Plato & Aristotle & Issue of Abortion

Neither man discussed abortion directly, which makes this study speculative. Considering Aristotle's golden mean, and his greater emphasis on freedom for the individual as opposed to the power of the state, one might find room for some behavior which would not be permissible in the more strict moral world of Plato as described by Socrates. In addition, a feature of Aristotle's moral philosophy is the tenet that every individual believes his or her action is for the best, that it will somehow advance goodness: "Every action and pursuit is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim" (Aristotle 499).

It appears that such an idea would lead to the conclusion that everything is permissible because everything leads to the good, but that is obviously not what Aristotle means. In fact, Aristotle differentiates between acts which the actor believes to be good and those that are in fact good. The woman who seeks an abortion might believe she is seeking the best for herself and the unborn fetus. However, even if that were true, Aristotle

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Approximate Word count = 1081
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)

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