Compare And Contrast Aristotle And Epicurus

Aristotle and Epicurus are two Greek philosophers who had a significant impact on the people of their time based on their philosophical ideas, concepts, and theories. However, many of Aristotle’s views on ethics are still incorporated into modern philosophy. Their philosophies are quite different yet shared many commonalities. Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue in comparison to Epicurus’ Theory of Hedonism is substantially more realistic and more solid. A society would be better thriving off of Aristotle’s theory. Although pleasure is a very important and necessary aspect in our lives, the ideas around this premise are not as conceivable and beneficial for all. In a society supporting a larger population of people, Aristotle’s theory would serve best for the society to progress as a …show more content…
His theory would satisfy the needs of the society as a whole and the individual.
In order to understand Aristotle’s theory of virtue, you must first understand his theory of good. He starts with determining the functionality of an object and identifying its specific function. Once you find the function of something (humans included), you can understand how it was built and determine its ability to function well. Everything according to Aristotle is created and given a specific purpose. This idea would be beneficial for the whole of society because if everyone understands their purpose or functionality or is working towards it, the society will always be working towards a positive goal of self-sufficiency and sustainability. If a society was led by Epicurus’ idea with humans maximizing their happiness and decreasing their suffering, happiness comes at a cost. In a hedonistic society, the cost of