The Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle suggests we are to fulfil what is highest in our nature, and rather than doing this in the way that Plato encourages (through the contemplation of lofty, eternal Ideas), we should instead use our reason to work out the best thing to do in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Aristotle described his ethical system in his Nicomachean Ethics, which he wrote for his son. It’s an engaging read, surprisingly immediate and accessible in a way that many of these ancient texts are. This was an era when ethical philosophy existed only to provoke real changes in real people, and the language used was not only agreeable but very o

These inclinations include a powerful bias in favour of virtue and the good (the only truly advantageous thing), a natural affiliation with other human beings (our basic social nature), and our attachment to reason and truth.

the life of “noble and good men,” that is, men who are truly happy, is “pleasant in itself” (1099a7). For such men, pleasure is not a mere “appendage,” something to be pursued apart from their engagement in activities in accordance with virtue. On the contrary, the good man’s pleasure is natural.

So now we must understand the nature of virtue. There are two kinds of virtue, says Aristotle: those of mind, and those of character. The virtues of mind further subdivide into ‘practical wisdom’ and ‘theoretical wisdom’.