Nicomachean Ethics

life. Some dream to be a scientist who researches for humanity’s future. Some want to be an astronaut to explore the unknown universe. Why do humans dream? What is the logic lurking behind all action? Aristotle gives his explanation in his book Nicomachean Ethics in the first sentence, “Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim” (3). Aristotle…

In the Nicomachean ethics, Aristotle discusses virtue ethics and becoming a virtuous person. He explains how having virtue means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount, towards the right people. It is safe to categorize Colin Kaepernick as a virtuous person for being a genuinely benevolent and honest man. Kaepernick’s failure to stand while the national anthem was playing can be validated as appropriate behavior through virtue ethics. “A courageous person…

From living pleasurably to evading pain, life is essentially about finding, or achieving, happiness. But how to achieve happiness is a widely discussed, and philosophized about, topic. In Aristotle’s best-known work, Nicomachean Ethics, ‘eudaimonia’ is a direct Greek translation of the English word ‘happiness.’ The word ‘eudaimonia’ in Greek implies success and fulfillment in one’s own life. This makes happiness the supreme good in life, but many argue over what ‘good’ is. Some say that…

Aristotle wrote his ethical theory Nicomachean Ethics in 340 BC. Nicomachean ethics is centered around happiness. He believes that a good life is one that consists of virtues – both moral, such as courage, and intellectual, such as science – which leads to eudemonia, or happiness. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle designs an outline of a good life, and uses this outline to shape the common good. A good life, is one of virtue and happiness. In his design, Aristotle states that virtue is…

One of the significant insights given by Aristotle in Book I of Nicomachean Ethics is his differentiation between “characteristic” and “activity.” In Chapter 8 of Book I, Aristotle digs deeper into the fundamental nature of happiness. What is happiness? How can it be achieved? For Aristotle, happiness is “a kind of good life and well-being” (pg. 19, 1098b). It is “attained through virtue and some kind of learning or training” (pg. 22, 1099b). However, for Aristotle, the mere fact that a man…

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines truthfulness as a person who represents themselves accurately. He defines truthfulness as a mean between two opposite extremes. The first extreme is what Aristotle calls a “boaster”. A boaster is somebody who presents themselves as better than they really are, even when they know they aren’t. He claims to have skills he lacks and lies about how developed said skills are. The other extreme is what he calls an ironist. An ironist is a person who…

Engineering and ethics; two things that go hand in hand and is the main focus of our course. For where would we be without ethics in engineering? Engineers do what they can to uphold the high reputation of being an engineer. They do this by acting in an ethical manner in accordance with certain regulations and what they believe the right thing to do is. But how is an engineer to know what is right and what is wrong? For that he or she can look to many resources, but in particular an engineer can…

In Book III of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he discusses the topic of involuntary, voluntary, and mixed actions. He states that “to distinguish the voluntary and the involuntary is presumable necessary for those who are studying the nature of virtue (140; Book III, Section 1).” He lays out how someone can distinguish between voluntary and involuntary actions, but mixed actions are a bit harder to distinguish. The topic of mixed actions raises the debate of whether mixed actions are really…

The Life of Practical Virtue and the Life of Study: Comparing the Means to Happiness in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle's ethics seeks to find the ways of living that are best suited for the human disposition to achieve eudaimonia, or happiness and flourishing. His philosophical project in Nicomachean Ethics defines the features of the good life and revolves around the discussion of human activity, the role of virtue, and eudaimonia as the ultimate telos of all human endeavour. The good…

inquiry and state, in view of the fact that all knowledge and every pursuit aims at some good, what it is that we say political science aims at and what is the highest of all goods achievable by action." (Section 4). In this area of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, a basis is set for defining what happiness is, and why we might view it as one of the "highest goods achievable." Happiness and Philosophy is a topic that has cemented its relevancy in our society. It remains a topic that raises…