Aretê and righteousness
01
Feb
It is necessary to understand that in ancient
philosophy, mainly in Aristotle and Plato, the objective is to develop a philosophy for the polis, education, the politician (for Plato he must be a philosopher in the sense of excellence of thought) and for Aristotle the citizen, considering that only free men were eligible for citizenship.
Thus aretê translated as virtue, is also a characteristic of a particular excellence, but it is not its translation as proposed by some interpreters, the word that Aristotle uses for this is phronesis, a practical theoretical thought that leads to special wisdom.
We cannot assume that men who do not have a private life of “excellence” and live it wisely are men capable of public exercise, attachment to power, money and the vices of contemporary life, done in the name of freedom, inhibit the ability of the politician.
We no longer talk about the moral field, it is not about theft and lies, the name given today is fake news due to its publication by the media, and the lie may have a short leg, but its action confuses social life, misinforms and leads to other vices, in addition to personal fanaticism.
It is also important to address the issue of freedom, we can do whatever we want, but we cannot ignore the consequences, an immoral and dishonest life does not lead to a fair and balanced social life, other vices will accompany greed and power for power’s sake.
So it doesn’t take long for those who see freedom in this mistaken sense to pay with deformations in their personal lives, involvement with anti-social forces, for example, from trafficking to deaths and human trafficking, like those who have already gained publicity.
It is difficult in this context of a mistaken vision of freedom, they talk about righteousness, good customs, from personal to social, empathy and solidarity, what exists is demagoguery only for the immoral exercise of politics, power and public money.
