Comparing Plato And Aristotle's Discussion Of Virtue

Happiness and virtue have been the center of philosophical discussions since the ancient age. Philosophers are very much concerned with the non-physical parts of human existence. Likewise, Plato and Aristotle spend a lot of time discussing happiness and virtue, as well as their relationship. While I respect Plato as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, I must disagree with him, and agree with Aristotle, on the subject of virtue and the relationship between virtue and happiness While Aristotle and Plato may disagree on many aspects of happiness and virtues, they seem to agree on the definition and importance of those two topics. The rise and fall of a society depends greatly on virtue of its people. Nothing destroys a great society as quick as an expanding group of vicious people. Virtue is a state or condition of the soul. A person either has virtue, or lacking it. The virtue of something is whatever makes the thing perform its essential action and function well. Hence, virtue defines who we are. The authors refer to virtue as “good”, as virtue is …show more content…
In his discussion of virtue, Plato points out that all living things aim for what is good for them selves. However, since our perception of good things may not be correct all the time, we aim for perceived good instead. Hence, with such a life purpose, it is impossible for living things do carry out any action that does not give him or her what he or she perceives as good. In another word, once one has identified one’s good, all of his or her actions will be towards the achievement of that good. Even if one tries to do what is not good, he or she will fail miserably, because one cannot do what one is ignorant of . An example would be a student studying to become a good doctor. The student will aim all his activities such as earning good grades to his final goal. He or she would not do anything that would prevent him or her from becoming a good