A Comparison of Moral Views Essay

When we think of ancient philosophies, we immediately think of the early Greek philosophers. Among them were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, considered as the Fathers of Philosophy. Although they have distinct views on some certain aspects, we all know that they are the most influential thinkers non unaccompanied during their obligingnessive times only today. This paper testament focus on the similarities and differences of the moral and ethical views of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.Socrates believed that self-knowledge will meet the conditions of having a estimable life. For Socrates, knowledge and virtue are of the same category. If a mortal could not learn knowledge, he cannot learn virtue. With this, he argued that virtue can be taught. The unexamined life is not expenditure living. Socrates believed that the pursue of knowledge and wisdom should always come first before any private interests. For him, quest knowledge is in accordance to ethical and moral correspondi ons.Socrates, considered to be the greatest philosopher of all time, assumed that argue will lead to the good life. He believed that the real ecstasy a person carry outd was influenced mainly by doing what seems to be right. When a persons true value and function is found, he will achieve happiness. The Socratic ethics can be categorized as teleological in nature. We humans act towards the good and these actions naturally have their purposes.Plato, like all the early philosophers, based his beliefs on ethics on virtues and human well-being. Platos beliefs on happiness diverged significantly from another(prenominal) philosophers views. Due to this, his time on describing his own concept of happiness was divided. He spent lots of time criticizing the customary beliefs of the good life. Plato similarly considered happiness as perfect and is not easily understandable since it is supported by metaphysical assumptions that attend to be vague and is impossible to be understood. The f ocuses on Platonic ethics are the problems and difficulties of an individual, not happiness as a factor of good-living.For Aristotle, ethical knowledge is considered to be a general knowledge and not a precise knowledge. He argued that ethical knowledge is not a theoretical discipline but rather functional in nature. Aristotle believed that to become good, a person should have experienced the actions of life and is in accordance to fine habits.He did not believe that merely studying virtues will make a particular individual virtuous. One should do righteous and honorable to be good and virtuous. Aristotle believed that reputation and respect only would give a person his happiness. He argued that an individual finds happiness by fulfilling his functions as a human being. For Aristotle, a humans function is to utilize what he has that everything else does not, his capacity to think or reason, or logos. A person using his ability to reason fulfills his nature as a sagacious soul and therefore finds his absolute happiness.For me, Aristotles ethical philosophy is the most applicable and the most practical to adapt. Unlike Socrates belief that an individual will be virtuous if he studies the virtues, Aristotle believed that one should act good to be good not by merely studying how to be good nor what is good. Plato, on the other hand, focused on what should not be done in order to make a persons life good. Aristotle argued that understanding what is good does not make a person good. So I think, Aristotles concept on morality stands among the three of them, just like the saying goes Actions speak louder than words.