Nicomachean Ethics Essay

and came up with very different explanations of happiness and how a person would achieve it. Aristotle believed that a person must complete a particular function in life in order to achieve happiness. He put his theories to this concept in “Nicomachean Ethics”. In contrast, Mill came up something very different. His theory stated that a man’s

Humans, throughout recorded history, have searched for a proper way of living which would lead them to ultimate happiness; the Nicomachean Ethics, a compilation of lecture notes on the subject written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most celebrated philosophical works dedicated to this study of the way. As he describes it, happiness can only be achieved by acting in conformity with virtues, virtues being established by a particular culture’s ideal person operating at their top capacity

Aristotle makes a number of claims in Book I of Nicomachean Ethics that deal with the idea of Happiness and how to obtain it. His stance can be seen when he makes the claim, “Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for anything other than itself.” Aristotle is stating that the end goal of life is to achieve true happiness. We do not work any further towards something else once we are truly happy. We also see this when he says “Happiness, then, is something

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that “virtue of character is a mean” (1109a 2). This means too much or too little of a certain character is vice. To be truly virtuous, Aristotle believes an individual must find the proper amount of character. I agree with Aristotle in that a truly virtuous person has balanced characteristics and traits, because any trait in an extreme form is undesirable. In Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle talks about bravery as one of these traits, stating “For the brave person…

Nicomachean Ethics 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

The most ancient and long-lasting literature on moral principles and ethics were described by Greek philosopher Aristotle. He had an excellent command on various subjects ranging from sciences to mathematics and philosophy. He was also a student of a famous philosopher. His most important study on ethics, personal morality and virtues is ‘The Nicomachean Ethics’, which has been greatly influencing works of literature in ethics and heavily read for centuries, is believed to be

with someone there has to be a mutual goodwill. Does this mean that friendships of goodness is the only true kind of friendship? Or can you be friends with someone for utility or pleasure? Using Aristotle's theory on friendships in the book Nicomachean Ethics can help answer this question. Friendships of utility is when you only care about being someones friend because you want to get something out of it. It is not a friendship that deals with love, or caring about one another. Friendships of pleasure

In the writings of Aristotle, seen in Nicomachean Ethics, it is evident that Aristotle believes that friendship is necessary for a virtuous and therefore happy life. I believe that this is accurate due to the similar conditions necessary for a complete friendship and a happy life. It is also evident that friendship is useful in achieving a happy life because friendship can make performing virtuous actions easier. His interpretation can be misunderstood and mistakes in practice can be made, so we

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores the virtues as necessities to be happy. A virtuous person is a person devoted to virtuous actions and who derives the pleasure of behaving with virtue. Aristotle distinguishes two types of human virtue, intellectual and moral. The virtues of thought and learning and the inclusion of virtues such as wisdom and prudence; The virtues of the character include bravery and charity, which are acquired by habituation and requiring external products to develop. As

“Can virtue be taught?”, was a question I struggled with when Meno ask Socrates. In Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle answers the question in a way I better understand. He believes that virtue can be taught and if you are taught good behavior you are excellent. He especially believes that the virtue of a human being is “being characteristic”, which helps me understand “What is virtue? “Virtue, according to Aristotle, are the characteristics that makes us either good or bad. Everything we do