Goodness According to Aristotle and Alighieri

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how goodness is viewed in two distinctly different historical and cultural contexts, namely, Dante's "Inferno" and Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics." The writer explains that Aristotle is primarily concerned with the practical dynamic of relationships between behavior and human interaction, while the "Inferno," an intellectual descendant of the rationality of "Nicomachean Ethics," reflects equally the influence of medieval Christian ideas of justice and goodness. The writer shows where Dante concurs with Aristotle and where the 'good of intellect' in Dante does not refer to a core morality but to goodness as part of Christian morality. The paper concludes that although Dante's Christian ideology provides a stark contrast in perspective, the works remain equally committed to the idea of goodness as a function of human interaction.

From the Paper:

"Indeed, morality is the underlying matter of consideration in Dante's Inferno, with the human interaction being an extension of Christian justice. Any divergence therefrom represented an idea that, while not necessarily erroneous in its nature, was presented to be an emanation from error. The unwavering and mathematically unbiased law of God as in Dante's work is the body to which human beings are the nearly vestigial extremities. As Socrates' and Plato's presence in Hell illustrates, such extremities could often even be counter-intuitive to the necessary functions of this body."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alighieri, Dante. (etext, 1997). Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy. Gutenberg. Online at http://www.bralyn.net/etext/literature/dante.alighieri/1ddcl10.txt
• Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, translated by W.D. Ross. The Internet Classics Archive. Online at <http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.1.i.html>
• Thunder, David. (1996). Friendship in Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics: An essential component of the Good Life. The Philosophy Site. Online at <http://www.nd.edu/~dthunder/Articles/Article4.html>

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