ARISTOTLE

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• ARISTOTLE

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ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

• Founder of every science or domain of study known
  to humans
• Physics Literary Criticism
• Chemistry Anthropology
• Biology Ethics
• Metaphysics Political science
• Metereology Psychology
• Logic

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Original contributions to philosophy after
Aristotle

• Augustine Theory of the Will
• Thomas dAquino Phil. of Human Nature
• Hegel Dialectic, elaboration of Aristotle
• Marx Political Economy Social Psychology
• first major advance beyond Aristotle
• - but based on Aristotle,
• - called the Aristotle of the 19th century
• Heidegger Phenomenology Aristotelian
  psychology

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Modernists reject Aristotle

• Descartes his skepticism became basis of
  individualistic exploitation of community
• Locke skepticism leads to theory of property
  rejecting Aristotles understanding of
  individual within community
• Smith complete rejection of Aristotles theory
  of moral economy Bush-style free enterprise

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ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

• born Macedonia 15 yrs after d. of Socrates
• student at Platos Academy at age 17
• Collaborates with Plato on dialogues
• - disagreed over essential realities of our world
• - Forms vs. Substances (living organisms)
• Leaves Academy after Platos death
• pursues research in biology
• Tutor of Alexander
• Founds Lyceum in Athens (334 BC)

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Raphael, The School at Athens.Vatican museums.
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Nicomachean Ethics

• Reading next 2 weeks

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The complete good (NE i.7key chapter)

• - what is intrinsically worth pursuing is more
  complete than what is worth pursuing for
  something else
• - the intrinsically choiceworthy
• most chiceworthy of all things
• - self-sufficient
• Happiness (eudaimonia), but this is
  commonplacewhat does it mean?

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Happiness (eudaimonia)

• Eudaimonia
• living well, doing well
• Not a state of mind (EN x.6), an activity
  rather than a state
• So Aristotle doesnt mean the way you feel eating
  ice cream or going shopping
• Aristotle Maybe, we can understand happiness if
  we understand function of human

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Aristotle on function (ergon) in general

• Everything is defined by its ergon and capacity
  (Politics, Bk.i, ch. 2.1253a23)
• Ergon function, work, product
• Homonymous
• E.g., function (ergon) of house builder is to
  build houses (product ergon) for other members
  of the community this is her/his work (ergon).

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Aristotle on function (ergon)cont.

• E.g., a doctor is the ergon he actualizes
• it is easy, Aristotle says, to know various
  remedies for illness, but how to dispense them
  and to whom and when, that much a function
  (ergon) is what it is to be a doctor (NE
  v.9.1137a16).
• If something loses its function, ceases to be.
• An eye that loses capacity to see no longer an
  eye, except homonymously

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What is function of human being? (NE i.7)

• Functions of craftsmen
• Flute player, carpenter, doctor
• Not function of individual parts, or function(s)
  we share with animals or plants
• Function of living thing involves activity
  (energeia), the actuality of living
• activity of the soul or life-principal (psuche)
• Since reason distinctive of humans, function of
  human involves activity in accord w. reason

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• Function performed well if performed in
  accordance with virtue of the thing
• E.g., knife, goat
• Conclusion about happiness
• the human good turns out to be activity of soul
  in accord with virtue
• Lets examine the parts of this statement
• Soul (Psuche)
• Virtue (arete)

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Psuche soul or life-force

• Nothing to do with religion
• Greek belief that all living things possess some
  life principal or force
• Plants, animals, humans all have soul, but
  differ in capacities
• Ensouled things are substances.
• Psuche is form of the thing
• What does it mean to say soul is form?

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Form and matter

• Aristotle says everything that exists in our
  world is a composite of form and matter
• Form is nature or whatness of a thing
• Example of bronze sphere, as teaching tool to
  introduce more advanced case of form as soul.

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Form matter II

• The form sphere provides shape for bronze scrap
  to be worked into bronze sphere.
• Sphere is whatness of bronze sphere.
• Soul understood by its capacities, i.e., what
  organism can do.

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Capacities of psuche

• Nutritive shared with plants animals
• Perceptual locomotive shared w animals
• Intellective/rational distinctly human
• For happiness to be human, must involve exercise
  of intellective/rational capacity
• Aristotle says people who do not live by
  intellect cannot be happy (EN x.9)

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Intellective capacity

• Activity (energeia) of Intellective capacity is
  form-generating form-perceiving.
• Same forms that are nature or whatness of things
  are forms in intellect by which we perceive those
  things.
• We acquire forms through experience with things
  that embody them.
• E.g., bronze sphere embodies form sphere.

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Aristotle rejects skepticism

• So, Aristotle argues that knowledge is based on
  an identity between the knower and the known.
• That is one result of his theory that all things
  are composites of form and matter.
• Ergo, Aristotle rejects skepticism of Descartes.

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Virtue

• Remember Aristotles definition of happiness
  activity/actuality of soul in accord with
  virtue
• He adds
• and if there are more virtues than one, then in
  accord with best and most complete virtue (i.7)
• Cf. list of virtues, right column last table
• Best and most complete virtue is JUSTICE.

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Justice

• Justice is the only virtue that seems to be
  another persons good, for it is related to
  another, for it does what benefits another (EN
  1130a3-4).
• Justice not a matter of fairness, but rather of
  helping another.

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Justice in economic relations

• Primary example of justice in Aristotles theory
  of exchange
• a person wealthier or more powerful helps another
  in their mutual exchange of goods, s/he loses
  money to the other in the transaction.

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Conclusion what is happiness?

• Happiness is fulfillment of the human function of
  activity of soul in accordance with the virtue of
  justice to benefit others as much as I am able.