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How Does Aristotle Contribute To A Starving Child

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This paper will discuss the ethical question, "if you had the choice of stealing food to give to a starving child, would you?" The question will be discussed from the perspective of three ethical philosophers, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Nietzsche.

Aristotle

Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher of the 4th century BCE (Anonymous, n.d.). As explained by Sachs (n.d.), Aristotle believed "moral virtue is the only practical road to effective action." Practicing ethics, for Aristotle, is an active, conscious decision. Each decision should be meditated upon with the object of creating a virtuous life. Aristotle did not believe in strict, pre-determined rules that demand no thought process behind them. It is true he believed virtue ethics to be a habit, but not an instinctual one. Aristotle would say "choose an action knowingly, out of a stable equilibrium of the soul, and for its own sake" (Sachs, n.d.).

Approached with the quandary of stealing to feed a starving child, Aristotle would reflect upon several …show more content…

This is because the act of stealing would reflect poorly on his character; it is not a virtuous thing to do. He said "even in cases of urgent necessity, when there is a choice about whom to benefit, one should first decide whether the scale tips toward the necessary or the beautiful thing" (Sachs, n.d.). Feeding the starving child would be a beautiful act, of course, but in the grand scheme of things it would not be a lasting one. The child would be hungry again the next day, and if one choose to steal the first day, one would have to choose to steal every day, thereby marring one's character. I believe Aristotle would find a long-lasting solution to the starving child's situation. He would share his own food, giving happiness to them both, or he would procure help from another for the child, letting them both share in the virtue of assisting the less

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