PHILOSOPHY - Aristotle Flashcards
Question: What is the relationship between virtues and vices, according to Aristotle?
Answer: Every virtue occupies the golden mean between two vices. For example, courage lies between rashness and cowardice.
Question: Why is the ability to have a conversation considered key to the good life?
Answer: Knowing how to have a conversation is a vital aspect of the good life. It allows for balanced interaction, avoiding both humorlessness and excessive humor.
Question: How can one change and develop virtues?
Answer: While virtues may not change at the drop of a hat, change is possible with time, practice, and encouragement. Developing virtue is a process that takes effort.
Question: How should individuals lacking virtue be treated, according to Aristotle?
Answer: People lacking virtue should be considered unfortunate rather than wicked. They should not be thrown in jail but instead provided with better teachers and guidance to help them develop virtue.
Question: What does Aristotle believe is the purpose of art?
Answer: Aristotle sees the task of art as making profound truths about life stick in our minds. Art achieves this through various techniques, such as catharsis in tragedy.
Question: How does catharsis work in tragedy?
Answer: Catharsis allows us to cleanse our emotions and clarify our feelings of fear and pity by witnessing terrible things happen to decent people in plays. This encourages greater compassion and understanding.
Question: What are the three different types of friendship according to Aristotle?
Answer: Aristotle identifies three types of friendship: those based on seeking fun, strategic acquaintanceships for mutual advantage, and true friendship, where one cares about the other as much as oneself, resulting in a deep, strengthening bond.
Question: How can ideas effectively cut through in a busy world, according to Aristotle?
Answer: Aristotle acknowledges that the best argument does not always win the battle. He emphasizes the importance of rhetoric, the art of getting people to agree with you, by acknowledging and addressing people’s emotions, fears, and pride, and making rhetoric engaging and funny to hold people’s attention.
