CULTURAL AND ETHICAL VALUES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

CULTURAL AND ETHICAL VALUES - Essay Example All rational actions carried out by men will always aim at achieving something good. There is a hierarchy to the end as the end point or purpose of some actions could lead to the beginning of a totally new action. The ends in the hierarchy might themselves vary in their value; however, the ultimate end is valued on its own measure and that which is sufficient and completely good. People might do things for the sake of achieving something else and this chain would continue, but Aristotle feels that every human being would definitely possess one supreme goal in life and all the other tasks which one undertakes would lead towards this goal. Aristotle then goes on to explain what, according to him, is the ultimate goal in human life that is over-all happiness in one’s life. The Greek word â€Å"eudaimonia† provides a close enough explanation to what Aristotle views as ultimate good. Eudaimonia stands for eternal and ever-lasting peace and happiness and whether a person has truly led a eudaimoniac life can be ascertained only after the end of one’s life. His argument for stating that ever-lasting happiness is the final goal in a human’s life is that every action performed by man is only to achieve happiness, which alone can make a man self-sufficient. Aristotle further explores the means to achieve happiness. He believes that every human possess a characteristic activity much like the animals and this activity would ultimately help one to achieve a state of eternal happiness. According to him, this characteristic activity possessed by every human is the power of reasoning, which when used in t he correct manner will help a person to achieve a happy life. It is this unique ability that distinguishes mankind from other animals and is the key that would lead each of us to our ultimate goal. In other words, he believes that the power to achieve the final goal lies within the reasoning capability of the individual and the degree to which the goal is