大學(xué)英語(yǔ)教學(xué)課件：2On Happiness

1、On HappinessAristotleAristotleAristotle( 384322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist. At eighteen, he joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, p

2、oetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Aristotle was the first genuine scientist in history . and every scientist is in his debt.“Aristotle This period in Ath

3、ens, between 335 and 323 BC, is when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. He wrote many dialogues of which only fragments have survived. Those works that have survived are in treatise form. They are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students. His most important treati

4、ses include Physics, Metaphysics, Poetics, Politics and Nicomachean Ethics.The Physics The Physics (meaning lectures on nature) is one of the foundational books of Western science and philosophy. It is a collection of treatises or lessons that deal with the most general (philosophical) principles of

5、 natural or moving things, both living and non-living, rather than physical theories (in the modern sense) or investigations of the particular contents of the universe. Metaphysics The Metaphysics is considered to be one of the greatest philosophical works. It is essentially a reconciliation of Plat

6、os theory of Forms that Aristotle acquired at the Academy in Athens. According to Plato, the real nature of things is eternal and unchangeable. However, the world we observe around us is constantly and perpetually changing. Aristotles genius was to reconcile these two apparently contradictory views

7、of the world. At the heart of the book lie three questions. What is existence, and what sorts of things exist in the world? How can things continue to exist, and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world? And how can this world be understood? Aristotle believed that in every change

8、 there is something which persists through the change (for example, Socrates), and something else which did not exist before, but comes into existence as a result of the change (musical Socrates). Poetics Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical tr

9、eatise to focus on literary theory. Aristotle offers an account of what he calls poetry (a term which in Greek literally means making and in this context includes dramacomedy, tragedy, and the satyr playas well as lyric poetry and epic poetry). They are similar in the fact that they are all imitatio

10、ns but different in the three ways that Aristotle describes: Differences in music rhythm, harmony, meter and melody. Difference of goodness in the characters. Difference in how the narrative is presented: telling a story or acting it out.The Politics Politics is a work of political philosophy. The e

11、nd of the Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the philosophy of human affairs. Ethics is about how individuals should best

12、 live, while the study of politics is from the perspective of a law-giver, looking at the good of a whole community. The Nicomachean Ethics (/nkomkin/) 尼各馬可倫理學(xué)is the name normally given to Aristotles best-known work on ethics. The work consists of ten books, originally separate scrolls, and is under

13、stood to be based on notes from his lectures. The title is often assumed to refer to his son, Nicomachus to whom the work was dedicated or who may have edited it. Alternatively, the work may have been dedicated to his father, who was also called Nicomachus.The Nicomachean Ethics The theme of the wor

14、k: how men should best live. The book not only contemplates good living, it also aims to create good living. The influence of the work: one of the most important historical philosophical works, and had an important impact upon the European Middle Ages, becoming one of the core works of medieval phil

15、osophy. It therefore indirectly became critical in the development of all modern philosophy as well as European law and theology. Ethics, and the Politics similarly aims at people becoming good. The Nicomachean Ethics Book I Who should study ethics, and how Books IIV Concerning excellence of charact

16、er or moral virtue (courage, temperance, generosity) Book VI Intellectual virtue (art, knowledge, wisdom) Book VII Impediments to virtue (brutish, evil, not self-restraint) Books VIII and IX Friendship and partnership Book X Pleasure, happiness, and up-bringingBook X: Pleasure, happiness, and up-bri

17、nging Book X. Chapters 15: The theory of Pleasure Book X. Chapters 6-8: Happiness Book X. Chapter 9: The need for education, habituation and good laws Finally, Aristotle repeats that the discussion of the Ethics has not reached its aim if it has no effect in practice. Theories are not enough. Howeve

18、r, the practice of virtue requires good education and habituation from an early age in the communityBook X. Chapters 6-8: HappinessTurning to happiness the aim of the whole Ethics; according to the original definition of Book I it is the activity or being-at-work chosen for its own sake by a morally

19、 serious and virtuous person. This raises the question of why play and bodily pleasures cannot be happiness, because for example tyrants sometimes choose such lifestyles. But Aristotle compares tyrants to children, and argues that play and relaxation are best seen not as ends in themselves, but as a

20、ctivities for the sake of more serious living.Aristotle says that if perfect happiness is activity in accordance with the highest virtue, then this highest virtue must be the virtue of the highest part, and Aristotle says this must be the intellect . This highest activity, Aristotle says, must be co

21、ntemplation or speculative thinking . This is also the most sustainable, pleasant, self-sufficient activity; something aimed at for its own sake. (In contrast to politics and warfare it does not involve doing things wed rather not do, but rather something we do at our leisure.) However, Aristotle sa

22、ys this aim is not strictly human, and that to achieve it means to live in accordance not with our mortal thoughts but with something immortal and divine which is within humans. The intellect is indeed each persons true self, and this type of happiness would be the happiness most suited to humans, w

23、ith both happiness and the intellect (nous) being things other animals do not have. Aristotle also claims that compared to other virtues, contemplation requires the least in terms of possessions and allows the most self-reliance.Text Analysis Task: Work out the outline ThesisThe nature of happiness

24、is _, since this is the goal of all humans.Para 1: Statement 1 and its reasonsThe nature of happiness is not _, but a goodactivity.Para 2: Statement 2 and its reasons:The nature of happiness is not _, but a good activityPara 3: Statement 3 and its reasons:Happiness does not lie in amusements, but in

25、 _, and a virtuous life requires _.Para 4: The best solution to happinessand its reasonsHappiness, which is activity in accordance with the highest virtue, is the _ life. The reasons are as follows. Firstly, this activity is the best; secondly, this activity is the _; thirdly, happiness has _ it, and the activity of _ is the pleasantest of virtuous activities; and fourthly, the contemplative activity is _.Summary Work in pairs and try sum up the main idea o