For most people today, being a good person simply means following a commonly agreed upon set of moral guidelines. However, these guidelines become increasingly blurred and convoluted from culture to culture and generation to generation. The question remains whether the definition of morality can truly be universal and whether this definition can be the only prerequisite for goodness. As is the case in modern times, goodness, or being a good person, was a major philosophical issue in ancient Greece. Some of the world's most famous philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, both discussed this concept of goodness at length and thought about the right way to be a good person, what it meant, and why it was important to live from this way. While both authors wrote books focused on other concepts (Plato's Republic focuses on justice and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics deals primarily with happiness), "the good" underlies the motivations that push to address the questions of their main themes, such as being the reason for seeking justice in The Republic, is at the center of their metaphors, such as Plato's allegory of the cave, and is the solution to many of the questions that they pose, as in Aristotle's studies on virtue and happiness. Although they are very different books with very different perspectives, Plato and Aristotle, in The Republic and The Nicomachean Ethics respectively, approach goodness as something positive to achieve and attribute it to leading to a better and more fulfilling life. Plato sees good as a universal concept that acts as a being with the same powers as God and causes knowledge, and believes that it is possible to find it through special education, while Aristotle, in his work, writes a more convincing argument linking the good to happiness. and virtuous, and, more realistically, cites the imitation of virtue as a means of achieving this. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In The Republic, Plato describes the good in a way that resembles God, due to his depiction of the good as a being who is the ultimate creator and giver of knowledge to humans. He begins his discussion of goodness because it is integral to his inquiry into justice and the perfect city, as the philosopher kings whom Plato considers the best choices to lead the Republic are notable for having achieved goodness (Plato VII. 214). Plato defines goodness as “the very cause of knowledge and truth” and “the primary goal of the pursuit of knowledge” (Plato VI.198). He also asserts that good “imbues the objects of knowledge with truth and confers on the knower the power of knowledge” (Plato VI.198). In this way, Good is depicted as an all-powerful God, because He is the creator of knowledge itself and chooses who is allowed to discover the truth and when. Without good, one cannot find the truth for oneself, but must only depend on and pursue good. The only reason for learning and acquiring knowledge is not the truth itself, but the ability to discern the truth through God, the good. Plato helps the reader understand this concept of goodness by using a sun metaphor: he connects the sun's ability to enable vision to the good's ability to enable reason (VI.197). Just as vision would be rendered useless without sunlight, reason would be ineffective without good, orGod, enabling people to use reason to solve problems effectively. In this way, the sun is the material world's version of good, and good plays the role of the sun in the intelligible world. This explains why sometimes God is misrepresented as the sun, as their similarities give rise to comparisons when people unintentionally blur the line between the physical and the intellectual. According to Plato, goodness is also “the source of happiness” (II.75). An evil man cannot be happy, but must first obtain the good, and then happiness will follow. This could also be translated, if good is God, to mean that finding him is the source of happiness, and that people who don't know God may think they are happy, but don't actually know what true is like. happiness. Plato's views on the advantages and disadvantages of the pursuit of good are set forth in his metaphor of the cave. In this metaphor, the sun again represents good, or God, and the people live in a dark cave without any knowledge of the sun, trapped by their ignorance of God. When one of the people leaves the cave and experiences the sun for the first time, they have a new view of reality and try to return to the cave to bring each of the other people out (Plato VII.209). In this situation and in life, it is beneficial to find the good and see the truth, which is why the escapees were eager to show everyone else in the cave what they were missing. However, from the prisoners' point of view, ignorance is bliss and they have no reason to leave the darkness they are accustomed to. They may even think it would be harmful to leave the familiar to seek the good. So, in reality, there is no downside to achieving the good, since it will lead to all the best things in life, such as happiness and wisdom, but rather, downsides only exist in certain perspectives. This may sound like atheists who think they know the truth and see no benefit in seeking God, because from their perspective they have no reason to do so. However, pursuing the good is not only what is best for oneself, but it also positively affects others. If the rulers are good, then they have wisdom and know the truth, and they are able to properly rule a city and its people, so that everything prospers under the leadership of the good ruler. Good people inspire others to be good, like the people who escaped the cave did, so that goodness can spread. This is seen in Christians who are passionate about spreading the knowledge of God because they want others to benefit from the happiness and wisdom they have received from finding Him. Plato's definition of good cannot be found in any real person, because everyone needs laws to guide their actions and behavior, and even Jesus needed commandments. On the other hand, Plato equates evil with injustice, that is, with all vices combined. An example of an evil person in Plato's mind would be a fictional villain, like Voldemort, who kills without hesitation or reason and acts according to extremes. However, just like goodness, it is difficult to identify a truly evil person because many evil people believe they are doing what is right. To become what Plato calls a good person, or to “escape the cave,” education is the most important step to take. Education is what brings people out of the metaphorical cave and into the light, which is truth and God (Plato VII.214). However, all education will not put us on the rightpath to good. After several long discussions during which Socrates and his fellow interlocutors found answers and then disqualified them, they finally came