Aristotle And The Virtue Of Bravery Essay — страница 2

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to avoid legal problems or gaining honors. He also says the bravest seem to be, ?those who hold cowards in dishonour and do honour to brave people.?(1116a 20-23) He states that a lot of the time this class of people are compelled to be brave because of their superiors, when they should be brave when it is fine and not just when they are complelled. The second experience and expertise he explains is a so-called state of bravery because in the example of the soldier who say has been to war more than once, will be appear more brave than one who is going into battle for the first time. These same people are also the ones who are the ones with the most capable in attack and defence. This does not make them brave it just makes them strongest and physically superior. However these

people are the first to become cowardly when the danger overstrains them, and them are more afraid of being killed than doing something shameful which is not of a brave person?s character. The next state of so-called bravery he explains is emotion. He says that for those who act on emotion are considered are brave, such as the beast who attacks after it has been wounded. He uses a quote from Homer to illustrate the importance of emotion in the human experience, ?put strenth in his emotion?, ?aroused strength and emotion?, ?keen strength in his nostril?, and ?his blood boiled?.(1116b 28-30) He also distiqueshes from his example of the animal who was wounded and the human experience by stating that brave people act because of what is fine and therefore their emotion cooperates with

them, while beasts are not necessarily brave because distress and emotion drives them in an impulsive rush to meet danger. Finally he explains that emotion is just similar to bravery and that if you must fight to be brave, it must be because of what is fine. The next so-called state of bravery he explains is hopefulness. He says their bravery comes from a series of victories over many opponents which then makes them confident. He says that they are similar but their confident for the wrong reason being that they feel they are stronger and nothing could happen to them, and when things turn for the worse they run. The final state of so-called bravery is ignorance. They are similar to the hopefull people, however they lack their self-esteem. He says that the hopefull people will

stand firm for some time while the ignorant people if deceived and them realize or suspect something is different they run. In the final desciption of bravery Aristotle relates bravery to confidence and fear, pleasure and pain. He says that a person is brave if he is in a right state about these as appose to being in a state with inspiring confidence. He once again explains that it is bravery when someone stands against something painful because it is harder than to stand against something which is pleasant. However, in the end bravery seems to end and pleasant things as appose to what surrounds it until the end. I will end this part of the paper with a quote which I thinks sums up what Aristotle is saying, ?Hence it is not true that the active exercise of every virtue is

pleasant; it is pleasant only in so far as we attain the end.?(1117b 19-17)