Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle

Is pleasure what we strive for or is it the icing on top? It can be argued that pleasure in the end and final goal for all rational beings. However, pleasures can be good or bad, and the end goal of life should be to do well. But then how can one person argue pleasure as being the final desire, if it may be bad. Aristotle takes a unique approach to describing the nature of pleasure within his text, The Nicomachean Ethics. He believes that the end of human life is eudemonia, not pleasure, but pleasure does play a role. He argues that, “ this is why it is not right to say pleasure is perceptible process, but it should rather be called activity of the natural state, and instead of ‘perceptible’ ‘unimpeded” (1210-15,7). Aristotle concludes his

I believe Aristotle has taken the correct approach on describing that pleasure is not the end goal, yet pleasure is an addition to the activity, which makes it complete. Therefore I will argue that in order to achieve eudemonia pleasure is in fact needed as a impeded activity of a natural state, and that it is not the main assertion.

Critical Explanation/Evaluation One

Taking in account Aristotle’s first argument that pleasure is an activity of an unimpeded natural state contains many aspects. Firstly, Aristotle does not go in depth of what the natural state is, but he deems it as being a healthy body and a virtuous soul. However, a criticism for Aristotle’s argument is that one can experience pleasure when he is ill. Though the individual only experiences the pleasure when he is slightly feeling better. Aristotle then says, “that what a recuperating patient really enjoys is not the recovery process but the activity of some unimpaired part of his make-up”

He views pleasure, as an essential factor needed to achieve the goal of life, which is eudemonia. Aristotle goes back to the point that pleasure cannot be a process. He elaborates how process is like a developmental stage, providing the example of building a temple, that you achieve pleasure after different stages of completion. However, pleasure cannot be achieved through a development stage. Aristotle provides the example of how during a conversation you do not wait in till the end to experience the pleasure, but while you are taking you are engaging in that pleasure. Thus, leading to the main point of his argument that in fact pleasure is an activity, which provides a sense of completion. This is in fact true, pleasure is what completes the act, but is not necessarily the main goal. This argument is also criticized because then, isn’t Aristotle saying how without pleasure the activity contains a defect? But Aristotle is able to show that the word “teleein” can mean perfect and complete. That even before pleasure has been achieved it can be perfect, the pleasure which is felt is just a bonus but has no further extra mean (1174b33,10). However this brings up the criticism that if pleasure is that good, isn’t the purpose of human life to gain as much pleasure as possible, making it is the chief good? I