to the conclusion that the best types of education are the study of calculations and geometry, the study of perfect harmonies and, most importantly, the study of calculus and geometry. study of dialectics. This education works best when given to young people and “should not be compulsory” (Plato VII.230). If these subjects, except dialectics, are studied during childhood, one will become a good adult who does not need laws and rules because he knows how to govern himself well. If someone is exceptionally good at dialectic, they are exceptionally good and a candidate for one of Plato's philosopher kings. Ultimately, Plato concludes that someone who is good, or who knows God and is learned in philosophy, will live the best life with the most happiness and even experience success in the afterlife. In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle equates goodness with happiness. .Because his goal in the book is to find a way to achieve happiness, kindness is woven into many discussions. From the beginning of the novel, he states that “the good has rightly been defined as ‘that to which all things tend’” (Aristotle II). In other words, everything everyone does has the same end goal: happiness. Along with not depending on others, this is what Aristotle considers to be the definition of "self-sufficiency", and he states that "it is a generally accepted view that the perfect good is self-sufficient." » (I.vii). This means that goodness is not necessary to accomplish anything more; this is what everything strives to achieve. Goodness leads to no end, and it is because happiness is described as such that it qualifies as the highest good. No one wants to be happy for anything else, but everyone seeks happiness only because it will make them happy. Other goals such as honor, intelligence, and wealth are really just means to the ultimate goal of happiness. Aristotle disagrees with Plato's assertion that there is a universal good. Therefore, to follow the metaphor, Aristotle did not believe that all good came from an omniscient and all-powerful God. Rather, he believed that good could also come from within oneself and depicted different types and categories of goodness (Aristotle I.vi). If goodness is happiness, Aristotle need not emphasize the benefits of this way of life, because people naturally desire it. be happy. If he reveals the secret to happiness, people will try everything he lists. As with Plato's concept of goodness, there are no real downsides to living a good, happy, virtuous life, but there may be other views of it. For example, temperance is an important factor in such a life, but some people enjoy their excesses of pleasure and wealth and would not want to give them up. Again, happiness is an obvious benefit to one who pursues the good, and to achieve this he must become virtuous, so that his character improves greatly, both morally and emotionally, in the pursuit of the good. Not only does it benefit a single person, but it also affects those around them. Aristotle states: “Only the friendship of those who are good and similar in their goodness is perfect” (VIII.iii). Thus, goodness must be achieved not in just one, but in both friends, to achieve a complete form of friendship, necessary for a happy life. Goodness, as Aristotle describes it, can be found, for example, in someone who embodies all the virtues and contemplates life. If he were alive in the 20th century, he might haveconsidered Martin Luther King Jr. to be a good person, because of his wisdom and justice in the civil rights movement, as well as his temperance and courage in his protests. Aristotle views evil as someone who commits crimes or has vices that do not even have means, such as murder or wickedness, where "it is not their excess or deficiency that is evil", but rather “in their case, then, it is impossible to act correctly; we are always wrong” (II.vi). Adolf Hitler fits this description, where genocide and discrimination have no means. Aristotle uses his entire book to describe how to achieve goodness and be happy. The main way he gives to begin this quest is to become a virtuous person both intellectually and morally. First, Aristotle states: “Intellectual virtue owes its birth and development principally to instruction, and it is precisely for this reason that it needs time and experience” (II.i). Thus, intellectual virtue must simply be taught, unlike moral virtue which, according to Aristotle, can be acquired in a few different steps. The first and most important method is habituation, and without habituation there is no way to become truly virtuous. This means that one must constantly, intentionally behave morally and virtuously in order to become a good and happy person. A simple way to start acting this way is to follow the laws of a good constitution, for Aristotle. explains: “Legislators make their citizens good by habituation; such is the intention of every legislator” (II.i). By following the laws that prohibit people from engaging in evil activities, one will begin to be naturally inclined to participate only in moral activities and turn away from evil. Virtue can also be sought by acting only on the mean that lies between the vices, that is, by finding a moderate way of acting or feeling that is neither excessive nor deficient (Aristotle II.vi ). Someone is following this “average doctrine”. when they act with courage, temperance or patience, for example, instead of cowardice, libertinage or irascibility (Aristotle II.vii). These will also come easily with practice. Once virtue is a habit, one must also have friends to be truly happy. However, not just any friends, but only perfect friendships instead of friendships for utility or pleasure, will do (Aristotle VIII.iii). This type of friendship can only be formed between two virtuous people who wish the best for each other, which is why it must be the second step after achieving virtue. Loneliness is not beneficial for the good person, because then he will have no one to direct his goodness towards. Aristotle's final step to living a happy life is to live a life of contemplation, since happiness is contemplation. Indeed, it is the best activity one can participate in and because it can take place over an extended period of time, unlike most other activities. Contemplation is also the only self-sufficient action, which is a requirement for something truly good, because it is the goal in itself and it does not require that anyone or anything else should happen (Aristotle x.vii). In conclusion, as long as one lives a virtuous and contemplative life among true and virtuous friends, they will be a good and therefore happy person. Although Aristotle was a student of Plato, they disagreed on some fundamental concepts. Their main disagreement addressed in The Nicomachean Ethics was Aristotle's rejection of the Platonic theory of the universal good. Instead of..