Aristotle's desire theory

• Grant number: 07/00634-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2007
• End date: March 23, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - Ethics
• Principal Investigator: Marco Antônio de Ávila Zingano
• Grantee: Juliana Ortegosa Aggio
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The project's objective is to research the causes that determine the desire's object nature, i.e, human's action ends in order to examine if it is in the power of the agent to handle the ends and, if it is so, in which sense. In other words, it must be known how the agent gets to know himself and govern his own desires and this means to investigate if it is possible to know the ends that motivate the action in order to have a certain control on them. On the contrary, if it is not possible any intervention of reason on the desire's object constitution, how can we perfect our character for the sake of becoming virtuous, considering that for the virtuous man it is essential to grasp the true good to desire it, to act aiming it and, consequently, to feel good pleasures. Finally, we will investigate the causes of an object being a desire's object, which means to understand how we grasp this object, i.e, we intend to delimitate in which sense the desire and the reason determinate this object's nature establishing a dialog with the “naturalist” and “intelectualist” interpretation and, in the end, to make explicit how the apprehension of the end distinct of the apparent end is produced. The essence of the investigation is to examine the desire's object apprehension and the causes that determine this object's nature.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

AGGIO, Juliana Ortegosa. Pleasure and desire in Aristotle. 2012. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.