Exercise 1. Reading Comprehension Task
Mapua University
Science, Technology, and Society
Instructions: Compare and contrast each pair of terms related to Aristotle’s
Nichomachean Ethics as discussed in this section.
1. Instrumental Good – Ultimate Good
Instrumental good and ultimate good are the two types of good. Aristotle said that
ultimate good is better than ultimate good because the latter states that good is
attained when you achieve something else while the former is good in itself.
Instrumental good is not self-sufficient while ultimate good is. Instrumental good
can be pleasure, wealth, and fame and honor while ultimate good is happiness.
2. Pleasure – Happiness
Pleasure and happiness makes people feel good. Pleasure, however, is
transitory which means that it passes while happiness does not. Pleasure does
not encompass all aspects of life while happiness encompasses all of it. The
latter is the ultimate good while the former is not. Happiness can be expanded
while pleasure is limited to sensory feeling. One can say that pleasure is one of
the things that can contribute to happiness.
3. Virtue – Vice
Virtue and vice are both or used to classify behavior. Virtue is having a
good conduct or having a behavior or thinking that is beneficial to one’s self or to
everyone. Vice is a bad habit or something that is harmful to one’s self or to the
society. Aristotle defined vice as the excess or deficiency of virtue. An example
given on the text is courage. Courage is a virtue. However, it becomes a vice of
foolhardiness and rashness when it is ruined by an excess of the needed
emotion and proper action. It also becomes a vice of cowardice when it is ruined
Mapua University
Science, Technology, and Society
Instructions: Compare and contrast each pair of terms related to Aristotle’s
Nichomachean Ethics as discussed in this section.
1. Instrumental Good – Ultimate Good
Instrumental good and ultimate good are the two types of good. Aristotle said that
ultimate good is better than ultimate good because the latter states that good is
attained when you achieve something else while the former is good in itself.
Instrumental good is not self-sufficient while ultimate good is. Instrumental good
can be pleasure, wealth, and fame and honor while ultimate good is happiness.
2. Pleasure – Happiness
Pleasure and happiness makes people feel good. Pleasure, however, is
transitory which means that it passes while happiness does not. Pleasure does
not encompass all aspects of life while happiness encompasses all of it. The
latter is the ultimate good while the former is not. Happiness can be expanded
while pleasure is limited to sensory feeling. One can say that pleasure is one of
the things that can contribute to happiness.
3. Virtue – Vice
Virtue and vice are both or used to classify behavior. Virtue is having a
good conduct or having a behavior or thinking that is beneficial to one’s self or to
everyone. Vice is a bad habit or something that is harmful to one’s self or to the
society. Aristotle defined vice as the excess or deficiency of virtue. An example
given on the text is courage. Courage is a virtue. However, it becomes a vice of
foolhardiness and rashness when it is ruined by an excess of the needed
emotion and proper action. It also becomes a vice of cowardice when it is ruined
