In Order To Happiness

The subject of this thesis is Aristotle's Virtue Ethics. The reasons for the choice ofthis subject certainly comes from some academic points, Aristotle is considered as"Father of Ethnics", but what's more important, it mainly comes from the concernabout the reality. Since 1950's, there was a revolution on the revival of virtue ethics inwestern academe of ethics. It aimed at the absence of modem rule ethics and themoral crisis in the real world. The academic resources of modem virtue ethics almostall came from Aristotle's theory. Because Aristotle was the classical version of virtueethics, he opened out the deep-seated meaning of "virtue", which is helpful to correctthe mistakes of rule ethics. This thesis tries to renew the original contents ofAristotle's Virtue Ethics.By introducing the characteristics of ancient Greek social life and cultural spirit, ItrY to explain the social and spiritual environments which Aristotle's Virtue Ethicswas born in and the relationship between Aristotle's Virtue Ethics and the prevenientones. This thesis expound Aristotle's theory about happiness, reason and intermediacy,respectively from the purpose, the matter and the core, as well as the virtue of justiceand the virtue of friendship.Aristotle's theory about virtue insisted on Teleology. He discussed virtue forhappiness(eudaionia). In his opinion, virtue and happiness have never been apart.Happiness was not outside-kindness, such as fortune and honor. These things don'tlie on happiness itself. The reason that why human beings could get happiness wasthat man showed the functions which just belonged to human beings. What is a man?From the point of view of Biology theory on function, Aristotle defined human as"rational animal". The exertion of rational function is the virtue performance ofhuman. So the matter of virtue is reason, and happiness is the activities which soulsuits for virtue.We can divide reason into two parts. According to this, there are two kinds ofvirtue. The first one is virtue of character; the second one is virtue of intellectual. Inthe five forms of virtue of intellectual, practical wisdom(phronesis) directly related tothe virtue of character. Aristotle lays stress on virtue of character, the core of which isintermediacy, and the meaning of which refers to the quality of sense and activities atproper time, to a proper affair, for proper aims and by a proper method. The confirmation of intermediacy needs holding practical wisdom.Human beings are also the political animals, namely, social existence. Only canGod lives without polis, not human beings. Therefore, the virtue of man representsjustice and friendship. The former, whose quality is law-abiding, is the one, by whichan individual deals with the relationship between himself and polis, or among anyother individuals. Law relates to common benefits, so justice is the collection of virtue.Justice is also the kindness of polis politics, which is managing by law. Relating withman's sociality, private happiness melts into sociel kindness, i.e., every one couldcatch virtue happiness from a community, so ethnics and politics combines into one.However, friendship, considered as the relationship of interpersonal attraction, is thenecessary components of virtue happiness. Friendship is beyond justice, so it isdifficult to obtain.It's thought in this paper that Aristotle's Virtue Ethics, compared with histeachers', tries its best to keep balance between sense and experience, soul and body,ideal and reality, individual and the whole. Thus it is found more acceptable to moralmain parts in real life. As regard to the contemporary movement of virtue ethics,Aristotle provides sources which can be used directly from three aspects at least: theexplanation frame of happiness teleology supplies the contemporary virtue ethics withacademic base point; the annotation of happiness builds the pattern of living purposesat a certain extent; searching happiness between virtue and rule is an effectiveapproaching to main part's getting happiness.