Aristotle and His Works - Essay Example

Aristotle: On Mathematics Relating To Policeman’s Life Ethics refers to a set of principles of the right way to behave in a given environment. It is also the study of the general moral choices made by an individual and the philosophy that informs them. Work values are the beliefs that are deeply held and major priorities in a work environment, or for a particular professional practice. Aristotle, upheld several ethics on his works coupled with different theories. Aristotle is regarded is one of the best authors of his time, and has been honored on several occasions. This essay seeks to evaluate Aristotle work in mathematics in relation to everyday experience for a police officer. Aristotle in his works believed that sciences were the lower disciplines as they explain how things are but not why. His work on mathematical ethics remains foggy to most despite numerous attempts to understand it. The problem emerging has been to provide mathematical facts that are consistent with the truths that we know to be (Shields 45). However, some of the principles that he proposed such as ‘the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal, the angles about a point are two right angles, in a right angled triangle the sum of the squares of the height and base is equal to the square of the hypotenuse, among others have been accepted as truths. Aristotle views ethics as a specific applicable area of study rather than theoretical. Ethics define how people work, and how people approach others in their work place. He taught that the functionality (proper functioning at that) of a virtue is only good if it is as should be. An ear is only so if it hears as the primary function of ears is to perceive sound. This can be applied to every area of life. A policeman is only one if he holds to the duties and responsibility expected of him as one (Reeve 34). If he does not help in the enforcement of law or rendering of justice as his work describes then as to whether he is really a policeman is a valid question. Police men cannot in anyway neglect their duties given to them, because absconding duties would lead to termination of their jobs. He reasoned that human beings have a particular function that is specific to them only. He described that as an activity of the soul, to find happiness. He argued that in order to achieve this happiness, one needed to apply to a particular set/ code of ethics or to be moral or in other words, of good character (Shields 45). Again, as this does to everyone else, it applies to the police man, well assuming its general acceptance of truth. It then follows that for the policeman to be happy in whatever he does including his job, he needs to have a specific good conduct. He stated that in order to have this good character, one first needed to be instructed by teachers or by experience so as to gain insight and enable them to apply them to choosing this right later. He argues that when good people accept and live by these things, application of their wisdom and intellect in life, it yields a life of growth, opened up to the many joys in philosophy. He further argued man to be a part of a state, arguing that the state is, before the individual can be. The city would then provide a frame work for which man achieves his best. And for cities to be a better place to live in, Aristotle argues that people of good character must be in existence to ensure smoothing running of the city, a place where people meet to do things together and realize their life dreams. In his argument, one out of the community of people, will only pursue selfish ambition and will be drawn to self-centeredness and thus the need for people. These views inform the police man’s obligation to serve the state, and to put it above self and sometimes above family (Shields 45). It is easy to see that it informed the formation of the code of ethics for police men. They are taught to put themselves last and put the needs of others before them in service all through their training. Most police men do not have time for themselves and their families, this is because they are involved in safeguarding the property of others and ensuring their security is the best. This makes it hard for them to look after their families. Code of ethics of the police restricts them to uphold their duties. He believed that the city was a basis for life, like the small unit in which one could be, not just to ensure that law was upheld and the economy was stable, but rather to provide a framework in which at least people could live making sacrifices and performing wonderful acts to/for each other (Reeve 34). He was not ignorant of a larger entity than a city, but he argued that the city was not for the sake of people being together, rather for the sake of the noble things they do. Aristotle believed that cities defined the way people live and perceive things, as is the case of police officers, who every single day wake up to a normal routine of keeping law and order. Cities should act as great social joints that help people come together and share new ideas every day and seek to do things together. This belief by Aristotle has seen adoption in many institutions. Some that have never encountered his work also seem to be in agreement with this point of view evidenced by how they live. For instance, such institutions emphasize on their being a family to each of the individuals who consist it (Shields 45). In the policeman’s training, contrary to keeping the civilian first, he is also to watch over his partner or fellow police man so that none of them lives as though they are alone, but they derive satisfaction from helping one another and watching each other’s back. This further affirms the earlier argument that police men do not have a life outside their work, or their work is not the best, because their thoughts completely revolve around their duties. Indeed the work of a police man is noble in every way that is, if the policeman is living up to his responsibility since as earlier stated, a deaf ear is not an ear. Suffice to say, the person is more than the title or name they get, rather, they are a sum total of their actions (Reeve 34). From Aristotle’s view then, a policeman ought to be among the happiest people that there are, seeing that he lives not for himself but for the city that he serves, his actions are good so, he passes the checkpoints he puts for a happy person. Many years after his death, he remains among the most influential people in history. His works have contributed to nearly every field. Scientists are greatly indebted to him, even those who found his work like that on ethics repulsive, and started their own works by disputing his still owe greatly their find outs to him. Among his many achievements, was the institution of formal logic, and the pioneering of zoology studies (study of animal life), which are some of the best around the globe. It’s hard for students to study science and mathematics without reference to Aristotle, because he defined the world of mathematics and science. Mathematics remains useful in real life, and not just something abstract that is studied. For instance, in vote counting in polling stations, it is mathematics that decides who wins. In the making of games, such as 2048, mathematics and logic as proposed by Aristotle are are applied. In business, such as maintaining inventories, counting profits, in architecture, designing of houses requires knowledge of dimensions, in athletics, it is used in timing, in accounting, to balance sheets. Uses for mathematics are countless all across different professions. Works Cited Putnam, Hilary, Caro M. De, and David Macarthur. Philosophy in an Age of Science: Physics, Mathematics, and Skepticism . Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2012. Print. Reeve, C D. C. Action, Contemplation, and Happiness: An Essay on Aristotle . Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2012. Print. Shields, Christopher J. The Oxford Handbook of Aristotle . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. Read More