Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson and I love RE.

I've got a fantastic lesson for you today, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you.

We are looking at our big inquiry question, Ethics: How do we decide what is good? Today's lesson is all about the Greek philosopher Aristotle and his idea of the golden mean.

We're gonna hear about this idea he came up with thousands of years ago and think about actually how it's really, really relevant today and can help us understand how to lead a good life.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain how Aristotle defined a good life.

As always, we have some keywords.

I'm going to say the keyword first, and then I'm gonna ask you to repeat it back to me.

Shall we begin? Brilliant.

So our first word then is, philosopher.

Tricky, but you got it.

Our second words are golden mean.

Amazing.

Next we have logic.

Absolutely.

And finally, virtue.

Amazing.

Difficult words, but you've got 'em all.

Brilliant.

So what do they mean? Well, a philosopher is someone who studies wisdom and values.

The golden mean is the midpoint between two extremes.

Logic is using reason to solve problems and virtue is a good habit or moral quality.

I know some of these words sound tricky, but I think, by the end of the lesson, you will have understood them and be able to use them.

So this lesson about Aristotle and the golden mean asks two questions.

And our first question is this: Who was Aristotle? Let's find out, shall we? This lesson is all about philosophy.

Let's just remind ourselves what we mean by philosophy in RE.

Sofia is gonna help us.

Sofia says, "Philosophy is the study of what we know and how we know it.

Philosophers ask questions about how people think or reason about the world around them, and how we can know what is true or real.

We can better understand worldviews by using philosophical tools like thought experiments, critical thinking and reasoning." So what does that mean for this lesson? Well, in this lesson, we're going to explore the concept for good life using ideas from the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Here is a picture of Aristotle.

He looks a bit like a Greek, doesn't he? Maybe you've studied Ancient Greeks in your school as a topic, so you might already know a little bit about the Greeks.

Aristotle was one of the most famous philosophers who ever lived.

He was born in Greece in 384, BCE, so that was a very long time ago, nearly 3000 years.

He started his own philosophical school and wrote many books.

He carried on studying and researching until his death in 322, BCE, because we're in the Before Common Era, the time is going backwards, if you like.

So he was born in 3-8-4 but he died in 3-2-2.

Aristotle's gonna tell us a little bit about what he wanted to do.

He says, "I wanted to think about what made a good life.

I reasoned that being happy was the goal in life.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what makes people happy and how humans could lead a happy life." So all of this wisdom, and actually what Aristotle said was very, very simple, is the goal of life is to be happy.

But the big question is, what do we mean by happy? And how can we lead a happy life? And that's what we're going to be finding out about this lesson.

Let's just check our understanding so far.

What is a philosopher? A: someone who believes in God? B: Someone who studies wisdom and values? C: Someone who writes books? D: Someone who lived in Ancient Greece? Hmm.

Think about that term philosophy.

Which one of those makes most sense? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, it's someone who studies wisdom and values, isn't it? Philosophers might write books.

They might believe in God.

Some of them lived in Ancient Greece, but that's not necessarily what a philosopher is.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Aristotle's gonna tell us a little bit more about his thinking.

He said, "I started by wondering: 'What is it that makes humans different from plants and animals?'" And you can see some images of plants and animals there.

I wonder what he might have thought the answer was.

What do you think the answer is? You might want to pause the video now and have a think for yourself or talk to someone next to you.

What is it that makes human different from plants and animals? Mm.

What a big question.

Well, I don't know what you came up with, but Aristotle decides that what makes humans unique is their ability to use logic and reason.

Logic is about thinking carefully to come to a conclusion.

That's something that humans can do.

We are not sure if other animals can do that.

We're going to use an example of logic here, just like philosophers would.

So a philosopher might say, "All dogs are animals." That's true, isn't it? We know that all dogs are animals.

That's what they are.

And then we have my dog Smudge.

Smudge is a dog.

I know he's a dog 'cause I can see him.

Therefore, Smudge is an animal.

So we're using logic here, and this logic is helping us make a reasoned argument.

All dogs are animals.

Smudge is a dog, therefore Smudge is an animal.

So I can use logic to prove that Smudge is an animal, and the fact I can do this is what makes me uniquely a human being.

Let's hear from Aristotle again.

He says, "I concluded that only humans can think about who we are and what we should do in our lives.

For people to live well and be happy, we need to use logic and reason.

People should carefully observe nature, use all their senses to gain knowledge, base any theory on observed facts." So we really need to look around us and use our reason carefully.

Let's just check we understand what we mean by logic.

