erraticwisdom

Comments

1. I think Aristotle is the philosopher of the Balance, the Golden Way (Middle Way). Even if he stress the importance of the contemplation in the process of achieving Happiness, he rather alternate contemplation and action. This is an optimal approach to Happiness.
   
   Cheers!
   Conn Stell.

   Lifecho

   May 8, 01:41 AM #
2. I might be late into this discussion, but should there necessarily be a distinction between the paths of moral virtue and those of solitary contemplation?
   
   I have personally believed that the key to ‘peace’ in this world is every man living completely for himself as long as he does not intrude on another. While this does not seem very social, it would actually fit well enough.
   
   Contemplation provides happiness that is deep rather than wide. It is a metter of being able to commit time. In my perspective, this is more a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’

   Aayush Iyer

   May 8, 07:06 AM #
3. I agree that contemplation can lead to happiness in the satisfaction one gets from thinking things through. I do often find myself contemplating the world and understanding the way things are and what is right. As mere mortals though, the difficult part is practicing what you know to be right. Being inconsistent with what you know you should do and what you actually do can lead to unhappiness and conflict. So, perhaps contemplation leads to understanding that shows how fallible we are and this could lead to some unhappiness.

   Atul

   May 8, 03:44 PM #
4. Conn:
   
   Hi!, Aristotle did indeed stress the importance of the mean, but that was generally in regards to the moral virtues (courage is the mean between rashness and fear, for example). What is so interesting about his position on contemplation is that it is a vast departure from his previous ideas.
   
   Aayush:
   
   Hello, you’re definitely not late.
   That is a good point and is a nice approach to his idea.
   
   “Should there necessarily be a distinction between the paths of moral virtue and those of solitary contemplation?”
   
   In Aristotle’s description, there is, but you manage to combine the two quite well. A person is definitely making a commitment when they choose to live a life of contemplation, so it makes sense that it would be (as you said) a question of if.
   
   Atul:
   
   Good points, although I think Aristotle makes a distinction between “deliberation” and “contemplation”. The former is the thinking we do right before choosing a particular action. As you said, the action that we think is better from our deliberation is not always the action we perform and this leads to the conflict you described.
   
   Contemplation on the other hand is a much more profound and…cosmic…experience. We contemplate about the universe and existence, not whether or not we choose to eat a cake instead of a salad, for example.

   Thame

   May 8, 07:56 PM #
5. I think that what Aristotle is doing in the end of the Nic Ethics is fascinating. I don’t think that he is necessarily promoting only a life of contemplating because while we will be happy, in his analysis of happiness, he still recommends that we interact with others. When that interaction occurs, the virtues that he mentioned previously come into account, and our role of friendship comes back.
   
   So I don’t think that pondering existence and studying is his answer to existence as much as it is his overarching principle which strengthens other virtues (i.e. practical judgment).
   
   As far as deliberation vs. contemplation, the difference is that deliberation is about the means to ends, not ends (Aristotle, 1112b 12-13) and it is in relationship to one’s own actions (Aristotle, 1112a 31-36). Additionally, that which is chosen is the same as the deliberation because the chosen thing is done out of deliberation (Aristotle, 1113a 4-6). From this statement the point is made that choice, itself, is a deliberate desire.
   
   In Book VI, Aristotle discusses what he means by the term “skilled deliberation.” It is here that he says that skilled deliberation would be about what is most advantageous to us in relationship to the end, and that practical judgment is a true conception of this (Aristotle, 1142b 34-36). Contemplation, as has been stated, is much larger then that, and surely isn’t a means to any end.
   
   (check out my blog [http://lifevirtuosity.blogspot.com] for some of my own philosophical discussions)

   pensuave

   May 9, 09:34 PM #
6. Hi pensuave,
   
   I agree that those chapters are by no means an accident (my professor said that some people ignore them and consider them a separate essay). What I ended up writing about in my final essay about this topic was the scope of a life of contemplation.
   
   The difference between a contemplative activity and a contemplative life are huge. It is the latter that conflicts with our life of moral virtue and also seems to be beyond the capacities of most humans. Perhaps Aristotle spends such a relatively short time describing a contemplative life because it simply is not possible for most people.

   Thame

   May 10, 08:12 PM #

7. A good advise for happiness would be some combination of Sokrat, Plato and Aristotle.

   Steve

   Jan 11, 12:03 PM #