Aristotle and the Privation Theory of Evil
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7 Aristotle on Greatness of Soul
7 Aristotle on Greatness of Soul Roger Crisp n the recent revival of interest in Aristotelian ethics, relatively little attention has been paid to the virtue of greatness of soul (megalopsuchia). This is partly Ibecause of the focus on the more structurally central concepts of Aristotle’s theory, in particular happiness (eudaimonia) and virtue (aret¯e). But in fact a study of greatness of soul can reveal important insights into the overall shape of Aristotelian ethics, including the place of external goods and luck in the virtuous life, and the significance of “the noble” (to kalon). Further, Aristotle describes the great-souled person in more detail than any other, and calls greatness of soul a “sort of crown of the virtues” (NE IV.3.1124a1–2). Many have found aspects of the portrait of the great-souled person in the Nicomachean Ethics repellent or absurd, but that is no good reason for the student of Aristotle to shy away from it. In this chapter, I shall elucidate Aristotle’s account of greatness of soul, addressing some puzzles internal to that account and bringing out its place in, and implications for, the ethics of Aristotle and of those modern writers influenced by him. Greatness of Soul as a Virtue To understand greatness of soul as an Aristotelian virtue requires first understand- ing Aristotle’s conception of virtue itself. Aristotle distinguishes virtues into two classes – intellectual virtues and virtues of character – corresponding to distinct aspects of the human soul (NE I.13). Greatness of soul is a virtue of character, though, like all such virtues, it requires its possessor to have the intellectual virtue of practical wisdom (phron¯esis; NE VI.13). -
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) The Pythagoreans, Socrates, and Plato attempted to reconcile an element of human freedom with material determinism and causal law. But the first major philosopher to argue convincingly for some indeterminism was probably Aristotle. This is despite the fact that he described a causal chain back to a prime mover or first cause, and he elaborated the four possible causes (material, efficient, formal, and final). In his Physics and Metaphysics Aristotle also said there were "accidents" caused by "chance(τυχή)." In his Physics, he clearly reckoned chance among the causes. Aristotle might have added chance as a fifth cause - an uncaused or self-caused cause - that happens when two causal chains come together by accident (συμβεβεκός). He noted that the early physicists found no place for chance among the causes. Aristotle knew that many decisions were quite predictable based on habit and character, but they were no less free if one's character itself and predictable habits were developed freely in the past and were changeable in the future. This was the view of Eastern philosophies and religions. Our karma has been determined by our past actions (even from past lives), and strongly influences our current actions, but we are free to improve our karma by future good actions. As a principal architect of the concept of causality, and the formulator of the four causes, Aristotle's statements on indefinite causes are perhaps his most significant contribution to freedom, in the world and in human decisions. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle makes the case for chance and uncaused causes (causa sui) and in the Nicomachean Ethics he shows our actions can be voluntary and "up to us" so that we can be morally responsible. -
John Duns Scotus's Metaphysics of Goodness
University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 11-16-2015 John Duns Scotus’s Metaphysics of Goodness: Adventures in 13th-Century Metaethics Jeffrey W. Steele University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Medieval History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Scholar Commons Citation Steele, Jeffrey W., "John Duns Scotus’s Metaphysics of Goodness: Adventures in 13th-Century Metaethics" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6029 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. John Duns Scotus’s Metaphysics of Goodness: Adventures in 13 th -Century Metaethics by Jeffrey Steele A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Thomas Williams, Ph.D. Roger Ariew, Ph.D. Colin Heydt, Ph.D. Joanne Waugh, Ph.D Date of Approval: November 12, 2015 Keywords: Medieval Philosophy, Transcendentals, Being, Aquinas Copyright © 2015, Jeffrey Steele DEDICATION To the wife of my youth, who with patience and long-suffering endured much so that I might gain a little knowledge. And to God, fons de bonitatis . She encouraged me; he sustained me. Both have blessed me. “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!!” --Psalm 34:8 “You are the boundless good, communicating your rays of goodness so generously, and as the most lovable being of all, every single being in its own way returns to you as its ultimate end.” –John Duns Scotus, De Primo Principio Soli Deo Gloria . -
Chart on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle: 384-322 B.C. The Human Good is the Souls’ Activity that Expresses Virtue for “ Political science spends most of its pains on making the citizens to be a certain character, viz. good and capable of noble acts” [1099: 27-32]. I. Prolegomena Action of the soul that expresses II. Virtues of Character: Books III-IV: reason is distinctive of human beings; Book 1: the excellent man’s function is to Book 2: The Virtues & express reason well (8). Excellence is of two kinds: intellectual & moral. Intellectual excellence is Responsibilities: The good is that which all things aim (1) Though happiness could be god- by birth and teaching (requires experience & time) and moral excellence given, it “comes as a result of comes about as a result of habit. Moral excellence does not arise in us by Virtue pertains only to voluntary feelings & actions. Determine the highest good since excellence and some process of nature; we are adapted by nature to receive them & are made perfect by habit; We forgive what is done non-voluntarily; what is everything is subordinate to it ; the learning or training, to be among the we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave forced by something external is non-voluntary and highest good is political science (2) most god-like things; for that which is by doing brave acts [11031]. Habits distinguish between good & bad everything done by reason of ignorance is non- the prize end of excellence seem to be constitutions & between good & bad states. -
Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, (), – at – )
Offprint from OXFORDSTUDIES INANCIENT PHILOSOPHY EDITOR:BRADINWOOD VOLUMEXLIX 3 MAKINGSENSEOF STOICINDIFFERENTS JACOBKLEIN . Introduction A to the older Stoics, virtue is the only good and the sole constituent of happiness, but certain ordinary objects of desire, such as health and wealth, possess a kind of value that makes them fitting objects of pursuit. These items are indifferent, the Stoics say, but nonetheless promoted. Though health and wealth make no con- tribution to the human good, the Stoics argue that we are to pursue them whenever circumstances allow. Indeed, a failure to maintain one’s health and wealth in ordinary circumstances is a failure of ra- tionality and an impediment to virtue, in their view. This doctrine has provoked criticism in ancient commentators and puzzlement in modern ones. An ancient line of criticism— prominent in Plutarch and Alexander of Aphrodisias—can be © Jacob Klein For help with this paper, I especially thank Terry Irwin and Tad Brennan. Terry patiently read, commented on, and discussed early drafts, helping me formulate and sharpen my claims. Though I have ventured to disagree with him, I am grateful for the skill and patience with which he pressed me to clarify my views. Tad Brennan provided input and guidance at a later stage. I owe much to his work on Stoicism and to our conversations over the years. I am especially grateful for feedback re- ceived from students in his graduate course on Stoic ethics, offered at Cornell Uni- versity in the Spring of . Brad Inwood provided extensive comments on later drafts, correcting mistakes and suggesting improvements. -
ARISTOTLE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS :Index
ARISTOTLE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS :Index. ARISTOTLE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS General Index ■ BOOK I ■ BOOK II ■ BOOK III ■ BOOK IV ■ BOOK V ■ BOOK VI ■ BOOK VII ■ BOOK VIII ■ BOOK IX ■ BOOK X file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provv...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/0-Ethics.htm2006-05-30 09:57:39 ETHICS: BOOK I , Index. BOOK I Index CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/1-Ethics0.htm2006-05-30 09:57:40 ETHICS: BOOK II , Index. BOOK II Index CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/1-Ethics1.htm2006-05-30 09:57:40 ETHICS: BOOK III , Index. BOOK III Index CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/1-Ethics2.htm2006-05-30 09:57:40 ETHICS: BOOK IV , Index. BOOK IV Index CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/1-Ethics3.htm2006-05-30 09:57:40 ETHICS: BOOK V , Index. BOOK V Index CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvi...20de%20las%20Categorias%20-%20ES/%23Ethics/1-Ethics4.htm2006-05-30 09:57:41 ETHICS: BOOK VI , Index. -
The Highest Good and the Best Activity: Aristotle on the Well-Lived Life" (2011)
