Aristotle Philosophy Reflection Paper

A huge dimension of our wellness and culture as humans, our spirituality, is affected by nature. Nature, in its grandeur, has inspired theological thought in many people. A particular movement in history that exemplified this was Transcendentalism. Two particularly famous transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s renowned essay, “Nature” demonstrates the transcendentalists’ fascination with the natural world and their belief in its divinity. A fantastic quote from “Nature” is “Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years.” In this quote, Emerson refers to nature as “God’s plantation”, which clearly shows his belief, which is shared by many transcendentalists, that nature is holy and connected to God. Henry David Thoreau’s classic book Walden demonstrates similar ideas. Perhaps the most famous quote from the book is “I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Thoreau 182) The idea that going to nature allows one to “live deliberately” and understand the “essential facts of life” in essence means that one can develop a true understanding of life through observation and life in nature. The transcendentalists’ beliefs were based in nature. Many others in the

Aristotle’s understanding of the four causes begins with the assumption that is present in all Greek philosophy, the notion of pre-existing matter. He observed the world around him and noticed that it was in a state of constant motion, a movement from potentiality to

Persisting in discourses on state of nature even today, the theories of these two philosophers provide various views on what man’s state of nature may be; they contain thoroughly developed hypotheses that stand individually as major influences in state of nature philosophy.

The cause of nature is similar to the cause of a machine, that is, an intelligent being. (1,2)

Aristotle believes that there are two kinds of virtue, one being intellectual and the other being moral virtue. He states that Intellectual virtue comes from being taught meaning we’re not born with it. Moral virtue on the other hand we develop as we grow and gain an understanding of life. “The stone which by nature moves downwards cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times” (N.E. II.1) Right there he is talking about how if you are designed to do one thing, it is impossible to do the opposite no matter how hard you force it. He talks about how we gain our virtues by practicing them and using them on a regular basis. That is how we learn

had created nature, the study of nature was the study of God through his works.

Nature in the dictionary of Cambridge is the animals, plants, rocks, etc. in the world and all the features, forces, and processes that happen or exist independently of people, such as the weather, the sea, mountains, the production of young animals or plants, and growth. Many poets and philosophers have discussed the essence of nature. Both Mary Oliver and Walt Whitman emphasize this essence; for Mary explains why everything in nature has a soul and Walt explains why animals have a better life than we do.

The form of an object helps clear up its behavior. Aristotle calls the forms of living things “souls,” which are of three kinds: plants, animals, or human beings. Because Aristotle believed that the soul is merely a set of determined features, he didn’t regard the body and the soul as two separate individuals that mysteriously combine to from an organism.

The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. Aristotle

To find out what the function of a human being is, Aristotle looks at what is distinctive about humans. He discovers that the good of the human is to act in accord with reason well, which can translate into acting in accord with virtue. One cannot have happiness without virtue, just as it is impossible to be virtuous with the absence of rational thinking. Because man is a rational creature, rather than plants which are vegetative, happiness for man must include the excellent functioning of the rational faculties.

In Principles of Biology (Bio 2107K) many topics where discussed. Even though there is a second part of Principle Biology, however a couple of topics where introduced in this class for discussion to expose students to Principle of biology. The history of biology touches the study of the living world from early days to current times. Before Biology, there were some terms used for the study of animals and plants. Natural history referred to the descriptive aspects of biology, though it includes of mineralogy and other non-biological fields; from the middle Ages through the Renaissance, the uniting background of history was the great connection of existence. Natural philosophy and natural theology involves the theoretical and abstract basis of plant and animal life, dealing with issues of why organisms be and behave the way they do, though these subjects also includes what is now geology, physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Physiology and botanical pharmacology was the province of

Under the circumstances, there are still substantial ways that psycho-analytic theories play an important part of the nature perspective. It contains human’s emotional, developmental, defensive, and unconscious goals and processes.

truths, and forms. He had no room in his views for imagination and what he saw

Nature is not altered by humanity and instead is pure, creating inspiration for people to be original. Nature is “the greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, in the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable” (Nature 221). People who believe in transcendence see the importance

Aristotle believed that the goal of all human life is to achieve ultimate happiness. Happiness is the final Utopia or the end of “a life worth living.” Human instinct is characterized by achieving personal fulfillment, thus leading to happiness. Aristotle warns against going astray and “preferring a life suitable to beasts” by assuming happiness and pleasure are equal. Living a life preferred by beasts incapacitates a person from achieving the end Utopia. Even though Aristotle does not equate the two, he does stress that minimal pleasure is required to achieve happiness. Someone lacking in vital necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter are not capable of achieving happiness due to their lack of pleasure.