among the philosophers
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PHIL 1004 Homework 3 Tse Sing Yu 2008400581
Among the philosophers, there are some similarities among them. Most of all, the three has
put emphasis on individual self-cultivation and effort. To Aristotle, virtues have to be
developed by developing habits during childhood and phronesis during adulthood such that at
the end people would have the ability to judge the appropriate ³mean´. To Confucius, to
develop virtues like ren and yi, one has to cultivate oneself through emulating role models as
well as constant concentration and study. To Mill, it is through ³experiments of living´ our
individuality could be cultivated.
The three philosophers¶ philosophies differ in their degree of individuality. Mill is the one
who enshrines individuality who thinks that people should have diversity in their lifestyle as
they are under different conditions and are of different characteristics. On the contrary,
Confucius thinks that there are some role models (sages) that everybody should follow. The
Dao is something that all should commit to.
Reason has different places in the three philosophers¶ philosophies. To Aristotle, reason is
the unique character of human and is the guideline by which we act in order to fulfill our
capacity. To Confucius, reason is of little importance to good life as virtues should be learnt
primarily through emulating role models.
Society has a special place in Confucius¶s philosophy in that he thinks a good life should
include an orderly society where every individual lives in harmony. Society is of little
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mention in Aristotle¶s philosophy though he thinks being a political leader is the second-best
form of life. Mill would think that society can influence one¶s mode of life but the concept of
society is of no importance to his theory which put emphasis on individuality.
As regards their relative strengths and weaknesses, Aristotle¶s conception of a good life is
based on the teleological concept of nature that everything has a function. However, modern
scientific theory can no longer support this theory. Also, what is natural does not constitute
what ought to be done. The strength of Aristotle is his link of virtues and happiness. In my
opinion virtues in the end is to achieve happiness instead of other things especially
unhappiness.
For Confucius, he emphasizes that l i is a guide to the expression of the core virtue ren.
However, the lack of justification of l i makes it vulnerable to criticisms of conformity. Also,
the outdated elaborations of l i in the Anal ects make it inapplicable to modern daily life.
However, if we are talking about the spirit of Anal ects, I think every student who has read
Anal ects would feel the ideal personal character and society Confucius wants us to achieve.
By setting a good example Confucius is always noticeable to people in a disorderly world.
Mill has noticed idiosyncrasies of people and he thinks of life as many ³experiments´. This
makes his philosophy applicable in any times at any places to anybody who struggles to have
a good life. But he has put so much emphasis on individualities without talking about social
interaction with others which makes his account inadequate.