I somewhat enjoyed this week's readings; it was interesting to read how an ancient Greek scholar viewed aspects of character and virtue. I found it particularly interesting how Aristotle considered the virtue of anger, specifically his belief that anger, in moderation, is cause for praise. "The man who is angry at the right things and with the right people, and, further, as he ought, when he ought, and as long as he ought, is praised" (Aristotle, Book 4 Chapter 5). Anger tends to have a negative connotation, given that it usually leads to violence. Aristotle takes an interesting stance on anger, one that I see as somewhat controversial. "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32) As Christians anger is something we try to avoid; we strive to live a lifestyle of loving one another, just as Christ loved us. I personally believe that Aristotle's perspective of controlled anger is not all that skewed. Anger, righteous anger, anger with reasonable cause, is not wrong; parents are angry when their children lie, but it is a response that teaches the child that what they did was wrong.
In essence, While I believe that we ought to live as much as Christ as we can, I agree with Aristotle's perspective that fair, controlled anger (not the kind that leads to violence,) is ok. Now I turn the question to you; what do you think?
I commented on Clabo and Logan's posts.
I also thought that Aristotle's view on anger was very interesting. I had to think for a while on the idea of righteous anger, but it does somewhat make sense. Anger is just as much an emotional response as things like sadness and happiness, and can be used beneficially just like the two previously mentioned.
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