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Comparing Aristotle, John Stuart Mill And Friedrich Nietzsche

1113 Words5 Pages

Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Friedrich Nietzsche have all published works on what constitutes a flourishing and vibrant human life. After reading and discussing these authors’ views, I found that Aristotle’s view of a flourishing life challenges the one that I currently hold. By comparing my views with those of Aristotle, I am able to discover the elements of a flourishing life that currently hold the most importance in my existence.
Aristotle believes that a vibrant, flourishing life requires the fulfillment of a broad range of conditions, including physical and mental well-being. The main belief that Aristotle has presented is that a life that is well lived contains moral virtue. He emphasizes that virtues are done through habit, and that they manifest themselves in actions. Aristotle considers one to …show more content…

In Greek, the word eudaimonia is often translated to happiness, and it means that happiness should be the final end or goal that each person aims for in their life. He also believes that it cannot be determined whether someone lived a happy, fulfilled life until it is over, because it is measured by how well one has lived up to their full potential as a human being, and is not based off of pleasurable sensations that only last temporarily. In order to have a vibrant life, we must make choices that focus on the future and deliver long term pleasure, instead of choosing tempting, immediate pleasure. Similarly, Aristotle believes that what makes human beings different from the rest of the animal kingdom is that we can practice reason. Humans are capable of acting based on principles, and can take responsibility of their decisions. Due to using reason to solve problems and exercising rational potential, human beings cannot be fulfilled by mere pleasure because of their higher capacities than pure pleasure-seeking

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1413 Words | 6 Pages

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