Aristotle
Virtue or excellence is a psychic phenomenon. Is it an emotion, or the capacity to experience an emotion? An emotion is something we feel or undergo and we cannot hold ourselves responsible for that; but it is an essential feature of virtue that we praise it, of vice that we blame it. But we do not praise and blame that for which we cannot be held responsible. Therefore, neither virtue nor vice can be an emotion or the capacity to experience an emotion. Virtue and vice should be understood, rather, as dispositions, a certain habitual stance we take in regard to our emotions. Someone who is habitually afraid of everything has developed a disposition of cowardice in regard to the emotion of fear, for which he can be blamed; someone who is habitually inclined neither to indulge in pleasures excessively nor to shun them at all costs has developed a disposition of moderation in relation to the desire for pleasure, for which he can be praised. These praiseworthy and blameworthy dispositions are not something we are born with; nor, on the other hand, can they be taught theoretically. They are acquired by a process of habituation, which begins with parents' training of children. As humans, we take pleasure in being praise
According to Aristotle, we only should be praised and blamed for which we can be held responsible. Actions as well as character are often subject to praise and blame. However, if moral virtue and vice as well as the morality of actions are subject to praise and blame, we are responsible both for our action and our character. Still, we are not responsible for all that we do nor for all that we are. We are not responsible for the feelings we have; but we can be held accountable for the way that we deal with them. Aristotle believed that a person who has difficulty behaving ethically is morally imperfect. His ideal person practices the "golden mean of moderation." He believed that this moral virtue, of which happiness comes from, is a matter of avoiding extremes in behavior and finding the mean between them. Aristotle conceives happiness not primarily as an exercise of virtue in private or with friends, but as the exercise of virtue in governing an ideal state. Hence, a person who acts for his or her own well must also act for the good of all fellow citizens. I agree with Aristotle's reasoning on how happiness is achieved and why it is the goal of human life, as we know it. He supports his point with so many examples that you realize that he is completely right. His stressing of the importance of moral virtues as
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Approximate Word count = 891
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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