To kick off his discussion about happiness, aristotle begins by. One of the original works of virtue ethics, this book on living a good life by aristotle has some great advice on being a good, thriving person, through moderating. Nicomachean ethics summary and analysis of book one. Nicomachean ethics by aristotle, part of the internet classics archive. Notes on aristotles nicomachean ethics books i, ii, and x. He rehashes many of the points he made earlier about pleasure, concluding that pleasure in and of itself isnt the ultimate good, that not every.
Aristotle believes that political science is best studied by those who are experienced in putting reason before feelings, something that, as he will discuss later, is key to the pursuit of virtue overall. Nicomachean ethics study guide contains a biography of aristotle, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. For example, health is the end of medicine, a boat the end of boatbuilding, and victory the end of generalship. Aristotle treats happiness as an activity, not as a state. Politics is not a precise science, since what is best for one person may not be best for another. Ethics is a part of politics, which is the most authoritative and architectonic science. Nicomachean ethics quizzes about important details and events in every. This definition aligns with popular views of happiness, which see the happy person as virtuous, rational, and active.
According to aristotle, every craft, line of inquiry, action, and decision seeks some end, or good, but these goods differ. Nicomachean ethics quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. He justifies this belief by arguing that if the community is in disharmony, so will the person be. It is clear therefore that in the opinion at all events of men of action, virtue is a. Aristotle has some things to say about this in book 3, chap. If so, we must try, in outline at least, to determine what it is, and of which of the sciences or capacities it is the object. Aristotle s work, the nicomachean ethics, consists of numerous books pertaining to aristotle s ethicsthe ethics of the good life. Every human action aims at some good, and the good which is chosen for its own sake rather than as means to an end is the highest good. Therefore, the supreme good should be an activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue. People decide on pleasant things and avoid painful things throughout their lives. Much confusion about aristotle s work comes not from aristotle s lack of clarity. All human activities are done in order to attain something that is good. Aristotle views ethics as a necessary part of political science. Because nicomachean ethics originated in aristotle s philosophical lectures, its not intended to be a comprehensive worka fact that should be kept in mind when evaluating his ideas.
Aristotle now discusses what virtue or excellence must be. The intellect is the highest thing in us, and the objects that it apprehends are the highest things that can be known. Therefore to good for man is activity of the soul according to the best and most complete virtue. In addition, most of these activities are not the main.
Aristotle feels individuals and communities are inseparable, whether the community is a family, a tribe, or a city. Aristotle next discusses pleasure, because enjoying and hating the right things seems to be most important for virtue of character. Nicomachean ethics by aristotle it is the purpose of the study of ethics to discover the nature of the highest good and to find the appropriate. Nicomachean ethics by aristotle it is the purpose of the study of ethics to discover the nature of the highest good and to find the appropriate means for its realisation. Both topics discuss the good for the individual and the community. Once a person has died, according to aristotle, posthumous honors or. The first book discloses aristotle s belief on moral philosophy and the correlation between virtue and happiness. Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for anything other than itself.
Course hero literature instructor russell jaffe provides an indepth analysis of aristotle s philosophical text. Nicomachean ethics by aristotle the internet classics archive. As already mentioned in the analysis of book one, aristotle holds that the happiness of man can be defined by determining the function proper to man. One division of goods is into i external goods wealth, fame, honor, power, friends. Aristotle specifically mentions the life of gratification pleasure, comfort, etc, the life of moneymaking.
This function cannot be one which plants and animals also perform, because it must be particular to human beings. This video describes how aristotle concluded that the purpose of human life is to attain happiness, and also discusses the definition of aristotles. When talking about happiness, we consider a persons life as a whole, not just brief moments of it. Chapter summary for aristotles nicomachean ethics, book 1 summary. Need help with book 1 in aristotles nicomachean ethics. Everyone agrees that the supreme good is happiness, but people disagree. The achievement of happiness, according to aristotle, is the end goal of every man. See important quotations explained eudoxus, a member of platos academy, argues that pleasure is the supreme good because we desire. We dont do something because we think it will be bad for us. Aristotle s nicomachean ethics explained with book summaries in just a few minutes. Let this account then serve to describe the good in outlinefor no doubt the. The definition of happiness has long been disputed. This is the heart of the doctrine of virtue, both moral and intellectual. Youre about to go for a severalthousandyearold rideand aristotle aint going to make it easy for you.
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