Now, I haven’t been watching the Celtics. But Aristotle has been. And I do get updates from Bleacher Report and it looks like the Celtics go into the half in most games with a 5-20 point lead and then lose by the same number. If that is the case, then it would reasonably mean that the Celtics are defensively challenged at the moment.
Shaq may be the Big Aristotle, but the real Aristotle may have some opinions on these defensive woes based on his virtue ethics philosophy from his Nicomachean Ethics.
First-we should remind ourselves of Aristotle’s virtue ethics.
It’s a teleological system of ethics meaning it’s a goal based system. Every action that people do is in order to fulfill some type of goal.
Now, it’s an ethics system surrounding virtues because, with eudaimonia or a flourishing human life being the chief good or final end, this is how you live a good life-by being virtuous. Virtues are attainable for anyone because they are developed through habits. A virtue is a state of character and it is the rational mean between two extremes/vices.
For instance, courage would be a virtue. Courage is not being brave all the time. It’s being deliberately and rationally brave. It’s the mean between rashness and cowardice. If you see someone drowning, it’d be rash to dive in to save them knowing you can’t swim. It’s be cowardly to sit down and cry and do nothing to help. It’d be courageous to save them if you’re a good swimmer or call for help if you’re not a good swimmer.
Ok, how does any of that relate to the Celtics?
I’m not sure yet but let’s talk it out.
We could call “job security” a virtue. The vices would be never looking for a job and staying unemployed and then getting different jobs but actively breaking the rules or performing poorly and getting fired.
Ball security is job security in the NBA-or any sport for that matter.
If the Celtics are playing bad defense, that means the offense is going to suffer. They’ll allow teams to hold the ball as much or in any way they want to and that’ll allow the other team to score too many points and the offense will have to cover by letting Kemba huck up 1,000 threes a game.
Aristotle would have to say the Celtics are nowhere near achieving eudaimonia-either in their life or in their season. They are playing games of vice.
The Celtics can become virtuous but they have to start working on their habits of controlling the ball. Once the Celtics can secure job security, they can start to play better. If they keep playing this game of vice, they will be seen as bad players, get traded or cut, and then no one will want them on their team and then they won’t have any friends and they’ll have to go to amusement parks for fun and then they’ll lose all their money at concessions and then they’ll be homeless and probably do drugs and have sex with dogs like Rickety Cricket. Now, how can you reach eudaimonia and live a flourishing human life if you fuck dogs? You can’t-especially according to Aquinas.
Philosophical flex motherfuckers wassup
Anything But E 