Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

The way in which Aristotle begins Nicomachean Ethics is with the statement “Every craft and every line of inquiry, and likewise every action and decision seems to seek some good.” (Aristotle Bk.1, Ch.1). This is a fitting way to begin, as it addresses exactly what the entire book hopes to convey. While at this point in the novel, readers remain unaware what the good that he is referring to means, it becomes clearer and clearer as it progresses why this is such an apt beginning. The Nicomachean Ethics is devoted to the notion that all humans are attempting to seek the ultimate end, which Aristotle describes as happiness, or the Good. If, as he says, everything we do in life is to seek some good, then each action or decision we make brings us closer to the ultimate end.

In Aristotle’s Book II of Nicomachean Ethics, he states that virtue of character is how someone gets to the ultimate end, which is happiness. Aristotle states that, without a goal or ultimate end (happiness), life does not have a purpose. Therefore every action in a person’s life has to be made with true virtue of character in mind in order to achieve the final end. Aristotle states that virtue arises in us neither by nature nor against nature but since we are humans, by nature, we are able to acquire virtue and perform it later (Book II, p. 18). With that being said, how people behave in their lives and how they interact with people, and how they repeat similar activities determines their virtue of character. Which leads into Aristotle stating that, this is why we as people should perform the right activities, since differences in these activities imply differences within the states which is why it is important to acquire virtuous habits at a young age (Book II, p.19). From this you can determine that people must act accordingly or with the correct behavior and with habit if they want to acquire certain states of virtue. Aristotle gives the example of excessive exercise and being deficient in exercise can ruin the strength of a persons body, just as eating too much or too little can ruin the health of a persons body, but when you do these things in the correct amount it helps the body (Book II, p. 20). This example shows that the goodness of an action can naturally be

In order to be a person of practical wisdom one should possess good moral reasoning and good inclinations. Aristotle first introduces these concepts in his book The Nicomachean Ethics, but he does not mention a really important virtue, the virtue of forgiveness. If mastered correctly, forgiveness can lead a person to acquire additional, and equally important good habits. That is why, in order to recognize the importance of this virtue, it is necessary to make a deep expository analysis.

Happiness to Aristotle is to have virtuous activity of the soul and to have achieved the highest good in life (Book I, Chapt. 9, Para.3). To be a virtuous activity of the soul means to participate in honorable and noble activities and to truly be happy and caring when doing them. In Book I, Aristotle implies that someone who does a virtuous activity, but does not really care to do it, is not really being virtuous, whereas someone who does care is truly being noble. Aristotle implies an argument from eudemonia, or happiness, where in order to live a jubilant life, one must live well, but what exactly Aristotle means by this is to live contemplatively and virtuously. He becomes clearer about the behaviors in having a good

In Book 1 of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he argues that happiness is the best good, and the goal of an individual and of those leading and governing society. Here, happiness is understood as both living well and doing well, rather than the convention sense of happiness as an emotion. According to Aristotle, happiness is achieved though actions involving reason and in accord with virtue, or the best of the virtues of there are more than one. In this paper, I will provide a brief overview of the work and its author, then proceed to provide an overview of the ideas expressed and the argumentation supporting them, before finally performing an analysis and critique of the ideas expressed.

As one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Aristotle was one of the greats. He altered history and the way our world views philosophy and ethics. One of his theories of ethics that he written in the form of 10 books was Nicomachean Ethics, this theory consisted of Aristotle’s perspective on the life of man and what makes a good life for man. Personally, I think his theory of ethics is a good outline of how to be an ethical and happy, I think Nicomachean ethics is a valid theory as it makes sense, and as a base line or starting point can be applied to many situations. Aristotle purposes that all human beings work toward a supreme happiness or good, this good is

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, ethical virtue is at the base of every Aristotle argument. Aristotle’s goal is to discover: what constitutes human excellence? A key position Aristotle takes in ethical virtue involves habit among human actions, “Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and who are made perfect by habit.” (Nic.2.1.1103a23-25). Through this statement, Aristotle believes that humans do not have virtues by nature, which means humans cannot be born with virtue. However, nature equips humans with the potential to acquire virtue over time through social training and habituation. Aristotle’s concept is on the same grounds as Roger Bergman’s, author of Catholic Social

The beginning of Book eight of the Nicomachean Ethics states that friendship is a “kind of virtue and it is also most necessary for living” (Book VIII, 1155a, 1-2). Friendships connect to all walks of life, with friends we can help young from making mistakes and assist the elderly in life through their delicate state they cannot do themselves. The most significant power friendship has is the ability to hold communities and how it’s closely connected to justice (Book VIII, 1155a, 20-26). Which is interesting because it seems that by human nature we strive for the sense of harmony in a community. We aim for happiness between community members and happiness as a whole. Aristotle later comments that a possession of many friends are one of the fine things of life and it is a splendid thing to obtain.

