Plato, Aristotle, and Nietzsche as great philosophers
I found Plato, Aristotle, and Nietzsche as great philosophers and idealists thinkers who explored the concept of truth. Plato and Aristotle were optimistic that truth is based on reason and order, while on the other hand, Nietzsche renounced reason as an explanation that can be used to prove the existence or apprehend truth. Nietzsche argued that Plato and Aristotle used order and reason as the unifying essence of their ideas and philosophies but attempted to escape from the “burden of existence.” Therefore, Nietzsche was very unsatisfied with the optimistic concept of truth as conceived by Plato and Aristotle. There was also a fundamental opposition in the concept of virtue ethics between Nietzsche and Aristotle and Plato. Despite the three philosophers been popular virtue ethicists, Nietzsche differed with the Plato’s and Aristotle’s take on virtue ethics. I learned that virtue ethics is part of moral philosophy that emphasized the role of character traits in individuals.
Through virtue ethics, we can arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. Virtue ethics apply theories that deal with questions such as “How should I live?” and “What is the good life?” and “What are proper family and social values?” Both Plato and Aristotle’s ideas take their inspiration from inspiring Socrates, but I Aristotle was most virtuous compared to the other two philosophers. Aristotle argued that a virtuous person should have ideal character traits that are derived from natural internal tendencies. The philosopher mentioned that character trait needs to be nurtured, and once established, they become stable. I vote on Aristotle’s virtue theories because they explored developing good habits of character. The other philosopher’s virtue theories emphasized on learning rules. A good example of a virtuous person is the one who is kind not because he wants to gain favors, benefits, or maximize utility. But he remains to be kind across many situations over a lifetime. I would compare this situation with the story of Aristotle’s proud man. The main character, Souled man, was a “self-respecting man who will be ashamed of receiving benefits and so putting himself in the position of an inferior” (Robert 1964). Therefore, I voted Aristotle’s proud man as the most virtuous because the story exemplified the applications of aesthetic values and purely moral values.