Aristotle’s Theories of Knowledge and Ethics
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Topic A
The concept of nous explains the basic understanding of human beings that allows them to reason. According to Aristotle, the first way to obtain knowledge is to picture the difficulties associated with each phenomenon. ” one should have surveyed all the problems beforehand because people who inquire without first inquire stating the challenges are like those who do not know where they have to go.” Aristotle explained four different ways to have the proper knowledge. The first cause was the material cause; this means understanding how something came to be. “That out of which a thing comes to be and which persists.” The next reason was the formal cause; this requires identifying the form, pattern, and arrangement on how something came to be. The following rationale is to identify the agent and group responsible for the material’s structure (Halper, 1984). The last cause is the identification of how one can state an objective of the matter being examined. “That for the sake of which a thing is done.” These causes tend to explain how human beings understand and do rational thinking about an object.
Topic B
According to Aristotle, a man must obtain an ultimate end, and the act must be self-sufficient and final. “That which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else.” He claimed that everyone would agree that happiness is the quality element that acquires the above requirements. Everything we do desire in life, like money and pleasure, makes us believe that they will all end up making us happy. Being happy is the final goal that encompasses everything in one’s life. He disagreed with other individuals who saw happiness as having fun like drinking with friends, going clubbing, and doing other mind-driven staff (White, 1992). With Aristotle, satisfaction is something that cannot be attained and lost within a few hours. ” for it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.” Being happy is the gold standard for everyone, according to Aristotle, he claims that everywhere people are busy seeking pleasure, wealth, and honor. All these might have some values, but none will be able to occupy the act of being happy.
Topic C
Practical wisdom is the actual feature bound up with action, followed by reason, and deals with how human being copes in different conditions. Since it is accompanied by action, it must be shown by individuals. “For all the virtues will be present when the virtue, practical wisdom, is present.” He believes that practical wisdom is the virtue that has made the rest possible. He called it master virtue. For one to become a virtuous man, he must practice practical knowledge. It is concerned with how human beings and those that surround them cope. For someone to virtuous, one must avoid the extremities of applying too much or applying too low and instead find the mean virtue. For example, the resolution is a mean virtue between spinelessness and obstinacy (Schollmeier, 1989). Wisdom involves a healthy dose of perspective and the strength to develop sound and final judgment about a particular matter, while knowledge just can know something. According to Aristotle, wisdom is the ability to understand more about which routes of action would be useful and perfect, while knowledge is right, according to Aristotle.
Topic D
According to Aristotle, the golden mean means the middle part between self-indulgence and self-renunciation. For example, courage can be a golden mean by being coward and foolhardiness. “in the case of the virtue of temperature, or self-restraint, it is easy to find the excess of self-indulgence in the physical pleasures, but the opposite error, insufficient concern for such pleasures, scarcely exists.” This means that the principle is not applied to everything (Schollmeier, 1989). It might be used on behaviors and in characters. Practical wisdom, according to Aristotle, is concerned with specific situations. To identify yourself in those situations, we need to understand and be aware of the circumstances around us. By doing this, the act of golden mean comes in place. We are required to know the facts, the history, and how to go with solutions. The absolute truth acted as the barrier to exercising the virtue of practical wisdom. Aristotle believed that the integrity of practical wisdom could only be gained by experience and exercise.
Topic E
Aristotle practiced the act of helping people around them and teaching them how to live and interact. He championed the development of virtuousness traits that lead to happiness between people. He said that satisfaction is not a state of mind but rather something that the gold standard that people should live on. By this, he demonstrated to people how to interact with each other while maintaining the act of being happy. He also taught about practicing practical wisdom, which makes individuals know their strengths and practice them well. By constructing a school, Aristotle practiced social responsibility by providing his students with the education and the environment to learn and practice their ideas among the students included Theophrastus (Sauvé, 1993). Within the Aristotle school emerged the commentators; this leads to the spread of information since their commentaries were recorded. He provided room for learning; he explained in detail human beings’ virtue on how to live happily and pinpointed how to practice wisdom and attain knowledge.
References
Halper, E. (1984). Aristotle on knowledge of nature. The Review of Metaphysics, 811-835.
White, S. A. (1992). Sovereign virtue: Aristotle on the relation between happiness and prosperity. Stanford University Press.
Schollmeier, P. (1989). Aristotle on practical wisdom. Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, (H. 1), 124-132.
Sauvé, M. S. (1993). Aristotle on Moral Responsibility: Character and Cause.