Is it A: the study of language and poetry? B: the study of wisdom and values? C: using reason to solve problems? D: a place in Ancient Greece? Which is it? Think about what Aristotle was just telling us.

Pause the video and have a think.

Absolutely right.

It's C, isn't it? Using reason to solve problems. Well done.

Let's make sure we understand what philosophy is and logic is.

And that's what Aristotle said, it was the really interesting and unique thing about being a human being.

Jacob and Sofia are talking about Aristotle.

Jacob says, "Aristotle was around a very, very long time ago.

Do his Ancient ideas still apply today?" Sofia says, "Aristotle said, we should learn from what we see around us.

We see people with different worldviews around us, so maybe we should observe and learn from them." What would you say to Jacob and Sofia? Do you think that's a good idea? Can we learn from people around us? So let's meet Zoe.

And Zoe has a non-religious worldview.

Sofia asks her about Aristotle.

"Are the ideas of ancient philosophers like Aristotle important to you?" She says, "I agree with Aristotle's idea that we should base our ideas and beliefs on logic and reason.

My worldview is based on trying to understand and follow scientific ideas, not religious beliefs or codes of behaviour." So Zoe likes Aristotle's ideas because they help her understand how she should think, and she likes to use logic and reason.

Sofia says, "So have Aristotle's ideas about logic shaped your non-religious worldview?" Zoe says, "Aristotle said that our understanding of anything should begin with observable facts.

I'm an atheist.

That means I don't believe in God.

This is because I do not observe any evidence of God or the supernatural in the world around me." So because Aristotle said we should begin all of our learning with stuff that we can see, and because Zoe, she doesn't see any evidence for God, she's an atheist, which means she doesn't believe in God.

So actually Aristotle's ideas are still influencing her today.

Fergus has a Christian worldview.

Jacob asks him about Aristotle.

"Are the ideas of Ancient philosophers like Aristotle important to Christians?" Fergus says, "In the New Testament, St.

Paul uses the tools of philosophy to teach people from Ancient Greece about Jesus.

Paul was well-educated and would've known about Greek philosophers like Aristotle." Jacob then says, "So how have Aristotle's ideas shaped your Christian worldview?" Fergus says, "I use my mind and all my senses to observe and learn about God.

Like Aristotle, I like to ask questions.

I apply logic and reason to my Christian beliefs rather than accepting things without question.

This helps me to better understand and explain my beliefs." So Fergus has a completely different way of using Aristotle, doesn't he? He believes in God, but he thinks that Aristotle helps him to ask questions about what he believes in.

So he doesn't just believe it, he thinks it through for himself.

True or false now, thinking about what we've learned.

Philosophy is ancient and has no meaning for us today.

Is that true or false? Think about what Fergus and Zoe were just saying.

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it? Because actually, these ideas of logic and observation are still important today.

Both Fergus and Zoe talked, didn't they? About how these things matter to them and how they used them.

I've got a task that I'd like you to do now.

This is quite a famous idea that Aristotle said.

He said, the high-minded person, that means someone who really wants to be a good human being, must care more for the truth than for what people think.

What do you think the saying might mean? What might it mean, the high-minded person must care more for the truth than what people think? What's he saying about being a human being and what you should think is really important? I wonder if you could answer, what did Aristotle say about what makes humans unique? Can you remember what we said at the beginning of the lesson? What was it that made humans different from plants and animals? And finally, explain how you think Zoe and Fergus might follow Aristotle's principle.

What did they do in their lives and how might they follow it? Pause the video and have a think.

Really excited to see what you come up with.

So you might have said that what makes humans unique is their ability to use logic and reason.

Do you remember we talked about that being the most important thing that Aristotle said separated us from plants and animals.

Aristotle might be saying when he talks about the high-minded person caring for the truth that if someone really wants to learn, they must work hard to find the truth, even if that truth is not popular with other people.

And he thought it was more important to speak the truth than it was to be popular.

Zoe and Fergus explained their beliefs about God are based on observing the world around them.

They use reason and logic to explore the truth about God.

They would disagree with each other's understanding but this does not stop them wanting to learn and seek the truth.

So actually, when Zoe sought the truth, it meant that she decided there wasn't a God.

For Fergus, there is a God.

And although they come up with different ideas, they're both still trying to work out what's true.

If you've managed to do some philosophy and think through that, brilliant 'cause that was quite tricky.

In the second part of our lesson, we're going to ask the question, how did Aristotle define a good life? Jacob and Sofia are wondering why Aristotle is so important.

