8. Practical Philosophy, the End of Man, and the Division of Human Goods

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Object and Scope of Practical Philosophy #

• Practical philosophy is chiefly about the end of man—his ultimate purpose
• Because practical philosophy addresses the first end, it must also address all goods of man in general
• This includes: goods of the soul, goods of the body, and exterior (external) goods
• Practical philosophy must examine both the distinction and order of these goods
• Note: “Order” has multiple senses: order in goodness (which are better), order in being (which is more fundamental), and order in reason (as they appear in our knowledge)

The Three Kinds of Human Goods #

• Goods of the body: health, strength, physical appearance
• Exterior goods: possessions, food, clothing, wealth
• Goods of the soul: virtue, wisdom, knowledge (the most fundamental)
• All three contribute to man’s end, but with varying degrees of proximity to it
• Exterior goods serve the body; the body serves the soul; therefore goods of the soul are better

The Hierarchy of Goods #

• Principle: The end is always better than what is for the sake of the end
• Demonstration: Exterior goods are for the sake of the body (shown by induction: glasses for eyes, shoes for feet, cars for transporting the body)
• Conclusion: Goods of the soul are better than goods of the body, which are better than exterior goods
• Ethics, as a fundamental part of practical philosophy, concerns itself chiefly with goods of the soul in particular because of their proximity to man’s ultimate end
• Lesser goods (of body and exterior) contribute to the end “in a more remote way”

The Foundation: A Thing’s Own Act and Its End #

• Inductive method: Two-layered induction from particulars to universal principles
• First layer: Examining particular tools (ballpoint pen, knife, corkscrew, etc.)
  • Each tool has its own act (the act it alone does or does best)
  • Each tool’s act is also its end or purpose
  • Example: the ballpoint pen’s act is to write; writing is its purpose
• Second layer: Examining organs of the body
  • Each organ has its own act (the act it performs best)
  • Example: front teeth bite; back teeth chew
  • Each organ’s act is its end or purpose
• Third application: Examining occupations of man
  • Each occupation has its own act (what one is trained to do)
  • The cook cooks; the pianist plays music
  • Each occupation’s act is its end or purpose
• Universal principle: Everything that has its own act is for the sake of that act; the act is the end or purpose
• Underlying principle: Ability is for the sake of act

Application to Man #

• Question: Does man have an own act, or is he naturally idle?
• Problem with denying man’s end: If the parts of man (his organs) have ends, and the occupations of man have ends, but man himself has no end, it would make the parts’ purposes meaningless
• Man’s own act: If man is the animal that has reason, then the act characterizing man must involve reason
• Acts that characterize man:
  • Acts of reason itself: understanding, reasoning
  • Acts that can be measured and directed by reason: love, anger, walking, drinking (done reasonably)
• Man’s ultimate end (more precisely stated): The act with reason done well throughout life (not merely done, but done well; not merely today, but throughout life)

Connection to the Good and Virtue #

• The good is fundamentally the same thing as the end or purpose
• The end is tied to a thing’s own act
• A thing’s own act is tied to what the thing is (its nature)
• Therefore: The good is in things chiefly—it is not arbitrary or relative, but rooted in the nature of things
• Virtue is introduced as what enables a thing to perform its own act well
• The connection between act done well and virtue will be explored further

Key Arguments #

The Argument for the Comprehensive Scope of Practical Philosophy #

1. Practical philosophy is about the end of man
2. All goods of man contribute to the end of man
3. Therefore, practical philosophy must address all goods of man in general
4. Parallels wisdom: because wisdom addresses the first cause (God), it must address all things in general

The Argument for the Hierarchy of Goods #

1. Exterior goods are for the sake of the body (shown by induction from examples)
2. The body is for the sake of the soul (the soul is the form and end of the body)
3. The end is always better than what is for the sake of the end
4. Therefore, goods of the soul are better than goods of the body, which are better than exterior goods

The Inductive Argument for Man’s Own Act #

1. Tools have their own acts (the acts they alone do or do best)
2. Organs of the body have their own acts
3. Occupations of man have their own acts
4. Each of these things’ acts is its end or purpose
5. Man is the animal that has reason
6. Therefore, man’s own act must be an act involving reason
7. Performed continuously and well throughout life = man’s ultimate end

