What Inspires a Man to Seek to Do Good Instead of Evil? Paper Example

Introduction

The role that societies, the family and state institutions play in shaping laws and ethics for people to live together with relative ease.

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Thesis

The natural inclination to seek fulfillment of individual needs in a society is the reason that "man is by nature a political animal." There are socio-political institutions in the society such as family and, at the top level, the state. Rules and ethical considerations of others make people conform, putting aside their instinct for the sake of doing good.

II Background

Aristotle had ideas on how people manage to live in relative peace and harmony in society. He found out that cooperation was essential for the fulfillment of individual needs. Obeying the laws and norms of the land was the next important step for high standards of living in a community. People living in seclusion or exile do not have much motivation for being good.

Major point 1. Man is by nature a political animal

Minor point 1Man lives in communities, belongs to a family and identifies with a state.

There exist hierarchies in the institution's people are loyal to, but the state is the most important according to Aristotle.

Like all animals, man has unwritten rules in the society; these are norms which seem to be innate

Minor point 2. The state, families, and communities are hence creation of nature.

They are inspired by the innate instinct of man to survive by seeking the fulfillment of personal needs.

Necessity creates states, families, and communities (for example a marriage)

Major Point 2. How laws and ethics arise

Minor point 1. Laws and ethics are reciprocation by individuals for belonging to a certain community or state.

Loyalty to the institution plays a big role for individuals to follow the laws and uphold the norms.

Minor point 2. People with little loyalty (secluded individuals) are more likely to be harmful or evil.

Community members with a sense of belonging give legitimacy to social and political events and rites.

Major point 3. Language (speech) versus voice

Minor point 1 Language is unique to human beings, while voice is associated with animals. Humans communicate with more detail using speech rather than voice. Voice is animals' way of communicating, but the messages are limited to the conveyance of psychological states such as readiness to mate, fear and so on

Minor point 2. Written language seeks to foster authority and legitimacy of socio-political roles and functions. Written language is much more formal than speech hence the reason why most state laws are written down.

Conclusion

Nicomachean ethics and politics, in essence, is an envisioning by Aristotle on how people relate with one another in society. Aristotle's society is more political than social from family to state. Laws arise from a feeling of belonging and a desire to give back to the community. Ethics are norms which have been in practice for so long that they have become second nature to the people living in a community. In essence, it is the expectation of kindness

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Politics

Aristotle had opinions on how people live harmoniously in society and the state. The most significant factors that Aristotle considered are that individuals had a role to play socially and politically. The individual lived in a society governed by norms and certain principles to ensure that there were harmony and peaceful co-existence among people. Additionally, people have individual needs which communities provide. The natural inclination to seek fulfillment of these needs through other people is the reason why Aristotle wrote that "man is by nature a political animal." In this case, being political means adhering to set rules and moral code of conduct which fosters a sense of belonging or a political identity.

States are made up by communities who are in turn made up of families composed of individuals occupying various levels. At each level of family, society or country there are rules. These rules enable to enable people's needs to be met adequately. Hence, the state no matter how much it seems to be human-made is actually at its core creation of nature. At the time, more than two thousand years ago, the claim by Aristotle that the state in a natural consequence of man's innate nature to want needs to be fulfilled, was a fresh idea. However, Aristotle's argument makes sense. For example, a man and a woman looking for love, marrying and having children; both of them are inspired by individual needs which can only be fulfilled by another person. Additionally, marriage is a public function. It is a rite of passage. Members of the community bear witness, and there is a celebration of the occasion. The state and the community make legality valid. Hence, a rite such as a marriage is legitimate through laws.

The nature of laws is something that Aristotle touched upon too. At the core of everything, man is inspired by a need to belong. The sense of belonging is a psychological need that is present in many animals. A member of a community feels that the community is useful to him or her and consequently, the individual pays back. Being law abiding and a model citizen in the community is how an individual repays the community for accepting him or her to be a member. Aristotle terms this reciprocity as "a good life." A good life is quite simple; it entails an individual being kind to others and vice versa. In this respect, Aristotle hints at inalienable rights and freedoms which provided in national constitutions in the majority of the world's countries as of today, the twenty-first century.

Language is a unique adaptation that man has come up with to help him live better with others whether in a community or a state. Besides identifying a man as an animal, Aristotle distinguishes man from beast. In essence, man can speak while animals can only make sounds. Animals sounds can only communicate the needs for which animals have by instinct. Hence, birds, insects, mammals and the like have different sounds for different occasions such as mating calls, responses to fear, intimidation sounds and so on. While man can make noises to convey similar feelings, language is a more subtle form of communication. Written language also makes things more formal. Something written down carries more weight than speech; essentially it could be the reason why state laws are in writing.

In most societies, Aristotle points out, that good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished. Aristotle mentions the duality of man; the state of internal good versus evil. According to Aristotle, an individual has these polar extremes fighting out innately. Man and society are both creations of nature, but they differ more so in respect of the duality of good and evil. While for an individual, good versus evil is on a more or less flat plane (inside the mind), for a society everything is open for public oversight. An individual can think up evil thoughts without fear of anybody knowing what he or she is thinking. In a community, actions are there to be seen by the general public. In a nutshell, the structuring of a society naturally promotes good over evil. A man can live isolated in his mind in a world of fantasy, but in the end, he has to come to reality and do whatever society expects of him and her. Norms and ethical practices are born in this manner.

Aristotle envisioned the relationships an individual has with other individuals, immediate family and community, other communities and finally the states. Natural needs fuel all these relationships. Each of the parties in the connection from individual to the state has obligations to the other. From an individual level, human beings naturally seek acceptance. Speech, a unique identifier for humans, is used to foster good relations in a political manner. Without ties with other people and natural institutions, Aristotle argues that man is bound to be self-seeking and inconsiderate of other people's needs. Other people and socio-political institutions provide the legitimacy and authority for which man aspires to live a good life with others.