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(intro music)

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Hi, my name is Monte Johnson.

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I'm a professor at the University
of California, San Diego,

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and today I want to talk about
the purpose of human life,

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Aristotle's Ergon Argument.

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The word "ergon" in Greek means

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"work," or "job," or
"product," or "function."

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The term is most clearly used
in the context of artifacts

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or skills.

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So the ergon of a saw is to cut.

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The ergon of a house is
to protect against weather

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and intruders.

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And the argon of an
architect is to build houses.

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A connected term is "arete,"

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which means "excellence" or "virtue."

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The excellence of a saw is sharpness,

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since its function is to cut.

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The excellence of a house
is stability and security,

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since its function is protection.

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And the excellence

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of an architect is the
building of good houses.

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Do human beings have
an ergon, or a function?

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And if so,

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do they also have a corresponding
arete, or excellence?

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Aristotle argues that they do,

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And his argument can help
us think more clearly

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about the purpose of human life.

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But before we can discuss
the ergon argument itself

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we need to discuss some
background assumptions

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about the nature of life.

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Aristotle recognizes four
distinct classes of living things:

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plants, animals, humans, and Gods.

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And we'll set Gods
aside for a moment here.

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Aristotle defines living things by their

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capabilities.

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Plants have the ability to grow,

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use energy, and reproduce.

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When we talk about a
plant doing well or poorly,

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we refer to these capabilities.

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Thus, when a plant is growing properly,

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deepening its roots, throwing out leaves

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and flowers and shoots,

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and fructifying,

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we say that it is flourishing.

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The opposite happens when a
plant's capabilities are stymied,

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when a tree, for instance, is stunted,

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or leaves are withering
and dying on the vine.

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Botanists and gardeners know

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what is good or bad for plants,

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that is,

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what kinds of things help

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and what kinds of things
hurt the activities

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related to their capabilities.

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Notice that it is not a matter of opinion,

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but of scientific fact,

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what is good and bad for
plants in this respect.

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Different plants might require
different kinds of nutrients

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or different amounts of shade and water.

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But every plant is said
to do well or poorly

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on the objective basis

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of the activities related to
its specific capabilities.

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Animals, in a way, are like
superpowered plants.

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They too have the ability to grow,

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use nutrition, and reproduce.

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These things are just
as objectively important

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for animals as they are for plants,

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as veterinarians and
zoologists can tell you.

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But animals also have other
and higher capabilities.

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For example animals, unlike plants,

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can move themselves around in space.

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Animals that cannot do so,

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whether because of a birth
defect or because they're encaged,

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cannot be said to be doing well.

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This is why animal rights activists

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campaign for larger cages
or free ranges for animals,

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because it's obvious that
it is better for the animals

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if they are capable

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of exercising their capacity
for self-movement fully.

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Most importantly,

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animals have the capability of perception.

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They can feel

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hot and cold, smell, taste, hear, and see.

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And some of them can
do all of these things.

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Animals that are incapable of seeing,

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even though members of
their species are normally

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able to do so,

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are thought not to be doing as well

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as their relatives that can.

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With the ability to sense

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comes the ability to
feel pain and pleasure,

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and thus appetite and aversion.

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These capabilities are connected with

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an animal's capability for self-movement,

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since they pursue that which

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they have an appetite for

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and avoid things

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that might interfere with
their natural activities.

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Now an animal cannot do
well if it is deficient

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with respect to its plant-like
or vegetative capabilities.

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But even if it is fine with
respect to those capabilities,

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it cannot be said to
flourish if it is stymied

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with respect to
self-movement and sensation.

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For example,

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if an animal is in a lot of pain

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or is unable to satisfy
its desire for food

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because of injury to
its organs of movement,

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that animal will not be said to do well.

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For an animal to flourish,

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it needs to be able to move around

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and to sense the world in such a way

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that produces, for it, pleasure

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or at least more pleasure than pain.

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Now let's move on to humans.

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It's often pointed out
that humans are animals,

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animals with superpowers.

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But it is less often pointed out that

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we are plants too.

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That is, we, like other animals,

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have the capabilities of plants:

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growth, nutrition, and reproduction.

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And we need to exercise these capabilities

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if we are to live.

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And like the other animals,

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we have the capabilities for
self-movement and sensation.

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And with these, pleasure and pain,

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appetite and aversion.

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All life is deeply connected in this way.

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But humans also have unique capabilities

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that no other animals have,

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most importantly the ability
to reason and to use language.

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These capabilities allow
us to cultivate friendships

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and social relations,

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build and contribute to
political structures,

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plan for the future,

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modify our appetites and desires,

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educate our young,

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develop music and mathematics,

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and even to contemplate
the nature of the universe

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and the purpose of human life.

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If a human does not
have these capabilities,

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they are missing out on part
of what it is to be human.

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And if they also lack even
the animal capabilities

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we might consider them
less than animal,

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at least while they're in what we,

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for these very reasons,

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call a "persistent vegetative state."

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Thus, we can determine what is good for us

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in a parallel fashion to how we determine

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what is good with respect to the

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other kinds of living things.

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Those things that allow us
to engage in the activities

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that exercise our capacities are good,

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and those that impede
or prevent this are bad.

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Now that we have that background in place,

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we should be in a good position to answer

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"What, for Aristotle,

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"is the ergon of a human being?"

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It would be odd if the
purpose of human life

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was related to our lowest
vegetative capabilities,

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unless we aspire to being a good plant.

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Thus, the exercise of our
capabilities for reproduction,

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growth and stature, and even nutrition,

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however important for us,

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cannot be the ultimate purpose of our life

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any more than it could
be for a brute animal.

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Similarly, mere sensation, pleasure,

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and satisfaction of our bodily appetites

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cannot, as they are for brute animals,

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be the purpose of our life.

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What makes cows and pigs flourish

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can no more make a human flourish

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than what makes oaks and vine flourish

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can do so for cows and pigs.

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Even if those lower
vegetative capabilities

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must be in a satisfactory condition

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in order for the higher
ones to do their work.

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Thus, by a process of elimination,

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we arrive at the capabilities
to use reason and language.

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These are the capabilities that define us,

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which is why Aristotle
defined the human being

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as a rational animal,

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which is reflected in the
modern name for our species,

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"Homo sapiens."

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Thus, the forming of friendships
and social relations,

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the controlling of our
appetites and emotions,

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the cultivation of moral
and intellectual virtues,

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and the observing of the cosmos

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and our place in it

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are the activities that,

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because they correspond with our highest

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and most unique capabilities,

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give meaning to human life

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and represent the flourishing
of our kind of living thing.

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The things that are good for us

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follow from this,

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and thus can be determined

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with the same degree of
objectivity that gardeners

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and botanists can for plants,

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and veterinarians and
zoologists can for animals.

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These arts and sciences
can objectively determine

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what is good and bad for
those kind of living things,

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and so anthropology and
philosophy can determine

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what is good and bad for
our kind of living thing.

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In fact,

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the very highest activity,

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the one that Aristotle calls godlike,

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is philosophy,

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because this involves

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the pure exercise of reason and thought,

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just as the Gods constantly engage in,

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according to Aristotle.

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And philosophy engages
in reason and thought

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not only in order to serve our
vegetative and animal needs,

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but just for its own sake as well,

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for the sake of living a human life.

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For this reason, Aristotle
thought that doing philosophy

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was the ultimate end of human existence.

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In conclusion,

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you should be happy that
you're watching this video,

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because I have just shown
how you are now engaging

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in the exercise of your highest

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and most godlike capabilities.

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Good work.