ipl-logo

Aristotle Vs Aquinas Research Paper

1306 Words6 Pages

Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas share similarities in pursuing a happy life but each of them have a different approach to leading this life. Both believe the ultimate end is happiness, however Aquinas differs by taking a more spiritual approach. Aristotle and Aquinas both believe humans have goodness, but they disagree with how it is obtained to some degree. Goodness is linked in many ways to evil and because both men believe that one can have too much or too little of a certain thing it could keep them from the goal of happiness and goodness. Although both of these men felt this way Aquinas also believed that evil didn’t actually exist, but also that if one were to do evil, they would only do so by free will. Aristotle states that happiness is the ultimate end and the purpose of human existence, but it depends on each human being to attain it. Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue, it is the exercise of virtue. Therefore, happiness depends on the acquiring of moral character and where one must display the virtues of courage, generosity, justice, friendship, and citizenship in their lives. These virtues involve finding a balance or “mean” between an overindulgence and …show more content…

This is known as a moral evil which is when a person intentionally does something or fails to do something that prevents them from realizing their human potential. However, he also states that the world is a better with evil in it because evil serves as a grander good. He says that God sometimes inflicts evil upon humans as a punishment in order to sustain the just of the universe and this is looked as a natural evil. Aquinas does not believe we can rationally desire evil because we can only desire what exists, in this sense we can look to Aristotle when he speaks of rationality and see that Aquinas follows his take on

Show More
Related
268 Words | 2 Pages

On the contrary with Aristotle, right off the bat he says that most people will not reach true happiness. When one knows off the top that they will not accomplish something, one of two things will happen. They will either give up or they will push or work even harder. The question then changes for Aristotle from what is happiness, to will enough people challenge themselves enough to reach for the impossible? It is those people that push themselves harder that will reach true happiness.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

The great-souled man finds the mean If we are interested in practicing the virtues, is important to define virtuous conduct. Consider the vice that exists in both excess and deficiency. While bravery is a virtue of character, one can act with too much bravery, and be reckless, or too little bravery, and be cowardly. Virtuous conduct lies in finding the mean: “The manner one ought is both a mean and the best thing, which is what belongs to virtue” (29:1106b23-24).

Read More
1116 Words | 5 Pages

On the other hand, Aquinas believes

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

Thus, when human function is done well, it is in accordance with virtue and best human life is achieved. In addition, it can be inferred that since Aristotle’s definition of happiness is to be virtuous, performing rational activity well can lead to happiness. In addition, Aristotle states, “if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete” (1098a18). This means that eventually there will be one virtue that is inclusive of all virtue and that displays an end, and this virtue will be in line with the self-sufficient and inclusive concept of happiness as the chief good. If this inclusive virtue and good is achieved, ultimate happiness will be achieved as well.

Read More
1642 Words | 7 Pages

The main topic of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is eudaimonia, i.e. happiness in the “living well” or “flourishing” sense (terms I will be using interchangeably). In this paper, I will present Aristotle’s view on the role of external goods and fortune for the achievement of happiness. I will argue that he considers them a prerequisite for virtue. Their contribution to happiness is indirect, via the way they affect how we can engage in rational activity according to the relevant virtues. I will then object that this view threatens to make his overall account of happiness incoherent.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

Workplace Improvement in America In America there are four different social groups, and these groups are the lower class, working class, middle class, and the upper class. Around 40% of Americans fall into the category of “working class”. This class is identified as “the social group consisting of people who are employed for wages, especially in manual or industrial work.” Current President Donald Trump's campaign appealed to the working class.

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

They both also contend that there are some actions that are inherently evil, and should never be taken in the first place. The primary difference between the two philosophers is that Aristotle argued that if the considered ends were unjust, the action would still be morally righteous. However, if the ends were considered to be unmet and a better

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

According to Aristotle, an individual can achieve happiness only by realizing all the works and activities in accordance with reason throughout his lifetime. He claimed that happiness consists in cultivating and exercising virtue and it is the ultimate purpose of human existence, as stated in his work Nicomachean Ethics “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life”. However, such Aristotelian concept of happiness inevitably contradicts the understanding of history as development which maintains that fulfilling the work of human exceeds the limits of an individual and thus can only be achieved in the course of history. Three

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

PHL206: Later Medieval Philosophy Essay Assignment #1: short Essay on Aquinas The Lord says in John 17, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God.” Through God’s word, human happiness consists in the knowledge of God, which is the intellect. In this article, Aquinas argues that ultimate human happiness is primarily an operation of the intellect rather than the will. This paper will explain the grounds on which Aquinas denies this role of the will, and a significant role of will plays in the exercises in achieving the intimate good.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.

Read More
1413 Words | 6 Pages

It is critical to recognize Mill’s argument that a degree of contentment can exist in periods of less happiness. However, Aristotle’s view of perceiving wellbeing or goodness as ultimate is more pronounced. Worth emphasizing, Aristotle deeply explores his arguments basing them on functions of a rational man and virtues out of habits. Today, a virtuous citizen is one whose actions are inward, in response to conscience and moral obligations as a member of society. Such a person, not waivered with intensities of pleasures, honor, and wealth but seeks to have a satisfactory level of happiness with friends, co-workers, and family among other

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

Thomas Aquinas was greatly influenced by Aristotle and it clearly reflected through his works. Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s theories of place, motion, and time making them his primary source of inspiration to his own philosophical thoughts. Aristotle wasn’t the only inspiration in St. Thomas Aquinas but he was the most important one related to God and living. He believed that God and the natural world were connected, and that Aristotle’s thought that all living things had soul, including plants and animals were true. Because of his idea of the existence of God which was influenced by Aristotle, and the ways of living the Church wouldn’t approve his work, the archbishop of Paris declared his thoughts as profanation.

Read More
1839 Words | 8 Pages

Aristotle claimed that virtues are ‘hexis’ – often translated into ‘habit’. Many dispute this translation and prefer to use the term ‘disposition’. Whatever the translation we use, he seems to be referring to us having the ‘appropriate feelings’ in the face of particular situations. Aristotle claims that ethical virtues involve a median between two extremes. On one side of the spectrum we find deficiencies, and on the other excess.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

We need to decide in every situation the right thing, to do for us. This eventually leads to the statements about finding the mean of all the virtues for yourself. Once you have achieved true happiness, you will be able to deliberate for any person in any scenario what the mean is for them and the right thing to do for all cases and all

Read More

More about Aristotle Vs Aquinas Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document