Aristotle: Self Love or Selfishness

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the views of philosopher, Aristotle's views on self love as reflected in Chapter 8, Book 9 of his "Nichomachean Ethics". The paper discusses Aristotle's question whether self love is justifiable or whether it's a characteristic that is detrimental to a person's personality. The paper also compares Aristotle's views to those of Plato's in his book the "Republic" and concludes that their beliefs on self love are similar.

From the Paper:

"In chapter eight, book nine, of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the concept of self love. He contrasts the behaviors of those who would appear to be self-lovers from those who seek to do good for others. In common terms their actions could be thought of as selfish and selfless. He illustrates the characteristics of both and by the end of chapter eight, tells the reader which one he believes is more appropriately considered a self lover and which is better."

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