First Five

• What is “Groupthink?”

• How long did Plato study under Socrates?

• Which of Plato’s dialogues discusses “The Prisoners and the Cave?”

Greece- The Classical Era III

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

• Most famous student of Plato– Spent 20 years at the academy

• Teacher of Alexander the Great– At Macedonia

• Returns to Greece to open his own school

Macedonia

Harmony

• Think of a guitar

• If the string is too loose, it won’t play

• Too tight, and the string will snap

• Perfect tension creates harmony

• The balance between vice and virtue– Vice: Bad habits (drinking, gambling, etc.)– Virtue: Moral excellence (goodness)

Ethics

• Aristotle writes about ethics

• Ethics: Discipline that focuses on rightness or wrongness of certain actions

• Aristotle believes in moderation– No excesses

appiness

Happiness

Happiness • All human activities aim for a good

• Every good is meant to achieve happiness

• Happiness is tied to virtue

• Moral goodness is the highest happiness

• Has to be practiced over and over– Creature of habit

• We are not born good or bad– We become one or the other through our

actions

The Good Life

• The good life involves smart choices

• But people are also passionate (emotional)

• Surrendering to desire: Foolish

• Denying desires: Foolish

The Golden Mean

• Choose the middle way

• Mean=Average

• Golden Mean: The perfect blend of passion and virtue

• Too much confidence: Brash (arrogant)

• Not enough confidence: Cowardly

• Golden Mean: Brave

The Natural World

• Aristotle cares about our place in the world

• Most of his study is actually science– Classifying plants and animals

• Credited as the founder of Biology and Psychology

Assignment• In two paragraphs:

– Discuss a time in your life when doing the right thing made you feel good about yourself. Discuss a time when doing the wrong thing made you feel terrible.

• In three paragraphs– What do you consider “Happiness?”– Do you think of yourself as a “Happy” person?– How was the idea of “Happiness” taught to you as a

child (in the home, at school, in church, etc.)?