AT LEAST 300 WORDS Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2 In Book II, Chapter 3, Aristotle discusses the relationship between virtue and pleasure/pain. In this discussion, Aristotle could be said to argue agains

Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2

In Book II, Chapter 3, Aristotle discusses the relationship between virtue and pleasure/pain. In this discussion, Aristotle could be said to argue against two other Greek conceptions of the proper relationship to pleasure and pain - Hedonism and Stoicism.

Here is some background on the two alternative ethical theories, provided by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Hedonism: "At its simplest, ethical hedonism is the claim that all and only pleasure has positive importance and all and only pain or displeasure has negative importance. This importance is to be understood non-instrumentally, that is, independently of the importance of anything that pleasure or displeasure might cause or prevent. From ethical hedonism, it follows that if our relationships, achievements, knowledge, character states, and so on, have any non-instrumental importance, this is just a matter of any pleasure or displeasure that is in their natures. Otherwise, they have only instrumental importance through the pleasure they cause or displeasure they diminish." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Hedonism", 2013).

FULL ARTICLE: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hedonism/#EthHed (Links to an external site.)

Stoicism: "The passions or pathê are literally ‘things which one undergoes’ and are to be contrasted with actions or things that one does. Thus, the view that one should be ‘apathetic,’ in its original Hellenistic sense, is not the view that you shouldn’t care about anything, but rather the view that you should not be psychologically subject to anything – manipulated and moved by it, rather than yourself being actively and positively in command of your reactions and responses to things as they occur or are in prospect. It connotes a kind of complete self-sufficiency... Even in antiquity the Stoics were ridiculed for their views on the passions. Some critics called them the men of stone." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Stoicism", 2018).

FULL ARTICLE: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stoicism/#Eth (Links to an external site.)

Given your understanding of the status of pleasure and pain in Book II, how do you understand Aristotle's conception of pleasure and pain as different from those of the Hedonist and the Stoic? How might these ethical theories handle our sensibilities in a similar manner? Which do you think is the most attractive way to understand pleasure and pain? Why?

Before posting, be sure to read the instructions and grading rubric in the syllabus. The initiator post is due Wednesday. The response posts are due Sunday. 

Search entries or author