aristotle vs nietzsche
Discuss Aristotle’s ethical theory and compare and contrast it with Nietzsche’s immoralist/nihilist theory. For Aristotle, be sure to include notions such as happiness, what he means by it and why he believes it is an end in itself, character and how it is developed, it’s tie to happiness and the mean (as contrasted with excess and deficiency). Would a virtuous person want to do the “right” thing? How might one go about using this theory to apply it to a particular ethical decision? For Nietzsche be sure to include the notions of success, winners, losers, the history of morality and why anyone would bother being moral. Given the primarily subjective nature of their theories how is it that Aristotle’s virtue ethics does not become immoralist or relativistic? What is the role society plays in these theories? What role do reason and feelings play? Who determines when and how if an individual is happy, good and/or successful? How are role models determined and what role should they play? What is your assessment of these theories? With what parts do you agree and with what parts do you disagree and why?
