Did Aristotle err in writing ‘everything inequitable is unlawful’?

What does Aristotle say about unjust laws?

An individual is not at all justified in disobeying an unjust law. That individual should be punished, but the individual should also try to change the law within the system. Lawlessness is worse than the inevitable deficiencies of any particular system of laws.

What did Aristotle say about injustice?

Aristotle has made it clear that injustice is a result of wanting more than one’s fair share and has stated explicitly that behavior motivated by lust or anger is not unjust but rather licentious or irascible.

What is ethics according to Aristotle?

Aristotle’s ethics, or study of character, is built around the premise that people should achieve an excellent character (a virtuous character, “ethikē aretē” in Greek) as a pre-condition for attaining happiness or well-being (eudaimonia).

What is it that makes an act just or unjust Aristotle?

There are just and unjust acts, but for an act to be done justly or unjustly, it must both be the right sort of act and it must be done voluntarily and deliberately, based on the character of the actor, and with knowledge of the nature of the action.

What did Aristotle say about justice?

Aristotle says justice consists in what is lawful and fair, with fairness involving equitable distributions and the correction of what is inequitable.

What is Aristotle’s virtue of justice?

Aristotle endorses this familiar conception of justice when he says that justice is lawfulness. In his view, justice has to do with proper relations with and fulfillment of obligations to others. It is a social virtue that belongs to people insofar as they live with, cooperate with, and rely on others.

What did Aristotle believe?

Aristotle’s philosophy stresses biology, instead of mathematics like Plato. He believed the world was made up of individuals (substances) occurring in fixed natural kinds (species). Each individual has built-in patterns of development, which help it grow toward becoming a fully developed individual of its kind.

What type of ethics did Aristotle teach?

Aristotle’s perspective on ethics was based on the virtue of being human; in other words, virtue ethics.

Why is Aristotle’s ethics important?

In the Ethics, Aristotle describes a thorough understanding of ethical and intellectual virtue. By pursuing these virtues, Aristotle argues that a person can achieve a life of fulfilling happiness. The ideal polis as described in the Politics serves as a place where the virtuous life is attained in the best manner.

Which Greek philosopher thought that injustice is better than justice?

Another related argument indicates that the discussion entails great doubts about whether the just city is even possible. Socrates claims this along with the idea that the function of the just city in the argument is to enable the individual to get a better idea of justice and injustice (472b-d, 592a-b).

How did Aristotle classify the constitution?

Aristotle has classified the constitutions into two broad categories—right or ideal constitution or government, and wrong or perverted form of government. The constitutions which aim at the common interest or good are called the ideal or right constitutions.

What is justice according to Plato and Aristotle?

To both Plato and Aristotle justice meant goodness as well as willingness to obey laws. It connoted correspondence of rights and duties. Justice was the ideal of perfection in human relationships.

What are Aristotle’s 4 virtues?

Given that I have an undergraduate background in philosophy, I was intrigued and decided to show him a page in one of my books (Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy, Wuellner, 1956) summarizing Aristotle’s four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude.

How many virtues did Aristotle have?

Aristotle identifies approximately eighteen virtues that enable a person to perform their human function well. He distinguished virtues pertaining to emotion and desire from those relating to the mind.

What is the purpose of the law in relation to the virtue ethics of Aristotle?

Virtue ethics has its historical background in ancient Greece and was primarily developed by Aristotle. For the purposes of law enforcement, the major foundation in virtue ethics is the idea that if you are a good person, you will do good things, and to be good, you must do good (Pollock, 2007).