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Mitchell Guido

Philosophy 104H Midterm


Essay #2


The concept of morality is a highly debated topic, as it cannot be proven or
disproven with concrete physical evidence. In an attempt to explain how and why
morality exists, Plato and Aristotle devised theories outlining morality. Happiness is
what both defined as a major component morality. Platos definition of happiness is
being just; he believes that the purpose of the soul is to be ethical. Aristotles
impression of joy is that knowledge produces happiness.
Plato asserts that since humans are capable of having an internal (or moral)
conflict, there must be more than one part to a soul. There are three segments of the
soul: reason, spirit and appetite. Reason is an emotionless part of the soul, and
because it is not as passionate as appetite, it is easier to ignore. However, Plato
believes that when reason results in action, the spirit of the soul is produced. On the
other hand, appetite refers to physical pleasures, primarily drink, sex and food.
While Plato says that these three physical pleasureswhich are also the three main
vices of humanityare acceptable in moderation, it is preferable to avoid them.
Since the appetite is extremely emotional and physically pleasing, even a logical
person can ignorantly become addicted to it. If the vices are avoided all together,
though, the mans logic cannot be overcome by his appetite. Making sure that the
balance between reason and appetite is upheld is an arduous task for the common
man. To aid with this process, Plato creates four virtues that should always be
maintained: Wisdom (Knowledge), Courage, Self-Mastery, and Justice (Morality).
Behaving purely by instinct is volatile and unreliable. A reliable method of
maintaining a balance between reason and appetite, is behaving according to the
virtues. Additionally, if a person possesses one virtue, he must have them all,
because the virtues all intertwine. When someone is wise, they will know how to
control their appetite and thus will have achieved self-mastery. Since Plato defines
courage as being reasonable, someone who is wise will be reasonable and thus they
will also be just.
After outlining the three parts of the soul as well as the virtues that can be
followed to keep them in line, Plato provides three rules that must be obeyed to
attain happiness. The first rule states that happiness can only be achieved by a
separation from the physical and social world. If one is engrossed in an esthetic
competition with his neighbors, he will never be happy. Someone who is just,
according to the second rule, is also independent of the world. When the three parts
of the soul act in accordance with each other an inner tranquility is reached, and this
eliminates the need to be involved in the physical and social world. The final step in
Platos plan is to inundate the mind with true knowledge. Rather than thinking
about pop culture or other trivial matters, one should fill his mind with true
knowledge. Plato includes the word true because sometimes people base their
knowledge upon habits or beliefsthings they believe to be trueinstead of on
true knowledge. While habits and beliefs may work most of the time, they will
eventually fail.
To exhibit how these three steps work in practice, Plato uses the Allegory of
the Cave, an analogy that depicts a group of people trapped and bound facing
forward, in a cave. Behind the people, an inferno casts shadows on the wall in front
of them. Taking the shadows to be reality, these people live in a superficial world.
When one person is freed, he turns around and is initially blinded by the fire that he
sees. Instead of being scared into turning around and once again accepting the
shadows as reality, though, the person perseveres and eventually finds his way out
of the caves. This journey is akin to what people must do in order to reach internal
equilibrium and be just which, in turn, makes the individual happy.
Aristotles theory of morality originates from Platos notions, however, has
some fundamental differences. The main difference between Plato and Aristotle is
that Aristotle is more scientific and realistic.
The point of living is to attain a final and self-sufficient happiness, according
to Aristotle. A part of that happiness is derived from pleasure, so therefore pleasure
is a positive, useful, aspect of life. This is a radical departure from Platos definition
of happiness that demands pleasure should be separated from happiness. While
Plato argues that the fight for balance between passion and reason is life-long,
Aristotle believes that over time, the balance becomes second nature. T
here are different levels of happiness that can be acquired in Aristotles model. Full
happiness is something that only few people can achieve, mostly due to
circumstances out of the control of the recipient. To achieve happiness (regardless
of the level), one must follow the three goods. Good for Itself is considered the
highest good, because it is an action that is done for no other reason than being
intrinsically good. While many people might argue that this idea of people doing
something good for no reciprocation is foolish, Aristotle believes that all humans
desire happiness because it is human nature. The second type of good, Good for
Something Else, is an act where the deed doesnt make the participant happy, but is
still beneficial for him. An example of this is exercising to be a healthy person.
Though it may not make the person happy, exercising is good for them. An act that
makes the person doing happy, and is beneficial for them is called a Good for
Something Else and For Itself. Living a healthy lifestyle (not just exercising) is
considered both pleasurable and beneficial for the person who performs the
activity. Not only does this make him healthy, but it also increases his quality of life
and by extension, his happiness.
In order to attain the three types of good, Aristotle devises two virtues based
on the duality of the human soul. The emotional and passionate portion of the soul
allows for moral virtues, while the rational and practical portion of the soul
provides for intellectual virtues. Unlike the absolute virtues of Plato, Aristotles
virtues are based on the idea of the mean between two extremes.
Moral virtues are states of character acquired through habituation. The
reason happiness is often determined by luck is because the moral values are
affected by chance. Since children learn their morals from their parents, children
who are born into a family with bad parents will have a difficult time learning moral
virtues. Generosity is a moral virtue that needs to be taught to a child by their
parents. The two extremes to generosity are greed and selflessness. Both hoarding
money and giving away all of ones money do not achieve any of the three goods,
and so are vices. If a person keeps all their money for themselves, how are they
acting good? If somebody has no money, how can they act good and make
themselves happy? Generosity is defined as giving away the right amount of money.
How does a person know how much money to donate? This is where the intellectual
virtues entangle with the moral virtues. Though the two intersect, Aristotle believes
that it is possible to have one of the virtues and not the other, contrary to Platos
philosophy.
Intellectual Virtues are decisions made by utilizing practical wisdom.
Imbuing their children with morals, parents provide a good foundation for their
children (hopefully). However, as a child grows, they build up on that foundation,
taking away and adding morals depending on their life experiences. This idea of
refining the morals using practical reasoning, given to a person by his parents, is a
large portion of the intellectual virtues. According to Aristotle, more of the three
goods as well as more pleasure can be acquired by the intellectual virtues.
Both Plato and Aristotle devised theories on morality and human happiness.
Plato surmises that happiness is unearthed when a person acts in accordance with a
balance of the three parts of the soul, resulting in a just lifestyle. Aristotle
hypothesizes that happiness is discovered by performing good deeds, which is
accomplished by balancing the two parts of the soul and thus, living a wise lifestyle.

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