The pursuit of happiness
What are you doing to lead a good life? This is the question that Socrates, Aristotle, and Epictetus raised. The information gathered explains that goodness is not always associated with a person’s actions, but it can be attributed to a person’s character as well. In this paper I intend to show exactly what these three philosophers believe it took to live a good life, and I will do that by first analyzing Socrates fundamental statement based on his belief on what is good. I will follow that by explaining Aristotle’s understanding that good is not associated with character but attributed to actions, and after that I will then finish with Epictetus and how he compares goodness to the Gods.
Socrates believed that the …show more content…
Aristotle believed that goodness could not be measured by a person’s character because a good person could make a bad choice, and vice versa for a bad person. The character of a person can be measured by their actions and choices that is what attributes to who a person can become. Also, Aristotle believes that “to identify the good, or happiness with pleasure; which is the reason why they love the life of enjoyment (Marino 50).” What he means by that is the actions associated with pleasure result in the idea of good for some men, and that is what contributes to goodness. The end goal of good is to achieve happiness which is the achievable action “Therefore, if there is an end for all that we do, this will be the good achievable by action, and if there are more than one, there will be the goods achievable by action (Marino 53).” Aristotle believed that good could be associated with a person’s actions as well as their decisions and with that he formed the relationships of …show more content…
He also does not want to put his children before he puts himself; instead of escaping from confinement and living in exile he allowed himself to be in captivity still so his children could receive an Athens lifestyle and education. Aristotle did not have an association with good in the way of Socrates, because he believed that good would lead to happiness. Aristotle also associated actions with the idea of good, not believing that character is what makes a person good. Anyone can do a good deed once, and then turn around to do something bad that one act of good does not make someone a good person. That is why Aristotle does not characterize good with a person’s character because he understood that a lot goes into a
What are you doing to lead a good life? This is the question that Socrates, Aristotle, and Epictetus raised. The information gathered explains that goodness is not always associated with a person’s actions, but it can be attributed to a person’s character as well. In this paper I intend to show exactly what these three philosophers believe it took to live a good life, and I will do that by first analyzing Socrates fundamental statement based on his belief on what is good. I will follow that by explaining Aristotle’s understanding that good is not associated with character but attributed to actions, and after that I will then finish with Epictetus and how he compares goodness to the Gods.
Socrates believed that the …show more content…
Aristotle believed that goodness could not be measured by a person’s character because a good person could make a bad choice, and vice versa for a bad person. The character of a person can be measured by their actions and choices that is what attributes to who a person can become. Also, Aristotle believes that “to identify the good, or happiness with pleasure; which is the reason why they love the life of enjoyment (Marino 50).” What he means by that is the actions associated with pleasure result in the idea of good for some men, and that is what contributes to goodness. The end goal of good is to achieve happiness which is the achievable action “Therefore, if there is an end for all that we do, this will be the good achievable by action, and if there are more than one, there will be the goods achievable by action (Marino 53).” Aristotle believed that good could be associated with a person’s actions as well as their decisions and with that he formed the relationships of …show more content…
He also does not want to put his children before he puts himself; instead of escaping from confinement and living in exile he allowed himself to be in captivity still so his children could receive an Athens lifestyle and education. Aristotle did not have an association with good in the way of Socrates, because he believed that good would lead to happiness. Aristotle also associated actions with the idea of good, not believing that character is what makes a person good. Anyone can do a good deed once, and then turn around to do something bad that one act of good does not make someone a good person. That is why Aristotle does not characterize good with a person’s character because he understood that a lot goes into a