Ateneo de Zamboanga University

School of Liberal Arts

Philosophy Department
Week 6 – Virtuous Character
UNDSELF – Understanding the Self
2nd Session, SY 2021 - 2022
Plato’s Question #__7__

For Plato’s question number 7, how does man, in the midst of a sensible changing world, come to grasp
the world of forms? I can say that, a man achieves the fulfillment of his existence. In Aristotle's ethics,
there is a strong influence of Plato's body-soul dualism. In other words, that man is rational. That is, the
man participates in this comprehensive logo in a special way, not only in the sense of domination of
reason. It means that human beings have the ability in themselves for the lasting activities of self-
building, self-government order. A man is different from the being below, where all specific activities are
transitive activities. For Plato, human knowledge is feasible insofar as man is able to grasp some stable
structure or relation in the midst of all the changing in sensible world. Man, for Plato is a reflection of a
duality of the sensible and ideal worlds. Man itself is compose of body and soul.

Aristotle’s Question #__7__

For Aristotle’s question number 7, why does Aristotle say that real man is man’s soul? For Aristotle, man
are beings composed of body and soul, through which man achieve the fulfillment of his being. The soul
is part of the composite that animates and commands, and the body is the part that subordinates as the
master's tool or slave. The soul has two main parts, rational and irrational. The rational soul is
completely independent of the body, but the irrational soul is closely associated with the body. For
Aristotle, man is this universal in a special way, not only in the sense that he is dominated by reason,
which is the whole world, but also in the sense that mans have the ability of activities inherent in him.
Participating in a typical logo, Self-instituting and self-governed are ordered. Moreover, for Aristotle, the
soul is not an exile from a better world, housed in a sickly base body, as in some cases of Plato's writings.
The essence of the soul is defined by its relationship to organic structure. Not only human beings, but
also animals and plants have souls and essential principles of animals and plants. According to Aristotle,
the soul is the "reality of the body with life," and life means the ability to self-preserve, grow, and
reproduce.
Which among the two (2) philosophers do you relate to regarding the character of the person in terms
of what is right/good?

The philosopher I choose that I relate regarding the character of the person in terms of what is
right/good is Aristotle, recall that according to Aristotle, character is a matter of what one enjoys doing.
That good is desired for its own sake. The good involves a teleological system that involves actions. The
final good for human beings is happiness; it is good in itself, the end of action, and hence self-sufficient.
For Aristotle, moral virtue is the only practical road to effective action. What a good person loves with
the right desires and sees the right. In addition, Aristotle tells us that character excellence is the average
between two excesses governed by rational principles that a person with practical wisdom will follow.

Rubric: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GG0cspkgvMPBYm2srj_XbeKCEiII54D0/view?usp=sharing