Ethics
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in Greek --
Photo from Flickr: quapan
Aristotle wrote two works on ethics: the Eudemian Ethics and the Nicomachean Ethics. The latter is the most studied, because the former is considered to be inferior, and was also written much earlier in his life. Aristotle shares Plato’s idea of the Good, which is a state of perfect happiness. The first book of his Nicomachean Ethics starts in a very similar way to his Politics:
Every art and every investigation, and likewise every practical pursuit or undertaking, seems to aim at some good: hence it has been well said that the Good is That at which all things aim.
As Aristotle explains, there are goals, some of which are inferior to others. He gives the example of bridle-makers. Bridle-making assists horsemanship, horsemanship assists military strategy, and strategy assists military victory. As Aristotle writes:
…the ends of the master arts are things more to be desired than all those of the arts subordinate to them; since the latter ends are only pursued for the sake of the former.
He then reasons that since every goal aims at another, greater one, that there is one goal or state of being which all endeavors ultimately aim at, which would be the Good. According to Aristotle, virtue is a state of character that makes the person make good choices. A virtuous person does just the right amount of certain actions, such as eating, sleeping, working, talking, etc., but the perfect amount changes from person to person. This rule of the perfect middle ground applies not only to actions, but also to a person’s emotions and desires.
Every art and every investigation, and likewise every practical pursuit or undertaking, seems to aim at some good: hence it has been well said that the Good is That at which all things aim.
As Aristotle explains, there are goals, some of which are inferior to others. He gives the example of bridle-makers. Bridle-making assists horsemanship, horsemanship assists military strategy, and strategy assists military victory. As Aristotle writes:
…the ends of the master arts are things more to be desired than all those of the arts subordinate to them; since the latter ends are only pursued for the sake of the former.
He then reasons that since every goal aims at another, greater one, that there is one goal or state of being which all endeavors ultimately aim at, which would be the Good. According to Aristotle, virtue is a state of character that makes the person make good choices. A virtuous person does just the right amount of certain actions, such as eating, sleeping, working, talking, etc., but the perfect amount changes from person to person. This rule of the perfect middle ground applies not only to actions, but also to a person’s emotions and desires.