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Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

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Expanding on Plato’s theory of the good through the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle wished to share what he believed to be the way in which mankind is meant to live and achieve Eudaimonia. In other words the ethics represent his theory of the good and the virtues, which we must follow in order to live a truly happy, prosperous and successful life. Aristotle also spends a great deal of time (roughly 3 books) discussing the importance and value of friendship, a subject not commonly associated with ethics. However, Aristotle includes a discussion on friendship in his ethics as he views true friendship as the ultimate culmination of his stated virtues and believes that they are the backbone/glue holding society together for the greatest common/shared …show more content…

He states the problem that no person willingly does anything bad. Every decision and choice we make, we deem as good, as no one ever makes a conscious bad/wrong choice; we make choices rationally thinking they are good(1141b). These choices each serve a purpose or telos, in other words they are all means to an end. Thus, rationally speaking the best activity or highest end would be something that is an end in itself. This means that the best activities are those that are done for their own sake with no further goal/telos. For Aristotle this higher goal is happiness(1097b1-6) . To understand how something can be an end in itself one can ask why one is doing something (what is the goal?). If the reason is anything other than “just because” or happiness, then there is a further reason and the activity is not an end in itself. Happiness is thus the ultimate good, making the goal of the ethics to help us best achieve our telos of happiness and achieving the wealth, success, and fulfilment of eudaimonia. Happiness for Aristotle is more than just a feeling or emotion; it is a way of life. Our happiness is dependant on the choices we make. Aristotle then explains how our choices are determined by our character or ethos. However, this does not mean that the ethics help determine right from wrong, but more shows us how to live a virtuous and happy life. This happiness for Aristotle expands far beyond just the personal sphere, but extends into the group or

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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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He describes the objection as, “all men desire the apparent good, but have no control over the appearance, but the end appears to each man in a form answering to his character” (1114b).   This view argues that all people pursue that which seems good, but some people cannot see the true good, which is out of their control.   The immediate implication of this objection, if it is indeed true, suggests that “no one is responsible for his own evildoing” (1114b).

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This principle lies at the heart of the great-souled man, the first of Aristotle’s peaks of humanly excellence. The great-souled man is chiefly concerned with—and strikes the mean with—external goods. The greatest of these goods is “the one that we assign to the gods, and at which people of high standing aim most of all, and which is the prize given for the most beautiful deeds; and of this kind is honor” (67:1123b19-21). A man who has achieved greatness of soul is deserving of great honors, but more importantly, he understands his own desert and acts appropriately.

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Therefore, if one wishes to be healthy, he can choose to eat healthy and practice sports, but his choice of being healthy just by its own will not predict the outcome of actually being healthy. Conclusively, “choice relates to the means and wish relates rather to the end”. Additionally, Aristotle also expatiates on anger and appetite. These characteristics, for Aristotle are related to pleasure and feelings which are themselves relate to all animals. However, choice is not for that choice is only related to rational beings.

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