Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents his idea that moral excellence and virtue are the focus of reflection on ethics. His stance is that virtue is an essential feature of human happiness and is necessary to live the “good life”. However, an overarching theme found in his text is that ethics is imprecise. Aristotle explains that the degree of certainty for any subject depends on the nature of that subject. In his opinion, someone who studies ethics must accept that it is not an exact science, it is hard to express and nothing is set in stone. This theme may lead people to believe that Aristotle is a relativist. This is not the case. Aristotle does believe that we have to be satisfied with generalizations and overviews of the truth but

He feels that a person can only judge what they fully understand. The young and the immature, according the Aristotle, are not fit to study ethics or judge what is right and wrong. Both do not have enough knowledge to reach any valid conclusions. Aristotle claims that the best way to learn is through experience and action. By doing something, you will gain the knowledge necessary to understand exactly what you are doing. Some assume that by studying ethics this makes them moral, however, the knowledge of right and wrong without putting it into action is worthless. Those who approach the study with reason are those who will truly understand

Human virtue is any characteristic that causes a man to perform his function well. Virtue can also be considered an excellence of the soul. There are two types of virtue: intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtue is something that is taught to us. It is considered theoretical wisdom and the training of the mind. Meanwhile, moral virtue trains our will and desires. This can be obtained only through practice and developing habits. Aristotle’s big argument is that virtues are always means between extremes. What he suggests by this is that any type of excess or deficiency is harmful to the soul. Moral virtue aims for the relative mean. For example, courage is a moral virtue in between recklessness, the excess, and cowardice, the deficiency. Why should we aim for the intermediate? Aristotle argues that emotions are extremes and that acting rationally is considered the mean. Without this scale to guide us, we would have no principles to go by and we would wildly oscillate between extremes. The middle of the scale is the hardest to achieve but is the most beneficial. Aristotle believes that in some cases, you should aim towards one side of the scale in hopes that you land in the middle. When doing this, you should air on the side that is less attractive. By doing this, you will not fall into the trap of settling for an extreme that is more pleasurable than the intermediate. When it comes to making decisions, you should consider what a