The ethics of Aristotle: The Nichomachean ethics

by Aristotle

see image

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics

Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1974

About the author

Aristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.

Reviews

[Stephanie Weisgerber]

Mood: Lofty, Ethereal
Theme: The pursuit of happiness through a virtuous life
Pace: Moderate, at times sluggish and redundant to drive home a point
Writing Quality: Masterful, Polished
Length: 8 hours 53 min. (Audible Edition)

Named for his son, Nichomachus, Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher and scientist, wrote this book as a manual on how to pursue the good life. He studied under Plato for over 20 years before branching out on his own. He also tutored Alexander the Great. He founded his own school, Lyceum, after disagreeing on some issues with Plato who had a school of his own called The Academy.

I found this book intriguing and deep. Aristotle argues quite effectively that to pursue happiness one must have reason combined with virtue of character. He believes virtue (showing high moral standards) isn't innate but rather developed through habituation of practice. Choosing the good moral choice over and over in life.

Some other topics covered in depth are courage, justice, practical judgement, and friendship. I especially enjoyed the chapter on friendship. Aristotle argues there are three kinds of friendships: Utility- Pleasure- and Virtue (Complete/Perfect friendship. He explores the depth of friendships of utility (mutual benefit, have something in common) and Pleasure (Shared enjoyment) and how they are temporary. The rarest form, Complete friendship, exists only among two people who are alike in virtue and is enduring because virtue is enduring. Their good characteristics lays a foundation for real love. Often two friends are having difficulties because one sees the other as a utility friend, (i/e my golf buddy) while the other is attempting to go deeper into a complete friendship. If virtue and character are not almost perfectly matched this becomes impossible.

This book will really cause you to look deeply inward and examine much of your beliefs and desires in light of the virtuous life. We often fall short in many areas but Aristotle provides a vivid roadmap to happiness. Highly recommend this book.

(Also of note, Hillsdale College offers free online courses and the one titled "Aristotle's Ethics: How to lead a good life" was thought provoking and intense. I really enjoyed the course. You can sign up at www.online.hillsdale.edu.)

[Hope]

I never dreamed I would enjoy this book so much.

Yes, it's dense, but reading one chapter every other day kept it from becoming overwhelming. After each reading I wrote out the main theme in my own words, which helped me to really focus.

Aristotle asks such questions as "What constitutes happiness?" What makes a person virtuous?" and "Do we need laws to keep us virtuous?" I found many of his answers to be similar to a Christian world view, but several were quite different (Christianity was still 300 years in the future).

I was amused that he couldn't understand how anyone who knew the right thing to do would not do it because we Christians would call that "original sin."

[Jacqueline Juneau]

Act quickly, think slowly.

[Erin Matson]

More of this was over my head than I care to admit, but it doesn’t matter. It’s stunning how much influence Aristotle exerted upon philosophy, education, and culture more broadly.

[Cari Hernandez]

dude-bro philosophy at its finest. friendship part is the most interesting in my opinion. not a big fan of virtue ethics, sorry aristotle

[Hans Jakob Haland]

Noen annen selvhjelpsbok trengs ei.

Boken er dog et perfekt miljø for lange leddsetninger.

[Will Lyons]

This account of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is a brilliant introduction to the seminal figure, and his approach to morality and understanding of human nature. Compared to Plato, Aristotle appears more moderate and less dogmatic, with profounder insights into human psychology and motivation than his austere predecessor. His doctrine of the ‘golden mean’ occupies a large portion of the work, and the virtues and vices are outlined and elaborated in depth. Aristotle’s account of the good life (‘eudaimonia’) is convincing, and his arguments for human function and rationality are both plausible and enthralling, providing a compelling case for how to be happy (and one that seems far more contemporary than it really is). Absolutely the best place to start for an introduction to Aristotle, and a good work to read after Plato’s ‘Republic’, as it develops and challenges many of the doctrines therein.

[Margaret Gray]

It would be unethical to rate it under 5 stars and also unethical to lie and say that I enjoyed it

[Julio The Fox]

Aristotle's great achievement was in applying psychology to ethics, and thus discovering reasons behind human actions, for good and evil. His contention that "no one does evil except out of ignorance" asks us to pause and consider before we pass judgment on the moral flaws of others. From here we may make a connection to presumed innocence before the law and trial by jury. Aristotle: father of Anglo-Saxon justice. It would take another sage, Kant, to take a giant leap forward in establishing the concept of "positive evil", born out of a willful rejection of society itself. This is the genius of Western civilization, in having mental monarchs battle for the soul of man.

[William Craig]

Early and important exposition of a virtue theory of ethics - that "the good" means "the pursuit of virtue" in an objective sense; as opposed to command-based theories or subjectivist theories. In very short terms, virtue is defined as a properly ordered medium between two vices - e.g. bravery is the proper medium between cowardice and rashness. Quite understandable as far as ancient philosophy goes, as long as you get a handle on a handful of technical terms. Discussions on various topics like bravery, friendship, love, pleasure, and the intellect remain valuable for contemplating ethics.

[Winkiverse]

we read this in Moral Philosophy class but i didn’t understand the depth of it until i re-studied it for the final. Now, a couple months after taking this course i can confidently say this book has honestly helped me navigate some personal problems i’ve had, i constantly look back and read fragments and it really speaks to me how virtue is built (book iii) and i think it’s beautiful the way he depicted friendships in the later books. big slay.

[Scott Hoopes]

Foundational for any thought about virtue. Any virtue taken to an exteme becomes a vice. Virtues do not exist in isolation, but in supportive groupings. Essential to understand the wrong-headedness of so many appeals to isolated virtues.

[Claudia Dalmau]

I’ll probs re read it again in the future

[Gi Ma]

The best treatise on ethics

[Atlas]

fab intro to ethics

[Uzair Rasool]

The geometry lesson was unnecessary

[Ally Kaakoush]

POLI 201 Class
Ethical questions: man in a dark cave
Don't remember much

[Brennan]

He made sense at least….still boring….

[Ken Reese]

Deep pragmatic philosophy at its best.

[Z]

yep

[Ellie Fei]

Very important book that includes a lot of philosophical ideas from the ancient period.

[Vers Alexandrí]

optimista y realista, con personalidad, plot twists y laberintos divertidos de cosas cotidianas; este libro me pone de buen humor

[Seth Johnson]

It’s so interesting to see how the greatest thinkers of this ancient time tried to make sense of the world around the given context they found themselves in. Aristotle in the Nichomachean Ethics seems really to be a moral anti-realist by saying things like morals are customs of a given region in the early chapters, yet tries to formulate a way to ground good, bad, virtues, justice, etc. objectively, which often fails under hard scrutiny which likely is due to their inability to see the world any other way. Because of this Aristotle seems to be rationalizing much of his claims through vibes alone, albeit, very thorough and well thought through vibes. Very insightful and interesting, nonetheless.