Aristotle’s (1931) Nicomachean Ethics.

  Aristotle’s account of ethics is “teleological”, which means that our understanding of virtue and living well is based on a sense of the “telos” (function, purpose, or end) of something (see Aristotle’s text and the textbook for the full account). Using at least one quote from the required text(s), explain the relation between virtue and living well on Aristotle’s account, and briefly describe some of the key characteristics of the virtues. 2. Reflect on yourself: Identify an area of your life in which virtues are needed to do well. Explain what the “telos” of that role or activity is, what virtues are needed and why they are needed, and what would be lost if someone tried to be successful in that activity who didn’t exercise the virtues. This might be a role you have, a vocation or career, a hobby, or something common to all of us. 3. Reflect on virtue: In what ways do the virtues you identify display the characteristics Aristotle describes? For instance, you could explain whether they occupy an intermediate between too much and too little of some quality, how they would affect one’s emotions as well as one’s actions, etc. Question #2: Please watch the video explaining the symposium and its requirements. This week, we will consider how virtue ethics applies to surviving, even thriving, through hardship. Please watch the selection, "Aida's Interview," from the documentary film Human: The Movie. This symposium is a chance for you to discuss together the ethical issues and questions that it raises, your own response to those, and whether that aligns with or does not align with a virtue ethics approach. The aim is not to simply assert your own view or to denigrate other views, but to identify, evaluate, and discuss the moral reasoning involved in addressing surviving, even thriving, through hardship. Your posts should remain focused on the ethical considerations, and at some point in your contribution you must specifically address the way a virtue ethicist would approach this issue by explaining and evaluating that approach. According to virtue ethics, a human being is best understood as moral less in terms of thinking of how to perform one's proper duty (deontology) or acting to promote happiness (utilitarianism) than the ability to maintain balance in one's life and character. Aristotle believed that maintaining balance between too much of a thing (for instance, wild celebration) and too little of a thing (for instance, constant social withdrawal) can be very difficult when momentous events occur in one's life. Experiencing loss, relocating, adding a new member to the family or even getting the promotion at work one wanted can all make it more difficult for a person to keep life in balance. In this video, Aida, from the nation of Senegal, describes multiple circumstances in her life that can be fairly said to have the potential for disturbing her life's balance. How did Aida seek to survive these disturbances, and do you think that she progressed beyond simply surviving to thriving in her life? Do you find Aida's outlook on life admirable, or has she simply justified to herself why she remains in a life of imbalance? Do you believe that Aida has lived her life more by reason or by emotion? What role do each play in a balanced, ethical lifestyle? In sum, your task is to explain whether Aida is a virtuous person according to Aristotle's understanding of maintaining balance, and why or why not.