Human Function
Aristotle thinks that the life that is the optimal way of pursuing happiness is the life of rational activity in accordance to virtue. He arrives at this conclusion in his book the Nicomachean Ethics. There Aristotle says that it is by surveying human beings and determining what they are and what their function is that we will better be able to determine how they should behave and how they will be happy. Aristotle believes that the good of man can be defined by determining the function proper to man. Function is activity that leads to certain goods. Aristotle brings up the saddle maker, whose function is making saddles and the flute player whose good or function is making music. All professions have some type of function. One example that we are more familiarize with would be a …show more content…
If a waitress does not perform their function well, they are usually not tipped well. Our eyes, hands, feet and the rest of our body parts have functions. If our eyes do not function correctly, we do not see well and if our feet or hands do not function properly we will also have difficulties. Aristotle broadens this idea and says, what about you and I as people? Do we have a function as human beings? I believe we must, we are all working toward something, right? Aristotle thinks there is a purpose to us and he calls this the general good that we are trying to pursue. He divides functions of the soul into an irrational and a rational part. The irrational soul has two aspects: the vegetative aspect, which is simply just breathing, taking in nutrients, disposing of waste, drinking water, and growth. The second irrational function is animality, this is eating, locomotion, feelings, desires and then there is the rational part of our function. The rational part of the soul controls these impulses, so a virtuous person with greater rationality is better able to control their impulses. If we want to know if we are good human beings Aristotle says to look at rational