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Ethics Paper Plato vs. Aristotle

In Greek Eudemonia roughly translates to happiness. Both Plato and Aristotle have differing views regarding happiness and how one can achieve it. But what exactly is happiness? For most it is the ultimate goal of their lives. All others goals which may seem like they are different than happiness like the desire to be wealthy or the desire to be powerful or famous; all have a common motive, they all lead back to happiness. Why would a person struggle and work hard to get rich? Because he finds happiness in being wealthy. Another person may find happiness in being famous or powerful so he would struggle to achieve them, because that fame or that power to him is the ultimate happiness; to him that is the good life. There are many points of conflict between the ethical theories of Aristotle and Plato. And, one of the most important point is their differing views on the purpose of human beings (or otherwise described as human function) and their role in ethics. Plato defines the human function to be ruling, living and taking care of things. This differs a great deal from Aristotltilian idea of the human function which is, to perform actions that express reason. Not only are these two definitions very different, but they illustrate the difference in the ways that each philosopher is thinks what the concept of a human function is. Plato thinks of it in a broad spectrum, in terms of each persons place in society. Aristotle approaches it from a much more individualistic point of view. According to Aristotle expressing reason in ones action does not have anything to do with a relationship with other people in a community, and relates only to the individual. But one thing both Plato and Aristotle agree upon or believe in is that virtue is essential for happiness. Aristotle described man as a political animal. He believed that men tend to live together in groups in search of the good life. Aristotle and Plato both agreed that without virtue the good life is not

2 possible. Although both Plato and Aristotle agree that acquiring virtue is paramount in one's search for the good life, a key difference appears when we compare the approach of both the philosophers when it comes to acquiring those virtues and what they define virtue to be. Aristotle's view of virtue is different than that of Plato's or even what we generally believe virtue to be. Aristotle believed that virtue is a physical activity that you perform and get better at with time. He believed one could not get virtuous just by thinking about it. You had to physically perform the act and so it would eventually become a habit. Aristotle also believed that virtue lied between two vices, excess and deficiency. According to Aristotle doing a task too often or not doing it enough is against being virtuous. A perfect example of this would be that of an athlete. If the said athlete does not practice before the game then he would not be fully ready for the game. On the other hand if he practices too much or trains too hard he would exhaust himself before the game and again would not be at his best during the game and thus would not virtuous. Because according to Aristotle being virtuous is synonymous with being the best you can be. An athlete can be at his best when trains the right amount before the game not too much, and not too little. Another important thing to note is that according to Aristotle The good is that at which all things aim . What it means is that the athlete is virtuous when he is at his best at what he does. And what he does is play a particular game (lets say basketball). Aristotle believed natural beings come in kinds or species and from their species flow their essential chararetiscs. For example a bird will be virtuous when it is the best at what it does (flying). We cannot expect the bird to be the best at playing basketball. Aristotle believed that there was an order in nature that acorns always became oak trees and not elm trees. Aristotle believed that without virtue we cannot perform the function well. Plato on the other hand seems to hold the same view of virtue as that of Socrates, which is that knowledge is virtue. Plato believed that every person, every animal and object on the planet are assigned a purpose or a function and to be virtuous you had to perform your function. Although this may seem similar to the Aristotelian idea of virtue, it is not, it is very different. This was another

3 difference in approach to the good life between the two men .The reason Platos idea of good life is different from Aristotle is that Plato believed that virtue alone is sufficient for happiness .Plato envisioned a model-city in which all of its inhabitants were happy and living the good life. Platos model-city resembles a well-oiled machine where every person has an appointed function and an economic role. Plato believed a person can only be happy and live the good life if he performs the function appointed to him in the society. If the person does not fulfill his function he is not living the good life. Another problem with the machine-like character is that it is rigid, that no deviations from the prescribed pattern are permitted. If innovations are not allowed, then there is no room left for creativity or personal growth. This aligns perfectly with Platos idea of happiness and how to attain it. He believes that the fulfillment of a persons function is enough to bring them happiness. Another important point in Platos argument was that he believed that wisdom was an essential factor in a person living the good life. He believed that you are only virtuous if you perform your function but you can only perform the function if you possess wisdom. In short he believed wisdom was the key to attaining the good life. Aristotle differed on almost all of the points made by Plato about virtue, and its role in achieving the good life Aristotle truly believed that practice was absolutely necessary to be virtuous - that a person needs to habituate them to virtue in order to be truly virtuous. Aristotles argument was that although wisdom is the highest form of virtue, it is by no means the key to possessing all virtues. In other words, Aristotle did not believe you could attain the good life just by gaining wisdom Even though both men believed virtue was of utmost importance in achieving the good life, Aristotle had his own view of what virtue was as explained earlier and he did not agree with Platos idea of virtue at all Another difference is that Plato believed that virtue alone was sufficient for one to complete his function and hence live the good life but Aristotle did not agree again. He believed that although virtue is necessary to the good life, but it isn't sufficient. Meaning that a person can be virtuous but still

4 be unhappy. An example of this could be as such: imagine you are on your way to work and you are already 15 minutes late. Your boss would tolerate a maximum of 30 minutes of tardiness. If you go at your current speed youll make it within that 30 min period but on your way you see a friend whose car has broken down and is need of help. Now the virtuous thing to do would be to help your friend in his time of need. But that would get in your way of the good life. Because of the extra time you spend on the road you would be late to work and your boss would be angry at you thus jeopardizing you job and putting your dream of one day acquiring lots of wealth i.e. your good life at risk.

In conclusion, the biggest difference between Platos view of the good life and Aristotles is their understandings or rather the difference in understandings of the involvement of the human function in it and their differing ideas of what it means to be virtuous .Also, their goals are vastly different as well. Plato sees the applications of the good life at a broader spectrum; he believes that the good life is not just for indivuals, but for the whole community an example of that is his idea of the model-city, in which virtue for the city is dependent upon each person of that community acting virtuously. Aristotle, on the other hand, thinks more individualistically. Aristotle believes happiness to be the ultimate goal and he searches for ways of attaining the good life. Whereas for Plato wisdom is the ultimate goal, because with wisdom you can perform your function and performing your function is enough to be happy in the eyes of Plato So to sum it all up according to Aristotle if a person performs his function, and does so in the best way he can, he will most likely achieve happiness. But performing to your best doesnt guarantee happiness. Whereas Plato believes that the act of performing the function alone is sufficient to provide happiness and thus the person who performs his function is living the good life.