PHILOSOPHERS' VIEWS ON ABORTION.   Term Paper ID:30045 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Specultates that Aristotle and Plato would likely have been opposed to abortion as not morally permissable.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Speculates that Arittotle and Plato would likely have been opposed to abortioin as not morally permissable. Discusses the ethical arguments of Aristotle, and his moral philosophy: good of the individual vs. good of the community. Plato's moral philosophy. His emphasis on community over the individual. What determines moral and just acts. Role of the State. Paper Introduction: Both Plato and Aristotle would likely be opposed to abortion, based on The Republic and Nicomachean Ethics, respectively. There are ideas in Aristotle's ethical arguments which might allow more leeway for the act of abortion than is found in Plato, but in general the great weight of both philosophers' arguments would seem to be against abortion as not morally permissible. Neither man discussed abortion directly, which makes this study speculative. Considering Aristotle's golden mean, and his greater emphasis on freedom for the individual as opposed to the power of the state, one might find room for some behavior which would not be permissible in the more strict moral world of Plato as described by Socrates. In addition, a feature of Aristotle's moral philosophy is the tenet that every individual believes his Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. There are ideas inAristotle's ethical arguments which might allow more leeway for the act ofabortion than is found in Plato, but in general the great weight of bothphilosophers' arguments would seem to be against abortion as not morallypermissible. It seems profitable . Works CitedAristotle. The individual must be educated to see thatpain is associated with immoral acts and pleasure with moral acts. Thiswould result in a woman deciding against abortion except in the mostextreme circumstances, because she would put the life of the fetus and thegood of the community above her own convenience. Abortion is certainly not an act which canbe exercised as a habit and yet be virtuous. The act of abortion is not an act whichoccurs in a vacuum but is the result of a desire to do away with the resultof a sexual act. N.I.----------------------- 1 However, even if that were true,Aristotle, like Plato, is designing a moral philosophy which considers notwhat is good for the individual alone but what is good for the community: For even if the end is the same for a single man and for a state, that of the state seems at all events something greater and more complete whether to attain or to preserve; though it is worth while to attain the end merely for one man, it is finer and more godlike to attain it for a nation or for city-states (Aristotle 5 ). Who determineswhat is moral or just? If thefetus can be sacrificed to convenience (as opposed to the life of thewoman), the message to the community is that at least one aspect of life isnot as important as convenience. . If the abortion is for the convenience of the woman, then itwould not be morally defensible to Aristotle. It is also an essential part of the definition of moral virtue,according to Aristotle, that the habits practiced find a middle groundbetween excess and deficiency. N.I.Plato. And from there they began to set down their own laws and compacts and to name what the law commands lawful and just. There are a number of differences between the moral philosophies ofAristotle and Plato. . Plato, on the other hand,includes in his moral education the deceptive lie which is designed toconvince people to stay in the class the state had selected for them, toinsure social order. The more the state removes the possibility of an act, the less theindividual can be called moral for not doing the act. Finally, with a moral or immoral law, the individualis responsible for her actions, in this case, whether to have an abortion. In addition, afeature of Aristotle's moral philosophy is the tenet that every individualbelieves his or her action is for the best, that it will somehow advancegoodness: "Every action and pursuit is thought to aim at some good; and forthis reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which allthings aim" (Aristotle 499). . Aristotle believes that what makes a personal moral are the actionsthat person takes. The woman who seeks an abortion might believe she is seeking the bestfor herself and the unborn fetus. We all possess the capacity to be morally virtuous, butAristotle says that only through habitual exercise of the virtues in actiondo we become morally virtuous. If the abortion is tosave the life of the woman, then abortion might be morally defensible, forthe rights of the individual would have to be weighed against the good ofthe community. Such a moral education seems more manipulation thaneducation, and would seem to be aimed at taking away individual freedom.Therefore, the state would decide whether an abortion would be done or not.Even more importantly, if the individual loses her freedom to choose anabortion or not, then the act can hardly be called moral or immoral,whatever she does or does not do: . The final good is thought to be self-sufficient. Aristotle seems the more consistent with respect tomoral education, for example. . Considering Aristotle's golden mean, and his greater emphasison freedom for the individual as opposed to the power of the state, onemight find room for some behavior which would not be permissible in themore strict moral world of Plato as described by Socrates. to set down a compact among themselves neither to do injustice nor to suffer it. Now by self-sufficient we do not mean that which is sufficient for a man by himself, for one who lives a solitary life, but also for parents, children, wife, and in general for his friends and fellow citizens, since man is born for citizenship (Plato 5 4). Despite some differences between the two, both Plato and Aristotlewould likely be against abortion, based both on the goodness of theindividual and the community. Morality first andforemost requires freedom, freedom to choose, or freedom to act. In fact, Aristotle differentiatesbetween acts which the actor believes to be good and those that are in factgood. Again, however, Aristotle, like Plato, stresses the good of thecommunity over the good of the individual, or the perceived good of theindividual. Excerpt from The Republic. . The moral person haspracticed moral acts over a long period, and the more practiced the personis at moral action, the more likely she will behave morally in any singleact. Of course, what the state dictates as law is not necessarily moral,for there are immoral acts which are legal, such as slavery. And this then is the genesis and being of justice (Plato 496). The abortion of convenience is clearly not good for thecommunity, for it will diminish life or the consideration of life. It appears that such an idea would lead to the conclusion thateverything is permissible because everything leads to the good, but that isobviously not what Aristotle means. . The moral consideration of the act of abortion must include what isgood for the society and not merely the individual. Neither man discussed abortion directly, which makes this studyspeculative. Aristotle's consideration of morality has more to do withthe individual over time rather than a single act. Both Plato and Aristotle would likely be opposed to abortion, basedon The Republic and Nicomachean Ethics, respectively. Excerpt from Nicomachean Ethics. Plato echoes Aristotle's emphasis on the community over theindividual: . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.