Jacob says, "I wonder why the ideas of Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle are still talked about after all these years." Sofia says, "Did Aristotle talk about ethics and values as well as science and logic? Maybe his ideas about living a good life apply to human beings today, and that's why we still talk about them." You're absolutely right, Sofia.

Yes.

Let's find out a little bit more now.

So Aristotle said, "I concluded because we have logic and reason, only humans can think about ideas like right or wrong.

So I reasoned that the point of being a human was to be happy.

To be happy, we need to develop a good character, to be the best person we can.

We do this by practising virtues." So Aristotle thought that animals couldn't really think about things that are right or wrong and maybe they can't.

If you've got a pet animal, does it know what's right or wrong or does it do just do what it wants to do and has to be trained? He said, "Humans can be happy, but the best way to be happy is to become a good person and have a good character, that would make us truly happy." How can we be happy by practising virtues? "But what are virtues?" says Sofia? Well, virtues are qualities that make us better people, like honesty, courage, and generosity.

And we need to keep practising these.

Look at the example there with the photograph.

You might like playing a musical instrument.

Maybe you like playing the piano or the guitar or the drums. If you want to be a good musician, do you need to play your instrument or could you just turn up and play in a concert? You can't really, can you? You need to practise.

And to be a good musician, you need to practise the instrument.

And of course, the more you practise, the better you are.

It's a bit like in sport, isn't it? If you practise your football, practise tennis, practise cricket, you get better and better at it.

And Aristotle thought to be a good human, you need to keep practising virtues.

So you need to keep practising being honest, courageous, and generous.

And the more you do it, the better you get and the better human being you are.

Let's see if we've understood this.

I want you to try and finish Jacob's sentence.

Virtues are not just about following rules, but about developing a good.

A: philosophy? B: character? C: logic? Which of those makes most sense? Pause the video and have a think.

Amazing.

It's character, isn't it? Aristotle thought that to be really happy, we need to develop a really great character and to develop that character, we can follow virtues and we need to keep practising those virtues.

He also had another big idea as well.

What can you see in that image? What does it suggest to you? You can see a pair of scales, can't you? If I put something on one side and nothing in the other, it's going to go like that, isn't it? If I want to balance the scales, I have to put the right amount in each of the sections, don't I? Aristotle believed that virtue should be a balance between two extremes of behaviour or emotion.

He called this middle point the golden mean.

Aristotle believed that finding the golden mean is important for living a good life and achieving happiness.

So what does this idea mean of the golden mean? Jacob and Sofia are thinking about how Aristotle's golden mean applies to the virtue of courage.

Sofia says, "Someone with too much courage might make reckless decisions and put themselves and others in danger." Jacob says, "Someone with too little courage might be too timid and fearful to do anything at all." What balance would Aristotle's golden mean suggest instead? Hmm.

You might want to pause the video and think about this.

Look at those two examples.

What Aristotle is saying here is we need to avoid being too much courage where we just rush off and do silly things and it's not really bravery, it's just foolish 'cause we could end up hurting ourselves.

Or on the other hand, having too little courage and we don't dare to do anything.

Imagine climbing on a climbing frame or going on a field trip.

It's actually really good to put yourself out of your comfort zone because then you can achieve a bit more and you might, even if you don't get all the way to the top of the climbing frame, get a little bit.

But rushing to the top could be really silly 'cause you might not be able to get down.

So the golden mean is just trying to have enough courage to be brave and not being too silly about it.

Jacob and Sofia are applying Aristotle's golden mean to the virtue of kindness.

Sofia says, "Someone with too little kindness might be mean and uncaring to others." Jacob says, "Someone with too much kindness might be so busy looking after everyone else, they don't look after their own needs." What balance is needed for this virtue? Can you think of any more examples to explain Aristotle's golden mean? It's really important that when we are kind to people, that we also are kind to ourselves because then we've got the energy to help other people as well, haven't we? So we need to balance being kind to other people, but also making sure we look after ourselves as well.

Otherwise, we don't look after ourselves.

But if we only focus on ourselves, we are not kind to other people, and that could be a bit selfish.

So again, it's finding the balance, isn't it? Let's just check we understand what we mean by this idea of the golden mean.

Is it A: a rule that everyone follows? B: balanced weighing scales? C: the midpoint between two extremes? Think about those two examples we just looked at about the idea of courage and the idea of kindness.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's the midpoint between two extremes, isn't it? Between not being too courageous or too fearful.

Jacob and Sofia are talking about worldviews.

