Aristotle – Virtue, Pleasure, and Confucius
Aristotle’s Description of the Relation between Virtue and Pleasure
Aristotle’s description of virtue is that it is the means between two vices. Contrarily, he defines pleasures as the complement of unhindered duty. Therefore, he relates these two ideas by stating that the love of pleasure stimulates a person to disregard the moral path. “It is an account of pleasure that we do bad things” (Aristotle, ca. 350 B.C.E./2010, p.69). This quote implies that moral acts are directed by pleasure, and an individual’s desire for pleasure is damaging as it makes one divert from the virtuous path.
Analyzing a Celebrity According to Aristotle’s Virtues
Aristotle’s version of virtue recommends that individuals have ideal character traits to become virtuous. The two virtues of Aristotle are moral and intellectual. People learn moral virtues through constant practice and habits and intellectual virtues through instruction. Therefore, an individual should derive characters from natural predispositions and nurture them to be stable. In addition, according to Aristotle, virtue is determined by a rational principle (Aristotle, ca. 350 B.C.E./2010, p.84), and moral virtues can be taught through frequent practice. An excellent example of a celebrity who depicts virtuousness is Angelina Jolie; she cultivates her character by exhibiting generosity to the less privileged. For example, being a humanitarian, she adopted many orphans and has been at the forefront of campaigning against rape within conflict-affected areas in Congo. Therefore, Jolie’s generosity has been nurtured through involving herself in righteous acts, which is doing what is ethically correct within the community. Hence, Jolie follows Aristotle’s recommendation by frequently participating in moral actions and achieving the mean level.
Analyzing the Celebrity According to Confucius’ Account of Virtue
Confucius’s explanation of virtue recommends that individuals should be humane by giving more of themselves to others. He asserts that individuals should live to their potential by investing in their relationships with others. Therefore, Confucius provides a Golden rule that people can use to build relationships. In Book V, Section 4, Confucius states, “Do not impose on others what you do not want” (Legge, 1991). This quote implies that individuals should do to others what they could also be done to. Hence, a person’s actions should always be dictated by the fact that other people desire to be treated well. Evidently, Angelina Jolie follows this recommendation because she creates opportunities for the less fortunate. For example, she acknowledges orphans and feels they need a dwelling place they call home. Consequently, she approved several orphans and made them a home, demonstrating that she followed Confucius’s recommendation.
References
Aristotle. (2010). Nicomachean ethics (C. Rowe, trans.). In G. Marino (Ed.), Ethics: The Essential Writings (pp. 66-84). Modern Library. (Original work published ca. 350 B.C.E.)
Legge, J. (1991). The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects. The great learning. The doctrine of the mean. With a biographical note by LT Ride. SMC Publishing Incorporated.
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Question 
Aristotle – Virtue, Pleasure, and Confucius
Q1. How does Aristotle describe the relation between virtue and pleasure? Give and explain one direct quote from the reading as part of your response, using quotation marks and in-text citation (Aristotle, ca. 350 B.C.E./2010, p. __).
Q2.Think of a famous person (politician, celebrity, athlete, etc.). Describe two of Aristotle’s virtues and assess whether this person achieves the mean level of each or instead tends toward one of the extremes. Use named virtues and vices from the reading in your analysis and link these to specific incidents or behaviors from the life of the person you chose.
Q3.Think of the same famous person. Describe Confucius’ view on the importance of habituation to a life of virtue and use examples from the person’s life to explain whether or not they follow Confucius’ advice on this topic. Include two direct quotes from Confucius as part of your answer, using quotation marks and the in-text citation (Confucius, ca. 500 B.C.E./n.d., p. __).