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I feel like Arisotle already responded to all of this over 2000 years ago. Ethical questions are strictly contextual, there's no overriding definition of Good t
by imbnwa 5y ago
I feel like Arisotle already responded to all of this over 2000 years ago. Ethical questions are strictly contextual, there's no overriding definition of Good to apply, what Aristotle calls the Golden Measure isn't an objective mark on a ruler, its the ability to discern what is right in given situations with their particular variables. An archetypal notion of Good that transcends specific situations is a notion of Good that solves no situation at all. Ethics is inherently contingent and Aristole's Nichomachean Ethics is basically a parenting guide on how to raise someone who is capable of this ethical praxis. There's also no easy settlement between practical self-interest or gratification and ethics either, if you're pursuing the one, you can't be pursuing the other since that would pre-suppose what the Good is.
Its interesting to note that Aristotle was considered the practico-scientific thinker of antiquity into the middle ages in both the Christian and Muslim worlds (he is referred to as The Master, and The Philosopher endlessly), with Plato only making a comeback near the end of the renaissance IIRC and his import prior largely being in theology (again, in both the Judaeo-Christian and Muslim worlds).
- ycombinete 5y agoThat’s interesting, given how much influence Plato's ideas had on the formation of early Christian core philosophy.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- d0mine 5y agoRead Aristotle ideas about physics. Recognize that they are BS by modern standards. Consider what his views are worth on less tangible things (even less).
- FractalHQ 5y agoI feel like that’s unfair. Wisdom and intuition can get you much further in philosophy than it can in physics, which relies on an extraordinarily vast foundation of mathematical principles to even get started on the right path. Philosophy has had the majority of its foundation a lot longer than modern physics has. It seems less tangible things don’t typically share the same fundamental restraints.