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An Analysis Of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

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In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle synthesizes an enthralling dissertation that, “the human good proves to be activity of soul in accord with excellence” (1098a 16-17) which requires, “a rational principle” (1098a 7-8). Even though some critics may contend that the human good lies within something other than excellently acting in accordance with reason, the case set forth in Nicomachean Ethics attempts to dismiss such detractors as inordinately obstinate in their parochial ideology. To support his conclusion, Aristotle adroitly employs several cogent premises. This paper will explain how Aristotle reaches his conclusion and examine potential flaws in his argument First, I will state each proposition in Aristotle’s argument. After I present an individual …show more content…

Once I explain Aristotle’s argument in full, I will provide my opinion on Aristotle’s argument and point out potential flaws. Finally, I will provide a conclusion that sums up the arguments and opinions discussed in this paper. In the beginning of the article, Aristotle expounds his first premise by explicating, “every action and decision, seems to seek some good” (1094a 2-3). This means that people’s disciplines and actions seek some purpose that can be viewed as good. For instance, the good that is sought after by those who practice medicine would be health. It is important to note, some actions may not be good by everyone’s standards, but they are at the very least subjectively good to the agents performing the actions. Next, Aristotle reaches the second part of his argument by explaining that there is a hierarchy of good; meaning that some actions

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In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that the human good is the soul’s activity that expresses virtue. Aristotle concludes this from an invalid argument. On the one hand I do agree that the activity expressing virtue is a requirement for the human good. But on the other hand, I insist that the human good is a state and not an action. By modifying this argument, I believe we can reach a new conclusion that will help us better understand what Aristotle meant by these concepts.

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When it comes to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, I believe that he has found a common thread in humanity in the fact that humans strive for the moderate in living virtuously. However, I would argue that the thread is varied enough to have no true worth in discerning the aspects of humanity. People have too different moralities and goals. Because Aristotle allows for these “local variations”, as Martha Nussbaum later terms in her defense of Aristotle, he is acknowledging that there cannot be an overarching analysis of humanity.

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Caleb Stephens April 15, 2017 Introduction to Philosophy The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that Philippa Foot’s objection, raised to her own argument against utilitarianism, is correct. Her initial thesis is that benevolence, while the foundation of utilitarianism, is an internal end of morality, rather than the ultimate end of morality. The possible objection to this that there must be some overarching reason behind morality, which must imply a form of consequentialism. The response she offers is that there should be some other form of morality, which is a weak argument, as it does not provide an alternate conception of morality itself.

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 Based on an evaluation of Aristotle’s arguments and the objection that stands against it, people are responsible for voluntary actions and involuntary actions whose circumstances or particulars they themselves have caused.   In order to evaluate Aristotle’s ethical argument, it is first necessary to explain his definitions of character acquisition, volition, and responsibility.  Aristotle defines character acquisition very succinctly:

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In Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle brings up the idea that in order to discover the human good we must first develop a certain understanding and identify the function of a human being. Aristotle’s function argument is brought up through his belief that the human function is rational activity, meaning that our good as human beings is rational activity performed fine because this is what leads to living well. The good Aristotle tries to get across can be seen in many different forms depending on how it is viewed, because of the idea that the main function of anything is to reach a final end, the final end is considered the good. “The end of medicine is health, that of shipbuilding, a ship, that of military science, victory…” (Nicomachean,

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To asses this situation as Aristotle would, we must look at his writings on voluntary and involuntary actions. In Aristotle’s writings he states that voluntary and involuntary action can be distinguished by several different factors. The first of these factors is the virtue of the agent, which is defined as the alignment of ones passions and their actions (pg. 307). Virtue is also concerned with praise and blame that is bestowed on the agent after the repercussions of their actions (pg. 307). Aristotle sates that virtue cannot be fundamentally decided.

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One of the main ideas in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics was that human beings capable of reason. This is what sets us apart from other species, our intellect ability. In the book, they make multiple claims that every single human being has the ability to be rational and use reasonable, while in “Feminists Ethics” claim that women are more caring and gentle and make emotional based decisions, simply because of their nature. Aristotle says that using emotion to guide decisions would lead to immoral actions and that we should use reason and wisdom to make out decisions, as our feelings and thoughts will always change, but reason does not. In virtue ethics, they claim that human beings are wired to be reasonable.

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In “Nichomachean Ethics”, Aristotle Investigates the activities that are worthy of being pursued, because they inadvertently bring happiness to our lives, which is the ultimate good that we seek. Aristotle narrowed the pursuits of men down to two distinct classes, the Art and the inquiry. These two terms are more relatable if we consider Art to be those activities that naturally propel or push us to do something, as well as a field of study such as medicine. The inquiry, on the other hand, is more of a tool that we use to answer questions that we might have. For instance, science, in general, is an investigative tool that we used to strengthen our beliefs by providing irrefutable evidence.

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Now that I have come to a better understanding of Aristotle’s Nicomachean; I believe it’s safe to say I’ve come to a decision. Although I respect the importance Aristotle places on virtue; I don’t completely agree with his outlook as a whole. I tend to find myself picking out, golden nuggets of wisdom and then discarding the rest. In the past, I had blindly accepted Aristotle’s truths, but now I can’t see the practicality of Aristotle’s ethics, especially in today’s society.

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The trickery, it laughs face spewing mockery, grinding your teeth you jolt the white sort into an inky black with your weapon, fiercely determined cinders rises up into the air, the eyes of fire at which had burned the smell of ashes. Since then, pen in hand, I face my next opponent the other side of the spectrum, forward more, I want to make them proud, there is no second best. Consisting of, ethics potent classifications within an individual, for this correlates particular affiliations in their motivations. Morals are these motivations, seeing that this is part of feasible implementation in internal development, for say an individual’s virtue of wisdom. By way of example, according to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, "when one holds oneself in a stable equilibrium of the soul, in order to choose the action knowingly and for its own sake.

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Cultural Immersion The more we seem different, the more we are essentially the same. Cultural differences often make people think that there is something wrong with or dangerous about others. People often are afraid to experience things that are different because they fear what might happen to them. Some people view others from different cultures as less than or not desirable.

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The last theory is Aristotle’s virtue ethics which states that we should move from the concern towards good action and to focus on the concern with good character. This paper argues that Aristotle’s virtue ethics is better than the other ethical theories. The divine command theory says that what is morally right and what is morally wrong is determined by God and God alone. People who follow the divine command theory believe that God is the creator of all things, therefore, he must also be the creator of morally right and wrong acts.

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In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.

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The just person’s soul entails motive for certain kinds of objects the most important of which is knowledge. Socrates describes the hardship and extreme effort required to gain knowledge of the forms and the form of the good, thus the just person will seek learning and not spend time to take care of the satisfaction of desires that typically lead to unjust actions. This approach to unite the gap between a just soul and just actions may have some drawbacks. One negative aspect may be that several unjust actions may be motivated by desires that are compatible with the desire for knowledge. For example, why wouldn’t a person with a great fascination for knowledge steal a book if it would contribute to their

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(Ethics 938). It is not enough to state that one is virtuous, nor is it enough for someone to be born virtuous and end there. Rather, it is the continuous pursuit, the juxtaposition of virtuous activity and of that which isn’t, that allows an individual to flourish in an Aristotelian society. We can deduce, then, that “…human

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