Thursday, September 11, 2014
"The end justifies the means"
Machiavelli once stated that the end justifies the means. In other words, we as humans aught to do whatever it takes to achieve a purpose or a goal in life. However would a desire driven goal result in overall goodness if it makes a person happy? This ideal reverts back to what we discussed in class concerning Aristotle's theory of Eudaimonia. Aristotle believed that a human's actions were directed by "Eudaimonia" or happiness, meaning that a person acts in accordance to achieve happiness. Aristotle claims that happiness makes a person virtuous which contributes to absolute goodness. Even though his statement sounds a little redundant, I must admit that in the end it makes sense. Most of us in class would agree that indeed everything we do whether is charity, playing sports, going to school, etc.. is done to achieve Eudaimonia.
Now going back to Machiavelli's individualistic ideal, it plays a significant role in accordance to Aristotle's' theory of Eudaimonia. If we examine what Aristotle said about happiness, we can conclude that Machiavelli's idea would lead to complete chaos in our society. The reason for this is because human desire can often harm other humans. For example, the recent Kroger mob attack we faced in Memphis a few weeks ago. The desire of "fun" or possibly "hatred" allowed a cruel attack on innocent civilians causing disorder in our society. For cases like this, Aristotle warns people about not letting their actions be controlled by their feelings/desires; therefore people must use their reason in order to control their feelings.
Through the observation of the recent conflict in Memphis, I come in agreement with Aristotle. Not everything we desire will bring a positive outcome to society or to ourselves. What we think makes us happy may not be the goodness that we often seek for ourselves. Sometimes our goals in life will conflict with the harmony of the universe; as a result we face the consequence of a distorted happiness. I personally believe that in the long run a Machiavellian mind would only bring the destruction of our humanity.
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I agree with you, Maritza. I think a society that didn't even try to do or be good would result in chaos. Leading a Machiavellian life could certainly be profitable and perhaps even happy for one person, but the society as a whole would suffer greatly if we all thought this way. We need kindness in this world. Perhaps Aristotle is right and we only do things because we hope that ultimately it will make us happy. But imagine the punch our world would take if people did not feel good about doing "the right thing". Imagine if people woke up one day and nobody cared about the poor, the disabled, the oppressed, the sick, the hungry. Hell, most people hardly cared now but at least there are some people out there fighting for good. Even if they're doing it just to make themselves feel good (which, I don't know, I would hope there are some people who aren't just doing it to pat themselves on the back) it's a good thing for our society to have that I don't think would be all that possible under a Machiavellian mindset.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, if every human being worked only to pursue individualistic goals then law would probably not exist. Perhaps because so much individualism would lead the people of our society to want to be their own ruler. As a matter of fact the sense of "community" would slowly vanish creating nothing but disorder. Maybe Plato was right when he stated that everyone must perform the task they can perform best in order to make the world function as a whole. Perhaps happiness can only be achieved if people would just do their side and contribute to the development of a better future.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you, especially when you say that "happiness can only be achieved if people would just do their side and contribute to the development of a better future." I think that in order for people to reach their own eudaimonia they have to do their part. If you consider the "American Dream", the goal is to get an education, get a job, get married and have kids by which point you've pretty much made it. This is still the goal for many and at the end of that journey they consider themselves to be living and doing well, having achieved the highest good. At least that's my interpretation.
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