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GroundhogDay Reflection

Phil Connors is an arrogant man who is stuck in a time loop where February 2nd, Groundhog Day, repeats endlessly. At first he takes advantage of the time loop to indulge in pleasures without consequences. However, he comes to realize that he can only break the time loop by changing his selfish and arrogant attitude. He learns to appreciate life and focus on helping others through his interactions with Rita and a young boy. By the end, he becomes a better, more virtuous person and finds true happiness in human flourishing rather than momentary pleasures.

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Renelie Farangao
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67 views2 pages

GroundhogDay Reflection

Phil Connors is an arrogant man who is stuck in a time loop where February 2nd, Groundhog Day, repeats endlessly. At first he takes advantage of the time loop to indulge in pleasures without consequences. However, he comes to realize that he can only break the time loop by changing his selfish and arrogant attitude. He learns to appreciate life and focus on helping others through his interactions with Rita and a young boy. By the end, he becomes a better, more virtuous person and finds true happiness in human flourishing rather than momentary pleasures.

Uploaded by

Renelie Farangao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Renelie Rose S.

Farangao
3AR4
Aristotelian Virtue Ethics: GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog Day is one of the movies that helps us realize the beauty of life under
certain circumstances and helps us appreciate what we already have; somehow
making us change for the better. The protagonist, Phil Connors was depicted as an
arrogant man who cares for nothing else but himself; this attitude of his becomes
one of which he regrets, especially as Groundhog day, one of the days that he hates
the most, becomes a time loop that he is stuck in. With this time loop, he becomes
too acquainted to it, realizing that his actions does not concern any consequences,
taking advantages of the same day over and over again, making him realize sooner
or later that he can only break the time loop once he breaks his habit and attitude of
being the arrogant man that he is.

Eudaimonia, Egoistic Hedonism


The concept of eudaimonia fits this movie. Aristotle disagrees to people’s norms
of happiness being pleasures, success, fortune, fame and many others; hence he
states that it is human flourishing. Happiness is met by many different factors such
as virtue, practical wisdom, good fortune, correct habits, education, correct political
conditions and others.
Phil wanted to relive the days of spending his time with this woman in the Virgin
Islands as it reminds him of the pleasures and deviation that he felt, away from his
usual day or self. This says that Phil also fits the egoistic hedonism, well portrayed
by his self-centered attitude and impulse of doing whatever he wants realizing that
there are no consequences. His self-centered being goes through a phase that makes
him have a change of heart and renewing himself to a better version of his life; hence
human flourishing, as happiness according to Aristotle; is objective, meaning it is
achieved once we act according to virtue. This is where Phil comes in; reaching true
happiness after being renewed from his experiences brought about by the time loop
he is trapped in.
Rita’s description represents that of a perfect man as she looks into the objective
traits of the man. Rita is obviously a woman that takes her life in a reflective aspect,
looking into the ideals she knows is fitting, guided by her virtues herself. She is
someone who has the intentions of always rethinking her thought process and
judgement towards others, hence her objective views of the “perfect man.”
Formula of Humanity
This fits the movie best at it helps people understand the concept of “Treat your
neighbor as how you want to be treated.” This serves as a guideline that helps one
person treat others morally right. Teaching us not to take advantage of anything just
as the movie portrays.
Phil’s action of catching a young boy serves as Phil’s mirrored self, wherein despite
not thanking Phil, morality kicks in, helping him realize the importance of his
actions as he is stuck in a time loop. This also becomes a guide as to how he views
the world and starts to fulfill his duties as a moral person choosing moral choices.
Other than this, Phil’s interaction with Ned Ryerson has probably become a way
where Phil realizes that Ned is like a mirror to himself, knowing he has his match. It
is obvious that Ned Ryerson is a manipulative man, who also takes advantage of
other people, brought about by bad intentions towards other people.

Happiness and pleasure are different from each other as pleasure is derived from
feeling dependent towards something that makes them feel, therefore, it is short
term; happiness on the other hand consists of achieving something through the
course of a lifetime. Both makes us individuals feel something; yet we all know that
both are dependent on the factors that make us feel such feelings. Just like Phil our
everyday situations may become lessons to make us understand the beauty of life
and appreciate what we already have.

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