PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy

Philosophy

What does it mean to be human?

According to Aristotle, all human activity is directed towards achieving happiness and well being. It is defined as the continuous contemplation of eternal and universal truth. Aristotle states that, an individual can only achieve happiness by leading a virtuous life. The aim of their life must be the well being of others. They must work in favor of other, in order to achieve their personal satisfaction and a solid reputation. In this way, people will remember them in kind words. In order to achieve this objective, one requires sufficient external goods to ensure leisure, health and the opportunity for virtuous action (Thomas, 1993).

He has given rules of conduct and ethical behavior. He proposes that if human beings follow goodness, it can help individuals attain more satisfaction. In this way, an individual will better understand his rights and responsibilities as an individual and member of society. It will also help them understand the purpose of their existence.

On the other hand, Augustine defines human nature by saying, that its priorities are different. They want pride and power. Human nature is full of greed, and hence wants to attain all the powers even by betraying the rights of the others. All such factors leads to problems when these human indulge in war against each other to attain power and acquire satisfaction they want. They want to take revenge from their counterpart, not only to fulfill their desires, but also to show others that they are more powerful than others and it leads to all sorts of problems and troubles.

2.-What does it mean to live a life of meaning and purpose?

Aristotle was of the view that God has created men to provide favors to others and help them in all the problems they may face. The objective and the purpose of life of human being must be to serve human beings and their well being. He proposes that an ideally moral life requires moderation in all the things in life except moral virtue. Human desire is not bad, if it is controlled due to moral principle and values. It is acquired through continuous effort and combination of self-discipline, hard work and knowledge. Moral Value and acts require conscious choice for moral motivation. Individual has personal responsibility and motives for his actions and attitudes. It is also important to have an appropriate environment in order to conduct ...