Aristotle’s Golden Mean is a concept from ethics that suggests that the virtuous path in life lies between two extremes. On one side is excess, and on the other side is deficiency. The Golden Mean represents the middle ground between these two extremesFor example, if we consider the virtue of courage, Aristotle would say that … Read more
Oedipus is a tragedy by Aristotle’s definition because Oedipus fails to fulfill his fate, bringing about the tragic downfall of Oedipus. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother in order to bring peace to Thebes. Oedipus is given three signs that he does not heed, resulting in his ultimate downfall. Oedipus … Read more
The main subject of Aristotle’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ are a group of prisoners who have been kept chained their entire lives in a cave with one opening to the outside. By way of this opening, in addition to a strategically placed wall and fire, they are able to see the shadows of individuals who … Read more
Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes were two of the most influential philosophers of all time. Aristotle was a Greek Philosopher who was a student of Plato in the 300 B. C. Thomas Hobbes was an English Philosopher in the 16th century who focused mostly on morality and politics. While both of these philosophers studied many other … Read more
Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher, had a theory of trying to simplify the task of arguing by dividing and classifying arguments into three types. The three types are called Logos or logic-base, Pathos or emotion based, and Ethos or credibility based. The two classic essays, “Life Boat Ethics” by Garrett Hardin and “A Modest Proposal” … Read more
When identifying and articulating ethics, one may conclude that the best way to express one’s values is through speech or literature, bluntly stating what they believe. However, this is simply untrue, for there are limitless theories, and a multitude of ways to express them. The Greeks, for example, exhibited their values in multiple ways. The … Read more
Plato describes a cave where people are chained up and can only see shadows cast on a wall. He parallels these shadows to the things that people see in the world around them, the materialistic reality that most people base their lives on. He parallels the chains to norms, customs, traditions, habits, etc. Plato believes … Read more