three parts of soul, the stratum of philosophers, corresponding to rational soul with wisdom as its virtue, the stratum of warriors, whose virtue is courage, the stratum of craftsmen, the desiring part of soul, with abstinence as its primary virtue, conforming to it. Such a division of aims detracts nothing from the principle of justice, as soon as it's founded not on social tenets, but on natural gifts, its foundations being not at all accidental. Making use of an ancient myth ... are neither filled with mystical religiosity, nor support those unorthodox theories of family and prope...

• Word Count: 2447
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... many of the aspects of the inquiry" (77). To sum up, when Aristotle states that human good is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, he is first of all placing the seat of human behavior and action in the soul, meaning that it is the soul that determines whether we do good or ill. Aristotle says that the function of the human being is a certain kind of life. That life consists of an activity or actions of the soul implying a rational principle, and the function of a good man is the performance of these ... functions. This leads Aristotle to the conclusion that human good is ...

• Word Count: 1576
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... than a pig satisfied" (P. 15). According to the utilitarian principles, Mill also claims that it is the result of an action that counts rather than the motive of an action or the morality of the person who does the action. Meaning that to know whether an action is "right" or "wrong", one needs to calculate if the result of the action consequently increased the happiness of the majority of the people. For example, he states, "a sacrifice which ... explains his theory. He believes that, "happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with virtue" (P. 12). By "the soul," Ari...

• Word Count: 1346
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate