September 28
Wednesday, September 28, 2022Breakout
Happiness, Self-Sufficiency, and Death
In this breakout session we'll review some of Aristotle's arguments against identifying the good life with the life of pleasure, the life of politics/honor, and the life of wealth. After this we'll consider the influence of Aristotle on the development of the contemporary virtue ethics movement and discuss the distinctiveness of this approach to ethical inquiry in modern moral philosophy. We'll also discuss the rest of Book I not discussed on Monday and assigned for today, where Aristotle raises various puzzles concerning the relationship between happiness, self-sufficiency, and death.
Goals
- Consider further Aristotle’s denial that happiness as eudaimonia consists in a life of pleasure, a life of politics/honor, and a life of wealth
- Understand the difference between virtue-based approaches to ethics and other more rule-based approaches
- Discuss the puzzles that Aristotle explores surrounding the idea of happiness as a self-sufficient good
- Consider the relationship between happiness and death
Before Class
- Consider your own responses to the puzzles Aristotle raises in Book I concerning the relationship between happiness, self-sufficiency, and death
After Class
Further Resources
- “Virtue Ethics” – entry from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Rosalind Hursthouse)