Aristotle
...lemma by saying that if you could add something to pleasure and make it better then it could not be the ultimate goal of all. Aristotle would present the case of a person who gains pleasure from observing others succeed. This goes against the core of what Epicurus believed. How could a man derive pleasure from others experiencing pleasure? Epicurus could not answer this question while Aristotle could. Aristotle’s answer was that since pleasure is only a part of a virtuous and good life and not the end of it, a person could enjoy the success of others and relish in their prosperity. Aristotle would agree with Epicurus that pleasure is important but not all important. Aristotle would say that a person who is consumed by the pursuit of happiness is not complete, and is missing some of the other elements in the good life. 2. Aristotle has described bravery as “The man, then, who faces and who fears the right things and from the right motive, in the right way and from the right time, and who feels confidence under the corresponding conditions, is brave” (III.7). Bravery is not the absence of fear but the healthy respect of it. One that claims that he fears nothing would describe him as a fool by Aristotle. Bravery consists of several parts and they all contain some sort of fear. The first is fearing the right things and from the right motive, second fearing things in the right way and at the right time, and the third is feeling confident in the right situations. Fearing the right things at the right time and from the right motive is the first step in defining bravery. What can we fear and why? That is the question that we should answer. Is it OK to fear nothing or on the flip side is it OK to fear everything? What is motivating your fear? The answer to the first question is no and yes. A brave person does not let their fear overcome them. They use their fear as a motivation to do what they know they should. But should fear be used to motivate someone who would otherwise not act out of fear? No! To motivate someone by fear is not to motivate them at all, but to scare them. Fearing things in the right way and at the right time is essential to understanding bravery. Bravery is not becoming paralyzed in t...