Aristotle - Practical Side of Ethics Rather than the Theoretical Side of Things - Case Study Example

Aristotle does not have much patience for theory for its own sake and neither do I. In my own life, I try to ask the question, “Will it work in practice?” or “How do I do this?” I am much less interested in what is theoretically good or bad, and when I read Aristotle I see that he was similarly interested in the practical side of ethics rather than the theoretical side of things.

In the world, we live in so much ethical thinking and philosophy are incredibly theoretical. Doctrines are written by academics who seem to have never left their ivory towers. They talk about symbols and dreams—but rarely about real people and real-world concerns. They always describe an ideal world or a person they call the “Rational man.” In my own experience, the world is not ordered in such a way that it can be useful to study exclusively theory. When we think of ethics, such an important part of our day-to-day lives, we don’t have time for theory. We need to know how to be good. Learning why we should be good, what goodness truly means, or if goodness exists independently from any of us is much less important.

As Aristotle wisely writes in the Nicomachean Ethics,

With those who identify happiness with virtue or some one virtue our account is in harmony; for to virtue belongs virtuous activity. But it makes, perhaps, no small difference whether we place the chief good in possession or use, in state of mind or activity. For the state of mind may exist without producing any good result, as in a man who is asleep or in some other way quite inactive, but the activity cannot; for one who has the activity will of necessity be acting, and acting well. And as in the Olympic Games, it is not the most beautiful and the strongest that are crowned but those who compete (for it is some of these that are victorious), so those who act win, and rightly win, the noble and good things in life.

It is possible to think deep thoughts about what is best and do nothing good. However, when one actually, practically does good—goodness is done. I sometimes think about this when I listen to talk radio. Many pundits describe the best political ideology. They spend so much time theorizing and talking, but without ever doing good. In the end, all they have to show for their time on Earth are words—not deeds. This is an important point that Aristotle drives home in his work. It shows why he remains such a clever philosopher.

What goodness is not an important question? What we need to know is how to do good and what we can do in our lives to be more virtuous. Sitting around writing out complicated formulas helps no one understand their place in the world. So much of modern-day philosophy is nothing but quackery. That is why the work of Aristotle is so moving. He was one of the few genuine thinkers in the marketplace. As he says of goodness at one point:

Some things are said about it, adequately enough, even in the discussions outside our school, and we must use these; e.g. that one element in the soul is irrational and one has a rational principle. Whether these are separated as the parts of the body or of anything divisible are, or are distinct by definition but by nature inseparable, like convex and concave in the circumference of a circle, does not affect the present question.

These are important principles that we must remember. The difference between convex and concave is negligible when compared with how a mirror is made.
Aristotle is beyond doubt one of the great philosophers. His work is as relevant today as it has ever been. His emphasis on the practical is very refreshing. Read More