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Analysis Of Aristotle's Function Argument

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The purpose of Aristotle’s function argument is to determine the function of the human being. The role of the argument in Aristotle’s investigation is to identify the true human good, which in essence, will help humans to live well and happy lives. He uses rationality as a basis for his arguments, stating that the characteristic is unique to human life because no other living organisms are able to act and think in accordance with reason. Therefore cannot live, to the same extent, the happy and function-fulfilling life that humans are able to. It is useful to understand the concept of function as it applies to human beings because without it, we would not understand how it connects with our virtues and human good. Virtues, as Aristotle describes …show more content…

For example, the function of the eye is to see, and we declare 20/20 vision to be good vision. The reason for this is because we are able to see an adequate distance at 20 feet away, if we were able to see at a distance of a mile or more, it wouldn’t be better because, according to Aristotle, we need to find the equilibrium of things in our lives. To be deficit in sight would mean to be blind, but having an excess of sight, like being able to see for over a mile, would prove to be counterproductive because we need to focus on what is at a close or relative distance from us and not something that is so far away. While eagles in flight may be able to see at a distance of two miles, this occurrence does not pose a threat to Aristotle’s idea of the function of the eye and its good because being able to see at that distance is relevant to the bird’s survival. It is necessary for the eagle to see such far distances in order capture its prey, sustain itself, and determine a safe location for it to land; however, humans do not need to see at such far distances in their daily modern lives. Since seeing far distances is not essential for daily life, we can argue that having the feature would not improve our ability to live well, and or live better, therefore prove unnecessary for humans to see at such far

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Virtues are only acquired through the habituation of doing the right things voluntarily. Aristotle also believed that a person doing the right thing and reaching the mean of a virtue should be brought pleasure by their actions. In a class discussion we defined character as the sum of all of our virtues, combined with how we use those virtues to influence our decisions and actions. The virtues I found most applicable in this case study are: integrity, humility, and loyalty. Integrity is a very influential virtue in this case, as

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To do this I must first explain several concepts of Aristotle which are: (1) how he concludes that the human function is reason, (2) what he means by happiness and how it is the human good, and (3) why he believes that the activity of the soul must be virtuous to become

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In Aristotle’s view, plants have the ability to absorb food, grow and reproduce. While animals and humans being have features such as thought which allows them to think what is wrong and right. The soul within the human being allows the human being Nguyen

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Socrates 's second argument “The Analogy between the State and One 's Parents”, in my opinion, is flawed and could be improved. The first chapter of our textbook reads: “Our parents made our lives possible—they brought us into being, raised us, and educated us. We are therefore obligated to respect and obey them. The state also makes our lives possible, by providing a social environment that nurtures and sustains us. So we have a similar obligation to respect and obey the state.”

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Even on his last day of existence, Socrates did not surrender his exploration of the nature of the soul. Using the Socratic Method and the Recollection Argument, he cleverly proved that the soul exists before birth and that it is immortal. In this paper, I will explain Socrates’ line of reasoning by using the words of the philosophers engaged in the discussion recollected in Phaedo and a metaphor of my own. Secondly, I will point out some limitations in the Recollection Argument, such as its exclusive definition of all learning as recollection and the negative perception of the body. Finally, I will assess the strength of Socrates’ premises and the conclusion to reach an overall evaluation of the argument that established a strong foundation

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Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics begins by exploring ‘the good’. Book I argues that, unlike other goods, “happiness appears to be something complete and self-sufficient, and is, therefore, the end of actions” (10:1097b20-21). In other words, happiness is the ultimate good. But how does one achieve happiness? Aristotle formulates this in the context of work, since for all things, from artists to horses, “the good and the doing it well seem to be in the work” (10:1097b27-28).

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In order to establish my thesis, I will start by stating and explaining the argument that Socrates presents, I will

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Therefore, if one wishes to be healthy, he can choose to eat healthy and practice sports, but his choice of being healthy just by its own will not predict the outcome of actually being healthy. Conclusively, “choice relates to the means and wish relates rather to the end”. Additionally, Aristotle also expatiates on anger and appetite. These characteristics, for Aristotle are related to pleasure and feelings which are themselves relate to all animals. However, choice is not for that choice is only related to rational beings.

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To explore what human’s function is, Aristotle proposes 3 options. Firstly, he mentions “life of nutrition and growth”, which is the function that even the plants share, involving only the basic life functions of living and growing. Secondly, he mentions the life of perception. Although this involves having emotions, desires, and higher functions of life, it is also shared with animals and not distinctive to humans. Finally, he reaches the conclusion that “the active life of the element has reason” (1098a2) is the most distinctive function of human beings.

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BACKGROUND Socrates was convinced that our souls are where virtues and vices are found, they are vastly more important for our lives than our bodies or external circumstances. The quality of our souls determines the character of our lives, for better or for worse, much more than whether we are healthy or sick, or rich or poor. If we are to live well and happily, as he assumed we all want to do more than we want anything else, we must place the highest priority on the care of our souls. That means we must above all want to acquire the virtues, since they perfect our souls and enable them to direct our lives for the better. If only we could know what each of the virtues is we could then make an effort to obtain them.

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In Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle brings up the idea that in order to discover the human good we must first develop a certain understanding and identify the function of a human being. Aristotle’s function argument is brought up through his belief that the human function is rational activity, meaning that our good as human beings is rational activity performed fine because this is what leads to living well. The good Aristotle tries to get across can be seen in many different forms depending on how it is viewed, because of the idea that the main function of anything is to reach a final end, the final end is considered the good. “The end of medicine is health, that of shipbuilding, a ship, that of military science, victory…” (Nicomachean,

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According to Aristotle, everything we do in life, we do for the sake of some good, or at least something we perceive to be good. We call an act good if it satisfies a certain need. The satisfaction of this need is then considered good if it is a means for satisfying some further need, and this in turn is good if it will satisfy still another need. Sooner or later this process reaches a point where it is no longer a means for some further end but is an end in itself. This final end is what Aristotle means by the chief good.

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I will argue that even with the evidence provided, Aristotle’s theory on

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Aristotles starting point is with the highest good. It is the ultimate end goal. The highest human good is always worth pursuing in its own right. It is an activity that is an end in itself. This conception allows him to isolate two features of what he determines the ‘end goal’ or ‘final purpose’.

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Virtue ethics is an expansive theory inspired by the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. In contrast to deontology and consequentialism, virtue ethics emphasizes the moral character (ideal traits) of a person. Aristotle believed that nature produced humans with the desire to be virtuous, just how seeds are built with the drive to become trees. This concept can be related to the term eudaimonia, which translates to the flourishing of a human being; a happy and well-lived life.

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