Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

Basic biographical information about Aristotle

• Aristotle lived from 384-322 BCE• He studied in Athens under Plato

but was originally from Stagira in northern Greece; his father was a medical doctor at the Macedonian court

• He had very diverse interests (biology, logic, physics, ethics, politics, etc.)

• He later taught Alexander the Great

• He was married and had two children, including a son named Nicomachus

Virtue Ethics before Aristotle• Plato, e.g., emphasized the

importance of the four cardinal virtues (courage, temperance, prudence, and justice) working together in order to achieve the highest good, which is the right cultivation of the soul (a life of contemplation and wisdom)

Aristotle and teleology• Aristotle’s ethics is teleological in character

• He believes that every action is aimed at some end or goal (i.e., telos)

• Accomplishing that end or goal is the aim of an action or activity

• What makes a thing what it is, is the goal that is aimed at

• For example, building a house is the goal of a house builder

• Or playing the flute in order to make music is the goal of a flute player

Things may have different functions or purposes but generally each thing has one defining characteristic function (or ergon)

• For instance, the characteristic function of a housebuilder is building houses while the characteristic function of a flute player is playing the flute

• The better one carries out these tasks – e.g., building a house well –is also an important factor; that conveys excellence (or arête)

• Excellence in accomplishing some end or goal distinguishes one person from another with respect to some end or goal

What is a human being’s characteristic function?

• Even human life has a characteristic function

• It is connected to a human being’s end or purpose

• Aristotle asks, what is the end or goal or purpose of human life?

• Aristotle says the end of human life is happiness (Eudaimonia), or a state of well-being or flourishing

• He says that everyone agrees about this

• What they do not agree on, though, is about what happiness consists of

• Aristotle reviews some possible answers

A life of pleasure?• Many people say that happiness

consists of a life of pleasure

• Aristotle, though, says that this is not true

• A life of pleasure is not unique to humans

• It is not the characteristic function of humans

• After all, other animals can have a life of pleasure

A Life of Wealth?• Wealth is not an end in itself

• Important though it is, wealth is more of a means to an end

• It helps us to flourish (be happy) but it is not enough by itself

• In fact, too much of a concern with acquiring and keeping wealth could impede progress toward real human happiness

Honor?• Other people say that happiness is

found in honor

• Politicians especially say this

• Aristotle, though, says that honor is not an end in itself

• It requires other people to grant it or recognize it

• Surely, says Aristotle, someone could live in a state of well-being or fulfillment without needing others to honor them

The characteristic function of humans is the use of reason• Reason is the faculty which

distinguishes humans from other kinds of life

• It enables us to improve our soul and achieve a life of happiness

• Aristotle goes further and says that the human good is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue (arête)

The different kinds of virtue• There are two kinds of virtue,

intellectual virtue and moral virtue

• Intellectual virtue is something we can be taught

• A moral virtue, in contrast, can only be acquired by means of practice, through habits, which become dispositions of the soul

• Some examples of intellectual virtue are wisdom, intelligence and understanding

• Some examples of moral virtue are courage and temperance

The moral virtues are typically a mean between two extremes, excess and defect

• For example, courage lies between cowardice (a defect) and rashness (an excess)

• Aristotle argues that in most instances, the goal is to find the mean

Key role of the virtues in Aristotle’s ethical system

• Virtue = “a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, i.e., the mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it”

• The cultivation of the virtues enables man to develop the character traits necessary to live a life of well-being and happiness

Influence of Aristotle’s ethical theory

• Aristotle had considerable influence on medieval thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas (see the latter’s Commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics)

• The study of Aristotle has also led to a revival of virtue ethics in the late 20th and early 21st century (see e.g., Philippa Foot, Elizabeth Anscombe, Rosalind Hursthouse and AlisdairMacIntyre)

Differences among defenders of virtue ethics, esp. regarding the universality of the virtues• Some, like Martha Nussbaum or

Rosalind Hursthouse, argue that the virtues apply to all societies, current and earlier

• Others like Alisdair MacIntyre(described as contextualists) maintain that what constitutes virtues changes over time and may differ from one culture to another. MacIntyre holds that in the Homeric Age cunning and strength were among the central virtues whereas during the Athenian Golden Age prudence and wisdom were more important

Comparison of virtue ethics with two other major types of ethical theories, consequentialism and rule-based ethics (i,.e., deontology)