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The Reader's Opinion, by Aristotle

The Nature of Good

Last week Plato talked in class about the nature of goodness. What does it mean to be good? Can a person be innately good? How can a person become good or live a good life?

Plato describes the nature of goodness in the same way he describes the nature of chairs. He uses his theory about "forms." How can we use the word "chair" to describe the many different kinds of chairs? The answer, according to him, is that all chairs share a common quality or "form" that exists outside the everyday world. This quality is the "chair" form or idea. All chairs are chairs because they take on the unchanging and perfect characteristics of this chair form.

In the same way, he believes something is called good when it takes on the characteristics of the form of "good."

Though I hold the greatest respect for our teacher, I disagree with Plato on this matter. I think there are many different types of good. In our daily lives we talk about good people, good things, good actions, and good feelings. A runner might be called good because he is fast, a chair because it is sturdy, and music because it inspires a feeling of happiness in us. I do not believe all of these goods can be a part of a single form. Instead, I think that things or people are good when they are fulfilling their function well, and these functions consist of many different qualities.

Plato also speaks of good for people as consisting of moral virtue, or a healthy state of the soul. He believes that virtue cannot be taught, nor can a person learn virtue. He suggests it comes from divine inspiration or understanding. He believes that. Again, I disagree. I believe virtue is developed through vigilance and habit and is a deliberate choice. In this way, all people can be virtuous if they apply themselves, and therefore, all people can live a good life.

Please read my column again next month when I will discuss my theory of comedy and review the Academy production of Clouds by Aristophanes.

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