Virtue, or that which is often considered “ethical” in quality or nature of character, has continually evolved since its early conception. Yet it continues to be a recurring issue in modern philosophical discourse due to it’s correlation with the idea of “morality”. Society holds us accountable to live by honorable and “moral” standards, for if you were to renounce a life of morality you would be deemed an outcast or shunned from society. However, one cannot live a “moral” lifestyle without understanding the underlying principles. Virtue, in regards to Aristotelian notion, refers to “Eudaimonia” or happiness. Eudaimonia is the ultimate “telos”, or end goal in life, with all virtuous actions taken involving teleological purposes with the eventual
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Through this teleological purpose, individuals compound their actions to achieve greater purposes until the final goal of “Eudaimonia” or “happiness” is achieved. Aristotle considers this to be the highest or “chief” good, as some telos are ends to others, but no end except happiness is considered the final end (Aristotle, 2009). Happiness is held above all else for that we always choose happiness for the sake of happiness and not for something else, we choose other desires for the sake of happiness in that that through them we will become happy (Aristotle, 2009). Happiness is chosen as it is deemed self-sufficient and we undertake a variety of actions to achieve it. We more often than not use intuition to ascertain appropriate virtue, and through the perfection of virtues, happiness is found. Perfecting virtues is achieved by discovering the mean or balance between its excess and deficiency. Discovering the mean of a virtue can take a lifetime of discipline; though throughout one’s life someone may not be considered happy en route to happiness as the circumstances surrounding their happiness may change and leave room for suffering. However, happiness itself is always subjective and is entirely dependent upon the individual’s threshold of happiness. One person may desire more wealth, others can settle for the minimum, and so on, though according to Aristotle: the only person that can achieve actual happiness is the virtuous person (Aristotle, 2009). But do we even have a definite idea of all the possible virtues and means? We use experience to determine the mean of virtue, yet everyone has different experiences? Will those who are categorized with excess admit to their excess? This would require us to admit flaws for
Through this teleological purpose, individuals compound their actions to achieve greater purposes until the final goal of “Eudaimonia” or “happiness” is achieved. Aristotle considers this to be the highest or “chief” good, as some telos are ends to others, but no end except happiness is considered the final end (Aristotle, 2009). Happiness is held above all else for that we always choose happiness for the sake of happiness and not for something else, we choose other desires for the sake of happiness in that that through them we will become happy (Aristotle, 2009). Happiness is chosen as it is deemed self-sufficient and we undertake a variety of actions to achieve it. We more often than not use intuition to ascertain appropriate virtue, and through the perfection of virtues, happiness is found. Perfecting virtues is achieved by discovering the mean or balance between its excess and deficiency. Discovering the mean of a virtue can take a lifetime of discipline; though throughout one’s life someone may not be considered happy en route to happiness as the circumstances surrounding their happiness may change and leave room for suffering. However, happiness itself is always subjective and is entirely dependent upon the individual’s threshold of happiness. One person may desire more wealth, others can settle for the minimum, and so on, though according to Aristotle: the only person that can achieve actual happiness is the virtuous person (Aristotle, 2009). But do we even have a definite idea of all the possible virtues and means? We use experience to determine the mean of virtue, yet everyone has different experiences? Will those who are categorized with excess admit to their excess? This would require us to admit flaws for