Durable Goods
Pleasure, Wealth and Power in the Virtuous Life
©2013
Monographs
X,
177 Pages
Series:
Studies in Theoretical and Applied Ethics, Volume 10
Summary
Ancient Greek philosophers generally accept the claim that εὐδαιμονία is within our power to achieve, regardless of circumstance. Conversely, external goods – physical health, education, social standing – are frequently present or absent due to circumstances beyond our control. Can eudaimonism explain how more than a privileged elite can attain εὐδαιμονία when so few enjoy the requisite external goods?
A satisfactory account of the relation between external goods and well-being must accommodate both the insight that there is an essential connection between prosperity and the flourishing life and that there is a real sense in which εὐδαιμονία is a self-sufficient concept. The «applied intellectualist» interpretation of eudaimonism defended here accommodates important insights of several ancient Greek traditions: Aristotle’s account of human nature, specifically the role of external goods as necessary preconditions for leading a human life; Socratic and Stoic analysis that external goods are necessary constituents of moral action; and Plato’s commitment to a criterion for judging the compatibility of external prosperity with a life of εὐδαιμονία.
This text provides a comprehensive linguistic and ethical analysis of key terms and arguments across several centuries of ancient Greek ethical thought on this fascinating topic, making it an excellent foundation for an upper-division undergraduate seminar in ancient Greek ethics, virtue ethics, or applied ethics.
A satisfactory account of the relation between external goods and well-being must accommodate both the insight that there is an essential connection between prosperity and the flourishing life and that there is a real sense in which εὐδαιμονία is a self-sufficient concept. The «applied intellectualist» interpretation of eudaimonism defended here accommodates important insights of several ancient Greek traditions: Aristotle’s account of human nature, specifically the role of external goods as necessary preconditions for leading a human life; Socratic and Stoic analysis that external goods are necessary constituents of moral action; and Plato’s commitment to a criterion for judging the compatibility of external prosperity with a life of εὐδαιμονία.
This text provides a comprehensive linguistic and ethical analysis of key terms and arguments across several centuries of ancient Greek ethical thought on this fascinating topic, making it an excellent foundation for an upper-division undergraduate seminar in ancient Greek ethics, virtue ethics, or applied ethics.
Details
- Pages
- X, 177
- Publication Year
- 2013
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781453910733
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433116995
- DOI
- 10.3726/978-1-4539-1073-3
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2013 (November)
- Keywords
- circumstance health education eudaimonism
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2013. 173 pp.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG