Aristotle, one of the most noticeable Ancient Greek philosophers, has made a great contribution to the studies of ethics both as a discipline and a way of life. While the following thinkers have frequently referred to him as the founder of morality teachings as an academic approach to living, Aristotle saw ethics as a set of guidelines to a better life (“Aristotle’s Ethics”). The current work analyzes the main principles of Aristotelian ethics and discusses whether they are still applicable in contemporary society.
Most of the Aristotelian concepts come from the ethical virtues that have been explained by Plato, such as justice or courage. Nevertheless, Aristotle has further developed the idea of morality and believed that one can only be happy if he or she lives according to the principles of friendship, pleasure, and intellectual virtues as well. Furthermore, in a contrast to Plato, Aristotle stated that ethical thinking should always be practical, and one should continually bring up the excellent qualities in themselves (“Aristotle’s Ethics”). Aristotelian morality also differs from a more modern concept of ethics that implies that one should be well trained in academic disciplines and always behave accordingly to the standards of etiquette. The Greek philosopher believed that an individual is the focus of ethics and that external factors should not influence morality (“Aristotle’s Ethics”). Therefore, according to Aristotelian treatises, ethics mainly concerns personality traits, such as courage, prudence, temperances, and justice, and virtues, such as friendship and pleasure.
Summing up, Aristotelian morality primarily revolves around the internal characteristics of an individual. As a general set of guidelines, Aristotelian ethics might be applicable in the modern world since such traits as courage and temperance are still highly appreciated. Nevertheless, one might also argue that contemporary society has a more collective nature, and an individual has to take external factors into account to live a happy life.
Work Cited
“Aristotle’s Ethics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018, Web.