Graduation Year
2022
Date of Submission
12-2021
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy
Second Department
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Reader 1
Adrienne Martin
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2021 Elliott N Thornburg
Abstract
What does it mean to live a good life shared with others? The question fundamentally motivates my inquiry into the ancient ethical theories of Aristotle and the early Stoics. Aristotle’s account of eudaimonia presented in Nicomachean Ethics is selected over the early Stoics for the conception of human nature integral to it honors the importance of partiality in human development and flourishing. The altruism central to an Aristotelian’s perfect friendships by way of goodwill is defended to demonstrate virtuous people have genuine altruistic concern for the sake of their friends as explained by self-referential altruism. Finally, an archetype of kinds of virtuous relationships is presented and maintained to show the role of altruism in the many relationships an agent may have to their family, friends, and political community.
Recommended Citation
Thornburg, Elliott, "Altruism in the Good Life: An Archetype of Virtuous Friendship" (2022). CMC Senior Theses. 2858.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2858
