PP110 Lecture Notes - Relativism, Virtue Ethics, Ancient Greek Philosophy
Document Summary
Aristotle believes there are two kinds of good: instrumental goods: there are goods that are valued only for the sake of something else. Examples of this are: exercise, money, bitter medicine, etc: intrinsic goods: there are goods that are desired for their own sake. Aristotle believes happiness is the only intrinsic good and that the majority of instrumental goods lead to happiness. In greek philosophy the term happiness did not mean a good feeling or cheerfulness. Aristotle believed the function of humans is to live in accordance with the virtues. A virtue is a state of character that causes us to act in specific ways on specific occasions. Examples of virtues are: courage, modesty, liberality, pride, kindness, and justice. Therefore being properly virtuous = achieving the human function = achieving happiness. Every virtue is a middle point between two morally impermissible states.
