Aristotle

- is there a mean between action and contemplation?  Obviously Aristotle upholds the contemplative life, but is there a certain point at which you must stop and act?

- is achieving a mean excellence or a good purpose in acting more important for virtuous actions?  For instance, should you always keep between cowardice and foolishness or are there times when the reason for acting outweighs sticking to that mean?

1. In N.E. II 1104b12, Aristotle quotes Plato to say that right education should aim at causing the youth to delight in the proper things and to be pained by the proper things. Should this be a part of education?

2. Further, if it should be a part, where does it belong? It would seem that the schools and universities are largely unfit for such education for they often live in a relativist and subjectivist atmosphere, neither of which accept much objectively painful or delightful but would say it is a matter of opinion.

-Jacob

1. Are Aristotle’s excellences meant to be based contextually, or are they exhibited in the decision calculus required for certain choices?

2.If one attains a quality through the exercise of said quality, and those who can easily exercise a quality must posses it, does improvement of the self then require some type of struggle or suffering?

Welcome to the course website for PHIL 311: Aristotle.  Keep the discussion moving.

Are there such things as substance?  If not, what is there?  What is substance anyway?