The Argument Against Relativism Regarding the Good #

1. The good is initially defined by its effect (what all desire)
2. But something being good is not caused by our desiring it (shown by induction: people desire harmful things)
3. Therefore, the good is in things, not in our desires
4. The good is tied to what a thing is (its nature)
5. Therefore, there is nothing arbitrary or relative about the good

Important Definitions #

Practical philosophy: The science concerned chiefly with the end (purpose) of man, and therefore necessarily with all goods of man in general and the goods of the soul in particular

The end (τέλος/purpose): That for the sake of which something is, or that for the sake of which something is done

A thing’s own act: The act which that thing alone can do, or which it does better than other things; the act that characterizes that thing

Virtue: The quality or disposition that enables a thing to perform its own act well (to be introduced more fully in the next lecture)

The good (τὸ ἀγαθόν): Initially defined as that which all desire; more fundamentally, it is identical with the end or purpose of a thing

Better (better/more good): That which is closer to the end; what is for the sake of the end is always worse than the end itself

Examples & Illustrations #

Tools and Their Acts #

• Ballpoint pen: Own act is to write; purpose is to write well (not to skip letters)
• Knife: Own act is to cut; purpose is to cut well
• Corkscrew: Own act is to remove corks; does this better than a carving knife
• Screwdriver, hammer: Each has its own characteristic act

Organs of the Body #

• Front teeth: Own act is to bite; not suited for chewing
• Back teeth: Own act is to chew; not suited for biting
• Eye: Own act is to see; purpose is to see well (not merely to see, but to see well)
• Heart: Own act is to pump blood

Occupations #

• Cook: Own act is to cook; trained to cook well
• Pianist: Own act is to play the piano; purpose is to play well
• Condoleezza Rice: Mentioned as having been a concert pianist with talent; illustrates how occupations depend on ability to perform the act well

The Hierarchy of Goods in Common Life #

• “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”
  • Health = preeminent good of the body
  • Wealth = excellence of exterior goods
  • Wisdom = greatest good of the soul

Notable Quotes #

“What is practical philosophy about? Chiefly, it’s about the end of the man, right? Meaning, purpose of the man.”

“The good is in things, chiefly” — Aristotle (cited by Berquist as establishing that goodness is not arbitrary or relative)

“Knowing what the goal is has great weight upon life” — Aristotle (on the importance of understanding man’s end)

“If I’m not aiming at the target, you can, for all practical purposes, say that you’re going to miss the target” — Berquist (on the practical necessity of knowing man’s end)

“The whole is better than the part, and the end is better than what is for the sake of the end” — Foundational principle established through induction

“The part is for the sake of the whole” — Principle used to establish that the whole is the end of the part

Questions Addressed #

Why must practical philosophy address all human goods, not just goods of the soul? #

• Because practical philosophy is about the end of man
• All goods contribute in some way to achieving that end
• To understand the ultimate end, one must understand how all goods serve it
• Parallel: Wisdom addresses the first cause of all things, so it must speak about all things in general

How do we know that goods of the soul are superior to goods of the body and exterior goods? #

• By induction: exterior goods serve the body; the body serves the soul
• By the principle that the end is always better than what is for the sake of the end
• The goods that distinguish man from beasts (goods of soul) must be superior
• They are closest to man’s actual end (act with reason done well)

Why do people often desire lesser goods more than greater goods? #

• Lesser goods are more known to us (more obvious, encountered earlier in life)
• We are more aware of our desire for them
• This does not make them better; it only makes them more obvious
• Understanding what is actually better requires philosophical reasoning

How does a thing’s own act relate to its purpose or end? #

• They are the same thing; the act is the end
• A thing’s end is defined as that for the sake of which the thing exists
• What a tool or organ or occupation exists for is what it does (its own act)
• The connection is shown through two-layered induction from particulars to universal

What is man’s ultimate end? #

• Not merely acting with reason, but acting with reason well
• Not merely acting with reason once, but throughout life
• Therefore: The act with reason done well throughout life
• This must be more fully examined by studying virtue