Philosophers such as Aristotle, The Buddha, and the more modern-day Nel Noddings have all begged the question, “What does it mean to live a good life?” Aristotle’s main view aims at happiness, and focus on the self. The Buddha and Nel Noddings both believe that one should not fully focus on the self, but more on the selfless acts for others. Each of these philosophers has determined their own proper way to lead a good life and I will examine each philosophy through comparison to the eldest, Aristotle. I believe Aristotle’s philosophy to be agreeable, but I feel he is missing certain key components which I will discuss by the end of the essay.
Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) believed that happiness as the ultimate good, and the end of a good life. He wrote his noted “Nicomachean Ethics,” which was written not to provide step-by-step …show more content…
Noddings practically devotes her whole philosophy around the central idea of caring for others. She refers to her explanation of caring as “the moral imperative” (Noddings, 150). She believes care should be the basis of ethics and she divides them into two sentiments; natural caring, and a caring based on the memories of natural caring. Natural caring relies on the feeling of “I must” accompanied by “I want” (Noddings, 150). The second act of caring moves to level of duty, a caring more based on experience.
In relation to Aristotle, Noddings views align with the concept of virtue, “…that morality as an ‘active virtue’…” relies on feeling (Noddings, 150). Aristotle, however relies more on logic and reason. And in terms of Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean, Noddings central idea of care would become the virtue. The excess of care would be caring too much, and the deficiency would be simply not caring at all. To live a good life Noddings focuses on the way we form relationships with others, Aristotle focuses on the self and how one can reach happiness through many different
Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) believed that happiness as the ultimate good, and the end of a good life. He wrote his noted “Nicomachean Ethics,” which was written not to provide step-by-step …show more content…
Noddings practically devotes her whole philosophy around the central idea of caring for others. She refers to her explanation of caring as “the moral imperative” (Noddings, 150). She believes care should be the basis of ethics and she divides them into two sentiments; natural caring, and a caring based on the memories of natural caring. Natural caring relies on the feeling of “I must” accompanied by “I want” (Noddings, 150). The second act of caring moves to level of duty, a caring more based on experience.
In relation to Aristotle, Noddings views align with the concept of virtue, “…that morality as an ‘active virtue’…” relies on feeling (Noddings, 150). Aristotle, however relies more on logic and reason. And in terms of Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean, Noddings central idea of care would become the virtue. The excess of care would be caring too much, and the deficiency would be simply not caring at all. To live a good life Noddings focuses on the way we form relationships with others, Aristotle focuses on the self and how one can reach happiness through many different