Examined Life: Virtue Ethics In Aristotle's Work Nicomachean Ethics

Name Instructor Course Date Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle highlighted the importance of virtues and justice with focus on the Greek city states. In Sartre’s No Exit and Three Other Play, Garcin, Estelle and Inez confess to each other about their sins, but are not sure why Valet summoned them in hell. Sartre focused on the freedom of choice and the struggle for freedom when societies make it difficult. In the Greek tragedy The Oresteia of Aeschylus, Clytaemnestra murders her husband Agamemnon and Orestes, who is Agamemnon’s son, then murders Clytaemnestra in revenge and Orestes stands trial for this. Aristotle advocated for ancient Greeks to act in accordance to virtue and make virtuous choices to support justice. Dispensing justice in a society should be prioritized to improve the wellbeing of all the people. Oresteia highlights the importance of law rather than vengeance being widely acceptable in a society where there is rule by force, and the law makes it easier to address injustice in a society. To Aristotle (6), human beings have a purpose in life and when there is injustice the aggrieved party loses because unlawful acts have been committed against them. Aristotle is associated with the virtue ethics, as he assumed that human beings have the free will to make choices based on what is good. Aristotle’s work in Nicomachean Ethics addressed virtue ethics and is relevant to understanding his views on justice in a democratic environment. The tragedies, art and Aristotle’s philosophical work allowed the Greeks to question and reflect on the importance of justice and ethics. Furthermore, Oresteia reflects the need for establishing legal justice in the Athenian society. As Athens moved away from reciprocal violence and vengeance to supporting the judicial processes, the society was transformed. The democratic system and law has made it easier to emphasize that justice is universal, but peoples’ actions should be considered when judging them. This is consistent with Aristotle’s who emphasized the importance of virtue over vice. Even when considering the place of justice and virtue in a society, moral authority plays an important role in influencing thoughts and actions. For instance, Clytemnestra disregarded the consequences of her actions when she decided to kill her husband as she desired masculi...