Aristotle argues, however, that to reach this final state of happiness, a person must live in accordance with appropriate virtues, so happiness cannot be found in vulgar and political lives but only in a contemplative life. He explains this idea by isolating humans to their special roles. Just like objects have specific functions (i.e. knives are used to cut things), “for all things that have a function or activity, the good and the “well” is thought to reside in the function, so would it seem to be for man, if he has a function.” Aristotle claims that humans, too, have a specific function: to exercise rational thought, which is a uniquely human quality. Thus, people are only able to achieve their final state of happiness through a habitual practice of areté or virtue, which is a person’s ability to actively contribute to society by using his or her individual capacity for reasoning. Only through this practice of excellence, then, can humans flourish to eudaimonia.

Aristotle provides the teleological approach of how to live well in his collection of lectures, Nicomachean Ethics. In Book II of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents his definition of virtue in which it is "a kind of mean" (N.E. 129). According to Aristotle, moral virtue is a means to an end, happiness. By using Sophocles's Antigone, I will support Aristotle's theory of virtue in which he reasons it to be a state of character between two extremes. A virtue that remains relevant today as it did during Aristotle's era is that of courage. By using Aristotle's account on what represents the virtue of courage, I will demonstrate how it could be applied to the dilemma the characters of Antigone encounter. Even his definition of justice is

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discussed his theory of happiness and attempted to answer the many questions related to what makes people happy. Questions asked were “What is the purpose of human existence?” “What is the end goal we are trying to achieve so that we know how we should conduct ourselves?” With so many people seeking pleasure through a variety of means such a wealth, reputation, personal belongings and friends, they may be missing the mark when it comes to happiness. While these each have a value attached to them, none of them contains what is truly needed to be described as the “good” we should be aiming toward. According to Aristotle, to be an ultimate end, an act must be self-sufficient and final, “that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1097a30-34)

Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics explores the idea of an ethical framework based on virtues, deliberation, and choice. The key to being virtuous is to strike a balance between the extremes on either side of a virtue. Arriving at what constitutes as a virtuous balance is achieved through the process of deliberation and then action. Sartre and the existentialists say that existence precedes essence; the good starts from human subjectivity rather than from known virtues. Through a person’s choices, they determine what is good. Though their theories of what constitutes the good may differ, choice is a key element of both ethical frameworks. The differences that each ethical framework has about what the good is are not mutually exclusive. In

As soon as I read over this question, I knew it was the one I would have to answer, because it was the one I wasn't sure I could. I felt the prompt would allow me the opportunity to directly illustrate the person that I am. However, my current knowlege and interpretation of Aristotle's “Nicomachean Ethics” has made the task reprehensibly difficult. I found myself wandering through a mind-numbingly agonizing process to properly address the prompt. This process consisted of working through two separate paths that addressed the topic. Though, I found myself seeing that both of these paths brought me further from the very virtue I was trying to show that I pursue.

Aristotle defines the function of a human being as an activity of the rational soul. He argues that most functions of humans, such as being alive or having sense perception, are shared with plants and animals and cannot be distinct functions of human beings. The only remaining possibility which is not shared with things other than human beings, according to Aristotle, is the part of the soul that has reason. Human function, therefore, is an “activity of the soul in accord with reason or requiring reason.” But further qualification must be made when referring to the something’s function in the context of a greatest good; in this case, it is not sufficient for something to simply function, it must also function well. For example, the function of a pianist is to play the piano, but the function of a good pianist is to play a piano well. According to Aristotle, adding a function’s best virtue to it will work without qualification to make something excellent in every case. So, the function of a human being is an activity of the rational soul and the greatest good for a human is activity of the rational soul in accordance with its virtue.

When Tony told me he had an affair, I was shocked and confused as both Tony and Beth are my friend. Since reading Nicomachean Ethics, Books I, II, and VIII, I couldn’t help but think what would Aristotle do?