Essay about Aristotle the Good Life - 957 Words.
Now if the function of man is an activity of soul which follows or implies a rational principle, and if we say 'so-and-so-and 'a good so-and-so' have a function which is the same in kind, e.g. a lyre, and a good lyre-player, and so without qualification in all cases, eminence in respect of goodness being added to the name of the function (for the function of a lyre-player is to play the lyre.
In order for a human to live the good life, he or she must first be good at using powers of intellect and reason, which Aristotle believed were unique to only humans and, as a result, constitute our purpose (McManaman). It seems that in addition to being a good human, Aristotle also recognized pleasure must play a role in the good life.
The good life is a condition in which a person will be the most happy. Both Plato and Aristotle see the good life as the state in which a person exhibits total virtue. Plato reasons that a person will exhibit total virtue when his desires have been extinguished, while Aristotle believes the perfect state will bring forth the virtue in men.
In Ethics, Aristotle argues the highest end is the human good, and claims that the highest end pursued in action is happiness.
Aristotle’s work, The Nicomachean Ethics, consists of numerous books pertaining to Aristotle’s Ethics—the ethics of the good life. The first book discloses Aristotle’s belief on moral philosophy and the correlation between virtue and happiness. The definition of happiness has long been disputed.
Relationships are very important in a good life. Aristotle says that we’d be hard pushed to describe someone who is totally solitary as having a good life, and that nobody would choose to live without friends, even if they had all the other goods. So a good life should include other people, although again this is not the main good. He recognises.
The “good life” is a phrase that is used to describe the ideal life for one to live. According to Aristotle, the good life should be free of any greed, full of virtue, pleasure, and friendships, as well as excellence in whatever you may do.