Philosophy final paper pre-question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Philosophy final paper pre-question - Essay Example have a function or activity, the good and the ‘well’ is thought to reside in the function.† Therefore, it is the human good which keeps the function the soul performs in accordance with virtue. The key points in Aristotle’s concept of function include the following arguments in brief: Aristotle argues that everything has a function or activity to perform. Further, based on this argument, he states that everything that has a function has a virtue as well. Therefore, it is the virtue of the thing that enables it to perform its function well. The basic function of the soul, as argued by Aristotle is to take care of things, rule and deliberate, and so on. Because, these are the activities one cannot perform without the soul. Again, the soul can perform well only when it has the virtue associated with its function. In this way, a good soul performs, takes care of things, and in general, lives a good life. This is where the conception of happiness comes into being. Therefore, the conception of happiness is mainly derived from the good functions performed by the soul while performing them all well with the nature of virtue. When the soul performs its function virtuously, then the soul becomes associated with justice. That means the just soul performs well and, therefore, lives well. That is how the soul is blessed with happiness. Whereas a bad soul does just the opposite of what a good soul does. In that sense, the bad or the unjust soul performs as well as lives badly and so is wretched. This is what Aristotle describes as the definition of the notion of happiness. In the process of his argumentation, Aristotle wants to identify happiness with virtuous activities performed by the soul. A happy man will have a pleasant life. However, pleasure is not the only good thing that happens to a happy man. In simple words, a happy man will share both a pleasant as well as virtuous life. When the notion of happiness is introduced, Aristotle proposes his view of