Watch the video and answer this question: min 300 words
In the Crash Course video by Hank, he speaks of Eudaimonia. After viewing this video and getting a sense of what Hank means by Eudaimonia, have you ever had such an experience in your own life and what was it that brought you to that experience?
Reply to Chris: min 70 words
My understanding of the golden mean according to Aristotle is that it is kind of less of the actual definition of mean, which would be an average, but golden mean is more of the middle of the road between extremes, to try and find an acceptable balance in a situation at hand. Basically, too much of a good thing can ultimately be a bad thing, so we need to have some sort of balance where there can be harmony. It is not saying we should get rid of too much good, but it is saying there is a time and place that sometimes we need the bad things to happen to enable us to succeed and move forward, but only as long as it is the right choice for that situation. It is going to be hard to know what the right choice in a certain situation is, but just take in the information around you and make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.
How it might be expressed in my own experience is knowing people who are just too nice for their own good. Yes, being a nice and kind person is good, it is a good trait to have, but there it definitely scenarios in life that you are going to face, and being nice will not let you get past those scenarios and move forward. If someone were trying to take advantage of that person’s kindness, being nice is not going to get you out of the predicament. This is when you need to find balance and stop being nice, and start standing up for yourself, maybe tell that person off to get them to stop taking advantage of your kindness. I think this is where many people fail and they do not have that balance to help them, to which they end up being taken advantage of by people who realize that. Another way it might be expressed in my own experience is by someone who is too laid back. Too much of not caring about anything is bad as you won’t get anywhere, so you need to balance it with taking action and responsibility. It is okay too not care and just take time to relax, but in certain cases, you must step up and deal with the problems that come at you.
Reply to Kat: min 70 words
My understanding of the Golden Mean is it’s the midpoint between doing too much or not enough. How Aristotle put it is that it’s the sweet spot between deficiency and excess. What’s important about the golden mean is it means one must assess the situation to its fullest extent before doing anything. The example given was in a scenario that has to do with the virtue of courage. If I saw an elderly woman being harrassed by a larger man instead of rushing into action and trying to intervene, thinking I was being courageous, would most likely put us both in more danger. As the example says, the more courageous option would be to call for help because after assessing the situation, the most effective solution is to get help. I enjoyed learning about the golden mean because I would describe myself as a recovering people pleaser. I tend to think/act in a more black-and-white manner but have learned about wise mind choices. Wise mind is essentially the same thing as the golden mean. It essentially means, assessing both extremes and meeting in the middle to determine the course of action. This is something I practice doing every day. For example, honesty has been something I’ve struggled with my entire life because I either hide how I am truly feeling or I am way too brutal. I have learned that regardless if I hurt someone else’s feelings I have to be honest with mine, however, the delivery of that honesty can be said in a respectful/nice manner. That’s not to say I would be outwardly rude before, but I didn’t think about what I was saying and how it would come across to the other person. Now that I take the time to understand and assess the situation, I communicate a lot more honestly and openly. I enjoyed learning about Virtue ethics and the golden mean because it’s something I wished more people would learn to think like and something I am actively getting better at practicing.
