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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that compares and contrasts the positions of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) in his Nicomachean Ethics and David Hume (1711-1776) in his Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals. The writer argues that each of these philosopher present two very different and contrasting views of the foundations for ethical reasoning. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_kharihum.rtf
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the foundations for ethical reasoning. Aristotle perceived ethics and moral reasoning as being integrally connected to the reasoning capacity of human beings. Hume, however, rejected reason as the basis
for virtuous action and argued that what humanity considers virtuous evolves from a perception of the actions utility. In his position, Hume connects this perception integrally with the passions.
Aristotle begins his discussion of ethics by all human activities have an objective that the instigators of the actions consider to be good. "Every art and every inquiry...is thought
to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim" (Aristotle, 2000). In other words, Aristotle
points to a chain of causality. People act in order to obtain a goal, to achieve something, which leads to another goal, and so forth. This observation causes Aristotle to
speculate on what would constitute the highest goal, the highest "good." In response to this objective, Aristotle argues that the purpose and goal of everything is to realize itself
in terms of its greatest possible potential. In this manner, Aristotle foreshadowed the modern day slogan of the U.S. Army -- "Be all that you can be." Aristotle agrees with
this sentiment and states that it is good when each individual realizes their talents and abilities to their fullest. Speaking in general, Aristotle points out that only human beings, in
all the creatures living on the earth, possess the faculty of reason. Therefore, following up on his position in regards to the development of abilities, the highest goal for
humanity is to strive toward complete realization of the rational faculty. This, Aristotle believe, brought true happiness and the greatest degree of satisfaction, which he considered the ultimate aim of
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