Aristotle on the Purpose of Life

[Eudaimonist]

If life doesn't have to be just, then what's the point of pursuing justice or acknowledging justice in the first place?

Because life isn't Just automatically. Justice is something that we have to create with our own actions. We aren't guaranteed justice by any external power. Yes, justice is something worth pursuing.

Kant noted that there is an apparent lack of reward for following virtuous behavior. So he believed the only way that virtue could be reconciled with wellbeing was to assume the existence of an afterlife.

Much of the reward of virtue is virtue itself. It doesn't have to be treated as a mere means to an end, although certainly it may act as a means as well.

Also, virtue does not have to produce perfect justice in order to be valuable for its own sake and for what it produces in our lives. The perfect need not be the enemy of the good.

I'm not sure I'd go that far... but if there is no afterlife, then what is virtuous may well turn out to be something more akin to "enlightened self interest", which may vary from individual to individual.

And that is fantastic! Why shouldn't virtue be enlightened self-interest? Why shouldn't it vary at least a little from individual to individual given that individuals are unique, and why shouldn't virtue resemble the virtue of others at an abstract level since we unique people are all human beings, and therefore share some characteristics in the abstract?

For some people that might mean a life of crime better suits them than working a low-wage service job, for instance.

Why would being a parasite suit anyone? While people are unique individuals with their own talents, that doesn't mean that "anything goes" when it comes to creating a worthwhile life for oneself. There can be parameters within which one ought to stay, even if one might have a talent for certain aspects of crime. For instance, a hacker could join the government and use his talents to catch other hackers instead of living a life of crime. This would be growing up.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Eudaimonist]

Electromagnetism is "justice". Natural balance of charge difference. Within our bodies there is a certain amount of shielding. Upon dropping the body, that shielding is no longer there and we are exposed directly to the universe.

Random Deepak Chopra Quote Generator - Wisdom of Chopra


eudaimonia,

Mark