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 2011 The Highest Good and the Best Activity: Aristotle on the Well- Lived Life Philip William Bauchan Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the Ethics in Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bauchan, Philip William, "The Highest Good and the Best Activity: Aristotle on the Well-Lived Life" (2011). Master's Theses. 514. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/514 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2011 Philip William Bauchan LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO THE HIGHEST GOOD AND THE BEST ACTIVITY: ARISTOTLE ON THE WELL-LIVED LIFE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM IN PHILOSOPHY BY PHILIP WILLIAM BAUCHAN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2011 When zeroing in on the primary points in the Nicomachean Ethics at which Aristotle explicitly discusses the nature of eudaimonia , Book I.1-5; 7 and Book X.7-8 are always singled out as the most crucial sections. While the entire text is filled with discussions that variably shine light on how Aristotle conceives of eudaimonia , it is the aforementioned passages that must be fully addressed and accounted for in any study of this topic. -
Aristotle's Ethics
PHI102 EXAMEN PHILOSOPHICUM – RANI LILL ANJUM Lecture 6: Aristotle’s Ethics What makes us Human? Happiness has intrinsic value. Money only has instrumental In Aristotle’s ontology, all things have both Form and Matter. The value. We want it for what we can get with it. Form is what makes something essentially the kind of thing The greatest Happiness (EUDAIMONIA) has three qualities that that it is. X is a Chair. X is a Horse. What is, then, the Form of make it the ultimate aim or TELOS of all our actions: Human? What makes us essentially human? . Happiness is desirable in itself. We saw in Plato that we should try to be like our Form: the more . Happiness is not desirable because it brings other goods. we resemble the perfect, ideal Form, the better we are as . All other goods are desirable because they lead to Happiness. Humans. Aristotle did not believe in separately existing non- material Forms, but he did believe that our Form gives us a potential to fulfil. Happiness = living a life of virtue To be a virtuous human, we should fulfil our function as Humans. Aristotle thought that Happiness (EUDAIMONIA) comes from living But what is this function? In order to see this, we must look at the good life. This is not primarily a life of pleasure, but of what it is that distinguishes humans from other things. virtue (ARETE). We become happy when we fulfil our potential in a virtuous way. But we need both intellectual and moral virtues. We must also actualise potentials of our rational soul. -
Heidegger, Martin
Heidegger, Martin (1889-1976) 1915 Habilitationsschrift on Dun Scotus (Doktorvater = Heinrich Rickert) problem of categories (constitutive vs reflexive); scholastic logic & ontology examined via modern philosophy & its logic, esp. Kant & Emil Lask ends w contrast of Bergson’s phenomenological intuition (sensation, flux of experience) vs medieval intuition has telos (flow towards God) (thinks he finds a similar understanding of intuition in Husserl’s Logical Investiga- tions, but direction given not by faith, but by intuition itself, constant renewing of inner unity of life 1920/21 Winter Semester lectures: Intro to the Phenomenology of Religion students complain to dean that wasn’t talking about religion, so H. turned to exposition of Paul’s epistles, angrily saying they would in all probability misunderstand the whole intensely concerned not w truth of biblical revelation, but in how meaning and truth are derived from human intentional being 1919 return of Airman Heidegger from WWI, becomes Edmund Husserl’s asst crisis of faith -> abandon Catholicism, embrace radical Lutheranism 1917: turn to a Protestant “free Christianity” (search via mystics: Eckhardt to Luther (influenced by Eckhardt) to 19th century Protestants Dilthey, Kierkegaard, Schliermacher (esp. 2nd Address on Religion sought to keep religion free from “alien technologies,” science 1929: to atheism 1930s: to a national folk religion of his own Hölderlinized invention explicit religious foundations of his phenomenology:Luther, Germ Prot letter to Catholic priest/friend (Engelbert Krebs): “Epistemological insights to the theory of historical cognition have made the System of Catholicism problematic and unacceptable to me—but not Christianity and metaphysics (these however in a new sense)” example weighing most heavily on H.: 1914 papal motu proprio declaring St. -
Aristotle on Emotion, London: Duckworth and New York: Barnes and Noble (Hard and Soft Cover) 1975, Reprinted with Epilogue 2002
