Speaking topics - Ambition

AMBITION

Is Ambition Good or Bad?

Ambition can be defined as a striving for some kind of achievement or distinction, and
involves, first, the desire for achievement, and, second, the willingness to work towards
it even in the face of adversity or failure.

To be ambitious is to achieve first and foremost not for the sake of achievement itself
(which is to be high-reaching) but for the sake of distinguishing oneself from others.
Were we the last person on earth, it would make little or no sense to be ambitious.

Ambition is often confused with aspiration. Unlike mere aspiration, which has a
particular goal for object, ambition is a trait or disposition, and, as such, is persistent
and pervasive. A person cannot alter her ambition any more than she can alter any
other character trait: having achieved one goal, the truly ambitious person soon
formulates another at which to keep on striving.

Ambition is often spoken of in the same breath as hope, as in "hopes and ambitions".
Hope is the desire for something to happen combined with an anticipation of it
happening. In contrast, ambition is the desire for achievement or distinction combined
with the willingness to work towards
it. The opposite of hope is fear, hopeless, or despair; the opposite of ambition is simply
"lack of ambition", which is not a negative state.

Perhaps it is even the preferable state. In many Eastern traditions, ambition is seen as
an evil that, by tying us down to worldly pursuits, keeps us away from the spiritual life
and its fruits of virtue, wisdom, and tranquillity. In contrast, in the West, ambition is
lauded as a precondition or precursor of success, even though the Western canon itself
tends to fall against it.

For instance, in the Republic, Plato says that, being devoid of ambition, good men
shun politics, leaving us to be ruled by bad men and their ambitions. Even if asked or
invited, a good man would refuse to rule. To force good men into positions of power,
Plato goes so far as to propose the introduction of a penalty for refusing to rule.

Aristotle had a more nuanced take on ambition. In the Nicomachean Ethics, he defines

virtue as a disposition to aim at the intermediate between excess and deficiency, which,
unlike the excess or the deficiency, is a form of success and therefore worthy of praise.
For example, those who run headlong into every danger are rash, while those who flee
from every danger are cowards, but courage is indicated by the mean or intermediate.
 Speaking topics - Ambition

For Aristotle, to be virtuous within a sphere, one has to be close to the mean between
the excess and the deficiency in that sphere. And so, while it is possible to fail in many
ways, it is possible to succeed in one way only—which is why failure is easy and
success difficult. By the same token, people may be bad in many ways, but good in one
way only.

Aristotle goes on to discuss the principal virtues and their associated vices. In the
sphere of "minor honor and dishonor", he names "ambition" as the vicious excess, "lack
of ambition" as the vicious deficiency, and "proper ambition" as the virtuous mean.

To this day, people still speak of ambition after Aristotle, as"‘healthy ambition",
"unhealthy ambition", and "lack of ambition". Healthy ambition can be understood as the
measured striving for achievement or distinction, and unhealthy ambition as the
immoderate or disordered striving for such. Healthy ambition is individually enabling and
socially constructive, while unhealthy ambition is inhibiting and destructive, and more
akin to greed.

Discuss or debate the questions below. Remember to support your answers!

 Do you consider yourself to be an ambitious person? Why/not?

 Do you think that ambition can be taught in school, much like a course in Math or
English? Would you want to take such a course? Why/not?
 Does ambition always bring success? Why do you think so?
 If you could take a pill which would result in increased motivation to achieve your
goals, would you want to take the pill? Why/not?

 How would you define ambition? How does your definition compare or contrast
with the definitions of your classmates?
 What are the positive results, if any, of being an overachiever? Please explain.
 What are the negative results, if any, of being an overachiever? Please explain.
 Who is the most ambitious person you personally know? What is the source of
his/her ambition? Please explain.
 Who are three well-known overachievers whom you admire? What reasons make
them especially admirable? What makes them ambitious?
 Why are some people determined to succeed at any cost, yet others just about
lack any drive whatsoever? Please explain.
 What has a greater influence on a person's ambitiousness, family, genes, or the
culture in which he/she is raised? Why do you think so?
 Where do you see yourself in ten years?

 Can ambition be turned off and on like a light switch? Why/not?

 Do you think younger people are inherently more ambitious than older people?
Why/not?
 Speaking topics - Ambition

 Do you think one's social status as a child, whether rich, poor, or somewhere in
the middle, affects his/her ability to succeed later in life? Why/not?

 Who possesses a greater amount of ambition, men or women? Why do you think
so?
 Which nations have the greatest number of ambitious people? Why do you think
so? Are there any countries which lack overachievers?
 Which races are the most ambitious? Why do you think so?
 Imagine that you're a parent. How could you instill a healthy sense of drive  in
your child?
 Niccolo Machiavelli said: Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast
that however high we reach, we are never satisfied. What does this mean?