1. Select one person from among Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas who best represents and another who least represents your own philosophy of Psychology. Then explain what it is about his views on human nature and human action that appeals to you or irritates you. Do not merely summarize his views; rather, in light of your own ideas about human nature and human action describe your responses to his views.
The career of Aristotle well represents the development of American psychology during the first half of the century. He is commonly regarded as one of the most influential figures when it comes to theoretical approaches regarding philosophical perspectives. Aristotle was the first recognized person to make key advances in the areas of logic, physical works, natural history and moral responsibility. In addition, he supported that behaviour cannot be just good or evil; instead an individual can attain good or bad personality traits. His ultimate goal is to outline what the good life entails for human beings.
Aristotle made the first important developments in the field of philosophy of nature. He eventually came to realize that our realm was made up of uncountable natural forms. Aristotle held an understanding about human nature that he interconnected with his notion of virtue. According to this concept, the improvement of moral character shapes people’s perception toward others and allows them to enrich the common good. He claims that habitually, man is blind to morality suggesting that man is born without knowledge. Therefore, man has to attain knowledge of morality in order to be part of human nature. He proposes that our choices made after birth determine our morality. I too, understand the Aristotelian concept of morality.
Aristotle said that moral virtues are not innate, but they are acquired by developing the habit of exercising them. For example, an individual becomes selfish by acting selfishly. He does note that it may be difficult for an individual to become virtuous if he or she has not acquired the habit of acting virtuously. As well, it can also be difficult for an individual to become unselfish, if he or she has acquired the habit of acting selfishly. Therefore, the concept of moral responsibility implies that an individual has some freedom to choose his or her own actions.
Aristotle did not believe in the existence of inherently bad behaviours. According to Aristotle, everything that we pursue is good. He created a hierarchy of Goods that prove that some goods are pursed for your own sake while others are pursued for the sake of something else. This organization of goods allows individuals to see the pyramidal structure of goods where those good that we pursue for our own sakes are placed on the top while goods that we merely useful for the attainment of other goods near the bottom. Aristotle believes that the only good that is pursed entirely for itself is happiness. This is one of the ways, Aristotle expressed views that are similar to many of my own.
One of Aristotle’s defining characteristics was a predisposition to classify everything and that is a tendency which I share. His obsession with the organization of thought and rhetorical techniques appeals to me. However, Aristotle’s theory supported the fact that if one were to murder someone – he/she may be lacking several important virtues such as compassion and fairness and he may not think of murder as an inherently immoral or impermissible sort of action.
His theory of describing the good life appeals to me because I am able to relate to it. For instance, Aristotle claims that every task a human does is completed for a certain purpose. In my case, I participate in physical activities in order to look and feel healthier. Aristotle believes that if there is no definitive end to our tasks then there is no reason as to why we do them. He evaluated the physical world for solutions to help give life a purpose. Perhaps we achieve that by educating our younger generation and consequently they educate their younger generation and so on. They would naturally question and search more, as it is human nature to inquire and strive for answers. Hence, I agree with Aristotle and am intrigued by his search to find and define the ultimate purpose of life.