PUBLICATIONS Monograph: Aristotle on Emotion, London: Duckworth and New York: Barnes and Noble (hard and soft cover) 1975, reprinted with epilogue 2002 Text and Commentary: Quellen zur Ethik Theophrasts, Amsterdam: B. R. Gruener Verlag 1984 Text and Translation: Theophrastus of Eresus: Sources for his Life, Writings, Thought & Influence, 2 vols. ed. and transl. with P. Huby, R. Sharples & D. Gutas, Leiden: E.J. Brill 1992 reprinted with corrections 1993 Commentary: Theophrastus of Eresus: Sources for his Life, Writings, Thought & Influence, Commentary Volume 8: Sources on Rhetoric and Poetics, Leiden Brill 2005 Theophrastus of Eresus: Sources for his Life, Writings, Thought & Influence, Commentary Volume 6a: Sources on Ethics, Leiden Brill, 2010 Text, Translation and Commentary: Theophrastus, On Sweat, in Theophrastus, On Sweat, On Dizziness and On Fatigue, ed. with R. Sharples and M. Sollenberger (Leiden 2003) 1-167 Collected Essays Theophrastean Studies, Stuttgart: Franz Schneider 2003 Aristotle’s Practical Side: on his psychology, ethics, politics and rhetoric, Leiden: Brill 2006 Edited Books: On Stoic and Peripatetic Ethics: The Work of Arius Didymus, New Brunswick: Transaction Books 1983 = RUSCH Vol. I Theophrastus of Eresus: On His Life and Works (ed. with A.A. Long and P.M. Huby), New Brunswick: Transaction Books 1985 = RUSCH Vol. II Theophrastean Studies: On Natural Science, Physics and Metaphysics, Ethics, Religion and Rhetoric (ed. with R.W. Sharples), New Brunswick: Transaction Books 1987 = RUSCH Vol. III Cicero's Knowledge of the Peripatos (ed. with P. Steinmetz), New Brunswick: Transaction Books 1989 = RUSCH Vol. IV Theophrastus: His Psychological, Doxographical and Scientific Writings (ed. with D. Gutas), New Brunswick: Transaction Books 1992 = RUSCH Vol. -
Aristotle's Theory of Actuality SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Author : Bechler, Z
title : Aristotle's Theory of Actuality SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy author : Bechler, Z. publisher : State University of New York Press isbn10 | asin : 0791422399 print isbn13 : 9780791422397 ebook isbn13 : 9780585046068 language : English subject Aristotle, Philosophy of nature. publication date : 1995 lcc : B491.N3B43 1995eb ddc : 113 subject : Aristotle, Philosophy of nature. cover Aristotle's Theory Of Actuality cover-0 SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy Anthony Preus, Editor cover-1 Aristotle's Theory OF Actuality Zev Bechler State University of New York Press cover-2 Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1995 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246 Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Fran Keneston Composition by Kelby Bowers, Compublishing, Cincinnati, Ohio Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bechler, Z. Aristotle's theory of actuality / Zev Bechler. p. cm.(SUNY series in ancient Greek philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-2239-9 (alk. paper).ISBN 0-7914-2240-2 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Aristotle. 2. Philosophy of nature. I. Title. II. Series. B491.N3B42 1995 185dc20 94-1045 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 cover-3 To Niza Dolav For her special friendship cover-4 Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction: The Idea of Anti-Informationism 1. -
Are Potency and Actuality Compatible in Aristotle?
Are Potency and Actuality Compatible in Aristotle? Abstract: The belief that Aristotle opposes potency (dunamis) to actuality (energeia or entelecheia) has gone untested. This essay defines and distinguishes forms of the Opposition Hypothesis—the Actualization, Privation, and Modal—examining the texts and arguments adduced to support them. Using Aristotle’s own account of opposition, the texts appear instead to show that potency and actuality are compatible, while arguments for their opposition produce intractable problems. Notably, Aristotle’s refutation of the Megarian Identity Hypothesis applies with equal or greater force to the Opposition Hypothesis. For Aristotle, then, potency and actuality are compatible. Keywords: Aristotle; Potency; Actuality; Metaphysics; Physics; Ancient Philosophy Aristotle’s contribution to ontology left at least two landmarks: the first, through working out the account of a categorical sense of being and its assertoric structure, and the second, through working out the philosophical import of potency (dunamis) and articulating its activity (energeia) and fulfillment (entelecheia) as a distinct, all‐pervasive sense of being. The latter contribution will, however, remain unclear to us to the extent that the relationship between these terms is unclear or unthought. Aristotle says explicitly that potency (dunamis) and being‐at‐work (energeia) are not simply the same: “it is clear that potency and being‐at‐work are different (for these assertions [of the Megarians] make potency and being‐at‐work the same [tauto], for which reason it is no small thing they are seeking to abolish)” (Met. IX.3 1047a20).1 Yet this claim comes only three chapters after the claim that they are in fact one and the same: “the boundary [eschatē: limit, extremity, definition] of material and the form are the same and one [tauto kai en], one potentially, the other actively… and what is in potency and what is in activity are in a way one [en pōs estin]” (Met.