Jacob says, "I wonder if people with different worldviews still follow Aristotle's idea about virtue and a good life today." Sofia says, "I can imagine that people with non-religious worldviews might value his ideas, but what about people with religious worldviews?" What would you say to Jacob and Sofia? Do you think those ideas might be relevant today? Alan has a non-religious worldview.

He's a humanist.

Jacob says, "Do humanists follow Aristotle's ideas about virtue and how to live a good life?" Alan says, "Aristotle said we develop virtue by practising good actions and making good choices over time.

It's like learning to ride a bike.

The more we practise, the better we get.

I've been following humanist ethics for years.

I hope I'm getting better at it." So yes, Aristotle's ideas do mean something to Alan, don't they? He's still trying to be better and practising his virtues.

Jacob says, "Can you give an example of applying Aristotle's ideas about virtue to your life?" Alan says, "Aristotle said that virtue is more than individual actions.

It's about developing a moral character.

As a humanist, I focus on living a life that makes people around me happy, for example, by being honest or volunteering to help in my local community." So here's a really practical example from Alan about how he puts this into practise.

Meryem has a Muslim worldview.

Sofia asks her about Aristotle: "Are the ideas of ancient philosophers like Aristotle important to Muslims?" Meryem says, "In the Islamic Golden Age, around 600 CE, scholars discussed philosophers like Aristotle.

His ideas about logic and observation shaped Islamic thinking at the time, although many scholars did not agree with his ideas about God." So actually, Aristotle has influenced Muslims as well.

Isn't that interesting? Sofia says, "So, do any of Aristotle's ideas help you to live a good life as a Muslim?" Meryem says, "Aristotle said, 'We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence is not an act but a habit.

' His ideas about virtue fit perfectly with Muslim practises such as fasting at Ramadan and daily prayer.

We become better Muslims by creating good habits in our lives." I love that idea of creating good habits.

Let's see if we've understood that.

True or false: Aristotle's ideas are only relevant to non-religious worldviews.

Is that true or false? Think about what Meryem was just saying to us.

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it? Because people like Fergus and Meryem can learn from and apply Aristotle's ideas to their lives.

Let's have a task at putting some of these ideas into practise.

I've got a scenario for you here.

Jun and Aisha have been given some test results.

Jun says, "I'm rubbish at maths.

I always get the answers wrong." Aisha said, "You should follow my example.

I'm the best mathematician in the class and I always get 100%." Two very different ideas there.

I wonder if you could explain what's wrong with the two extremes shown by Jun and Aisha.

I wonder if you could think about Aristotle's idea of the golden mean to explain what the balanced virtue of modesty would look like.

Think about this idea of modesty.

What's Jun showing in relation to modesty? What's Aisha showing in relation to modesty? What would be Aristotle's answer to that? How would he say you should react in that situation when you get some test results? And what might one of the characters from the lesson say about this situation? How could we turn this around to make it a more positive situation? Really looking forward to seeing what you think of.

Pause the video and have a think.

Oh, some brilliant ideas there.

You might say, Jun shows too much modesty.

He probably gets some answers right.

He's just getting really negative, isn't he? In thinking he's rubbish at it, and it's okay to make mistakes.

You might say, Aisha's not modest enough.

She thinks she's brilliant, doesn't she? She probably doesn't get 100% of their answers right all the time, and even if she does, it's showing off a bit, isn't it, to poor Jun? The golden mean would be for Jun to recognise maths is not his best subject, but he can get better at it.

So he needs to have less modesty and more confidence in himself.

Aisha could be more modest by recognising she's good at maths without showing off about it.

So perhaps she needs a little bit more modesty.

Alan might say that Jun and Aisha would feel happier and make each other happier by balancing the virtue of modesty when talking about maths.

If Jun had more confidence and Aisha less confidence, they could help each other out.

Really interesting to see what you came up with and whether you had some ideas that were similar to this, or maybe you came up with your own ideas about this idea of modesty and how they should improve themselves.

But brilliant thinking and thank you very much.

Let's summarise what we've learned today then.

We've been thinking all about Aristotle and the golden mean.

We've learned that Aristotle was a philosopher who lived in Ancient Greece.

He invented logic and laid the foundations for modern science.

Aristotle defined a good life as one which cultivated virtue.

He said that how we live and treat others is as important as what we achieve.

Finally, we learned that he believed a good life could be led by finding a balance between two extremes.

He called this the golden mean.

I've loved learning about Aristotle with you and getting you to do some philosophy for yourselves.

I wonder if these ideas from Aristotle might help you in your lives and whether you could think about finding the golden mean next time you come up against a situation that you find challenging.

I'm really looking forward to learning with you in another lesson.

Thank you.