TN_Aristotelian Friendship, Golden Mean, and Eudaimonia_22123
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Aristotelian Friendship, Golden Mean, and Eudaimonia
Rasmussen College
SDA-PHI 1520-01 Ethics Around the Globe
Golden Mean
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Three Muslim girls are excited to see their favorite music group during a concert they have been waiting to attend. Like other fans, they are delighted at the thought of shaking the singers' hands or possibly getting an autograph. However, girls know that due to their religion, they are prohibited from hugging or kissing any males or showing public displays of affection. As the show starts to get more interactive, the girls become more excited and find their way to the front and are invited on stage. As they dance to the music and scream like everyone else in the crowd, the singers' begin to hug and kiss them on the cheek. A social dilemma has now been created. The issue of the Golden Mean, as explained by Aristotle, depicts that one must find a balance between excesses and deficiencies when making a moral decision. As a depiction of the virtue theory, finding balance is essential for a moral life. The female fans show excessiveness due to their idolization of the band. Their deficiencies include observing the traditions that regulate their public behavior, such as hugging and kissing. Therefore, in establishing the mean or average in this case, the female fans could have resisted the invitation to go on stage and opted for more appropriate ways of expressing gratitude. They could have shaken their hands or gotten an autograph.
Question 1. How does the religious practice inform the Golden Mean rule in this case?
Muslim religion forbids hugging and kissing, but the religion offers an answer by keeping the two extremes in balance by sticking to the middle. It is suggested by the Muslim religion that the
female should have either given books for autographs or shaken hands with the singers. Question 2. Were the Muslim fans acting excessively, yet everyone else was doing the same?
Yes, they acted excessively since the Muslim religion condemns public displays of affection. Therefore, they should apply the concept of the golden mean.
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Question 3. Can religious restrictions be defined as a deficiency when defining the golden mean?
Yes, it is a deficiency as they strictly warn a person about specific behaviors, yet some may benefit, for example, singing, which could be your career or talent.
Aristotelian Friendship
Jalen is a great runner and enjoys hanging out with his friends on the weekends. His family is very close and hosts family functions at their house regularly. Jalen and his track friends from high school get together once a month and go out. On the other hand, Jalen has a childhood best friend, Elise, who is concerned because when Jalen hangs out with his high school track friends, they bring out negative characteristics, and Jalen does not act nicely. Elise and Jalen always disagree over this situation but remain best friends. Jalen feels comfortable expressing his weaknesses to Elise and trusts her completely. At school, Jalen is popular and is loved by everyone, and socializes freely with anyone. When invited to parties, he attends but expresses that he hates drinking and gossiping. Jalen’s life displays the three types of friendship as explained by Aristotle. His schoolmates are friends of utility as they share and help with homework. They also attend parties together but share nothing more. His track friends are friends of pleasure as they share common hobbies and enjoy practicing and hanging out together. Lastly, Elise is an example of a best friend; she cares about Jalen's well-being and is unafraid to correct and tell him the truth.
Question 1. Which friendship can you claim to be superior to the rest?
The friendship between Jalen and Elise is superior to the rest. Elise is concerned about Jalens's well-being without feeling awkward and approaches him and warns him about his track friends.
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Question 2. Do you think that Jalen is pushed to do things he hates because of maintaining
friendships?
No, Jalen does not do anything he hates. Jalen loves running and is a good runner; he could do it alone if he wanted to. Second, he does not like to drink or gossip. Question 3. Is it beneficial to have all three types of friendships in one’s life?
Yes, it is beneficial to balance in all the ways of life. It is an advantage to have a diverse group of
friends.
Eudaimonia
Jillian is an assistant to the chief judge at the county, where she is expected to fill out papers and schedule court sessions with the clients. Jillian does not like her job and is often late and demotivated. She claims her boss is excessively rude and will not let her have a day off to attend her equestrian class. On weekends, she joins a local equestrian club where they compete in horse shows. She fears losing her job as she is unsure what she will do next. After frustration with not having time off, she quit her office job and joined the equestrian club full-time. She expresses increased motivation in life and happiness in living. Aristotle defined the emotional feeling of fulfillment as Eudaimonia. Jillian realized her purpose and developed a greater purpose for living has relaxed and is more content with life.
Question 1. As Jillian sacrificed her happiness to lead a normal life, was she being fair to
herself?
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Yes, she was fair to herself by resigning from her job to practice horseback riding since it is what
she loved. Working in an environment where she was denied permission to practice what she loves would lead to underperformance. Question 2. Do we often need to pay more attention to our personal goals for temporary benefits
in unfulfilling jobs?
Yes, sometimes we become patient and tolerant of our conditions to achieve a short-term objective. For example, we work in a non-satisfying place, so we can pay bills before securing a better job rather than resigning and struggling to meet our basic needs. Question 3. Can our potential be realized if we follow Aristotelians' idea of Eudaimonia and
pursue what we love?
According to Aristotelian, if a human does what he or she loves, it will bring him or her happiness and satisfaction; in return, the person will make us happy.
Resource
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Aristotle’s ethics. (2022). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/
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