At this point in history, wealth has become dominant in the judgement of the success of an individual by the community. Why is this the benchmark for success in society? I believe that this is because people view the wealthy as comfortable and happy with no worries or any stress on survival. The question I am looking to answer in this paper has to do with whether this “success” is truly what a human being should strive for. Arendt and Aristotle have different views on the importance of what we should judge as success in individuals even though they express these views under the same name. Living well and living are almost synonymous in Aristotle’s viewpoint, while Arendt explains that there is a distinct difference between these two viewpoints and explains further that the true goal of the person is to live well. Aristotle, in his …show more content…
Animals are organisms who move in packs like humans do, but humans have the ability to think critically and engage each other. This is the true backbone of the political community that has seemingly lacked in modern society. We currently have a system that discourages public speaking of the issues that plague society in favor for the issues to be in control of the political elite. This is the inequality that Arendt believe exists in the household and has leaked into the community. Arendt’s argument really drives home the values in which our society should be judged by. Her point is an important one and highlights the problems that plague humans as social beings. Her argument, in my opinion, really modernizes the importance between living large and living well. Arendt drives the need for equality and a political life into the light and explains articulately that we have lost the distinction between the public and the private spheres that were separated for much of history but has seemed to combine in modern
Is the author 's argument based on any unproven assumptions? If so, identify the assumptions and identify what information is needed. The author 's arguments are based on unproven assumptions. For instance, he assumes that, it is false that material wealth is the standard of success and this goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit.
This excerpt showcases the mentality the leaders of this society have and how well they've implemented it to make it seem as though collectivism and abolishing individualism is for the greater good, but just because their forefathers had the right intention does not mean to say they had the right way to do it. It's perfectly fine to have rules to keep people in line, but when it starts to kill the soul of a person and it keeps them from doing something so human as asking questions, these rules become simply cruel
He continues to look at the “rights” of moral agents and that moral agents can only be if they themselves can make moral decisions. Animals cannot make moral
Paper Four “To be superfluous means not to belong to the world at all” – (pp 475) Arendt views large, superfluous masses of people as a necessary precursor for the transition from a totalitarian movement to a totalitarian rule. These masses, formed from the atomization of the class system in a society, serve several purposes which allow for successful totalitarian rule: they help to act as the popular lever by which a totalitarian movement may secure power, they carry out the rote functions of the totalitarian rule, and most critically, they are killed or imprisoned in droves as a means of demonstrating and employing the power of the totalitarian system. This final purpose, the continual destruction of random portions of the atomized masses,
In the light of the aforementioned characteristics of totalitarianism defined, Hannah Arendt claims that totalitarianism is incomprehensible since it is not possible to judge or predict its actions through any traditional, legal, moral or common sense (Arendt, 1953 : 303). Therefore, Arendt evaluates the regimes under Hitler and Stalin rule “not only wicked but also senseless, of a kind that could not be deduced from humanly comprehensible motives” (Canovan, 1999 : 25). Arendt aims to offer an intellectual constraints for the analysis of Hitler’s
This paper will discuss the problem of evil. In the first part, I will discuss Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s atheist stance and William Lane Craig’s theist stance on the problem of evil. In the final part of this paper, I will argue that Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s argument is stronger. The Problem of Evil
This essay targets conservatives whose job is to preserve and uphold the value of society. Scully is encouraging conservatives to get up and do something about how unfair animals
To sustain the high status, people engaged in economics, politics, and many other fields, make an effort to shape people’s thoughts, influence the culture, and gradually transform the notion of success. Take Wall Street as an example. It is depicted as the extension of hyper elite universities, a place full of the smartness and most ambitious people. Enveloped in an atmosphere of “the culture of success”, where people are
There are people who does not have money, does not have much knowledge, or does not have family. Hence, they consider wealth of money, knowledge, or family. Moreover, excellence is the same as wealth, it has different types such as beauty, genius, or power. Although people differently think about the word of excellence and the word of wealth, they usually consider that “excellence” is when an one person or an one thing is more beautiful, stronger, more intelligent, or more cunning than another the man or the object. However, Socrates who is wise philosopher means that “excellence” is something like goodness, and “wealth” is a money.
It is critical to recognize Mill’s argument that a degree of contentment can exist in periods of less happiness. However, Aristotle’s view of perceiving wellbeing or goodness as ultimate is more pronounced. Worth emphasizing, Aristotle deeply explores his arguments basing them on functions of a rational man and virtues out of habits. Today, a virtuous citizen is one whose actions are inward, in response to conscience and moral obligations as a member of society. Such a person, not waivered with intensities of pleasures, honor, and wealth but seeks to have a satisfactory level of happiness with friends, co-workers, and family among other
One of the keys I found in the Hannah Arendt reading was a passage explaining that the Rights of man was not only unenforceable, but could not distinguish the difference between the general human rights to from the civil rights of citizens. Even though people could see how millions of people suffered from different violations, "no one seems to know which rights they lost when they lost these human rights" (Arendt 34). This passage conveys something important to me as it explained events that happened where the declarations human rights written in the French and American revolutions were not truly successful. When people were forced out of their homes, no one else realized the serious consequences those that were forced to leave faced. While
Hannah Arendt born in Germany, worked as a U.S. political writer and philosopher. Her works were mostly related to political philosophy. In one of her work, “The Human Condition” Arendt suggests a three-way partition between the human activities as labor, work, and action. The activities have been arranged in hierarchal importance. Labor corresponds to that activity which are undertaken for fulfillment of biological necessities of human existence.
In his more specific discourse on the nature of happiness, Aristotle comes to the conclusion that happiness lies in the contemplative life because “contemplation is the highest form of activity” (Aristotle 268). Aristotle views the activities of the mind to be the most sophisticated element of human life, and thus he believes the greatest good must come from the greatest aspect of life. In this view of happiness, Aristotle assumes that “happiness is an activity in accordance with virtue,” and that in order to live the contemplative life, one must also live a morally virtuous life (Aristotle 270). This connection between morality and contemplation coincides with Aristotle’s view of the superiority of contemplation over all other human activities.
At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.
Have you ever dreamed to live well? Or Did you know someone who has lived a good life? If so, how can you define a good life? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the good life can be defined as “a life marked by a high standard of Living. The good life can be defined as a way that someone plans to live virtuously by having a great education, enough money, and helping others.