Examples Of Virtue In Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the ultimate goal for a human being is happiness and throughout his book, he provides a series of stepping stones that aid in the achievement of such goal. These stepping stones are what Aristotle calls ‘virtues’. He defines virtue as “a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency” (1107a). He provides many examples of virtues that shape the way for us to achieve that ultimate goal we all look for called ‘happiness’. Within the many examples that Aristotle provides are bravery, generosity, and magnificence.
The first virtue that Aristotle introduces to us is bravery. When we first think about bravery, we might imagine someone that is strong and completely fearless when confronted with danger, but that is not quite true. Aristotle says that “The brave person is unperturbed, as far as a human being can be. Hence, though he will fear even the sorts of things that are not irresistible, he will stand firm against them, in the right way, as reason prescribes, for the sake of the fine, since this is the end aimed at by virtue” (1115b). Here, Aristotle states that a brave individual is a normal person who is capable of having fear like everybody else. He later compares fearlessness, a vice of bravery and courage, as being nothing more than an imitation of the brave. The …show more content…
Aristotle provides many examples of these virtues that lead a person towards the ultimate goal of happiness, including bravery, generosity, and magnificence. Bravery is not something that every individual possesses since it involves pain, generosity has to do with giving rather than taking, and magnificence, which is very similar to generosity, has to do with huge expenses and is not done for selfish reasons but for the common good. These are just a couple of examples of the many virtues that Aristotle states as being necessary for achieving happiness as a human