Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: Happiness and Virtue
Nicomachean Ethics, a work written by Aristotle in the fourth century BC, is one of the first treatises on ethics and morals preserved in Western philosophy. It is certainly the most comprehensive of Aristotelian ethics. It consists of ten books that are based on notes from his keynote presentations in the Lyceum. The work includes an analysis of the relationship between character, intelligence, and happiness. Along with the Judeo-Christian biblical message, it is one of the fundamental pillars upon which Western ethics was subsequently erected.
Nicomachean Ethics: A Systematic Treatise
The Nicomachean Ethics is the first systematic treatise on ethics. Plato wrote the Protagoras, a dialogue about virtue, and several of his other works contemplate happiness and ethics, but none consistently. Other contemporary philosophers Aristotle mentioned in this book, such as Speusippus and Eudoxus, from whom Aristotle takes his definition of good.
Virtue, Happiness, and the Human Purpose
Like Plato and Socrates, Aristotle argues that virtue helps us to pursue happiness and that it is the basis of ethics. Unlike Plato and Socrates, Aristotle taught that virtue is not direct knowledge but requires a habit, that happiness is not a state but an activity, and that pleasure is not happiness but a consequence of virtue. Especially, that man has an end in itself that is not totally absorbed by the state’s objectives. Here is the key to understanding the ethics of Aristotle: the purpose of the human act. Every act has a purpose, which is happiness, but you can search for this purpose in different things. Aristotle shows that the order must be specific to man, and this is contemplation, which helps virtue by necessity, since virtue is the medium that gives the individual the right reason. Contemplation is the most self-sufficient and stable act, and full happiness also requires pleasure. One aspect that comes into play, and that is not resolved at all directly in Chapter 7 of Book X, is immortality, which Aristotle alludes to several times in other parts too.
Aristotle’s Method
Aristotle’s method also differs from that of Plato, as he clearly defines from the start what he wants to do, offers counter-arguments, shows some problems, and then solves them. It is important to remember that Aristotle’s works were not books for publication but rather manuals or notes for teaching.
The Place of Nicomachean Ethics Among Aristotle’s Works
Among the works of Aristotle, the Nicomachean Ethics is the latest. Like Plato, in his youth, he wrote many dialogues, and all are lost. It certainly comes after the treaties of logic, since the Analytics are mentioned in VI, 3. Also, On the Soul shows a less precise thinking of the soul than this work, for what is believed to have been made previously. The Politics comes after, then X, 9 prepares it directly, based on VIII-IX, dealing with friendship. There are spurious works on ethics, the Magna Moralia, and such a work, but probably prior, Eudemian Ethics.
The Origin of the Name “Nicomachean Ethics”
It is outdated to consider that it was Aristotle himself who gave the name to his works. Note that Aristotle refers to the theme of which is treated as politics and studies it, never Ethics. As regards the name “Nicomachean,” it has long been interpreted as possessive, indicating either the recipient, the author, or the publisher. Today these assumptions are completely discarded, and in terms of “Nicomachean,” it is unthinkable today that Nicomachus is the son of Aristotle, even a suspected or known recipient to spend the work. Currently, the most prominent is the bet that tells us that both the name of Ethics and the adjectives were given by a third, probably Andronicus of Rhodes or perhaps later someone. In any case, it is unlikely to have more value than mere labels, which do not appear to be intended to distinguish other writings belonging to different eras and ideas.
The Essence of Ethics: Good and Happiness
Aristotle begins his work by defining the essence of ethics: good. With his usual inductive method, he gathers the views until then, those which relate to happiness, for that is “what we all seek.” In a parallel with the arts and skills, Aristotle will say that the good for man’s happiness consists in exercising his role as a man. Thus, based on the three provisions of the soul, Aristotle states that the function must be related to the rational soul, as are those of men. This introduced the concept of virtue, to be identified with the practice of good works. Aristotle states that the virtues are to be of two kinds:
- The so-called ethical virtues, moral or character, especially justice, coming from the soul of desire while this is due to reason.
- Virtues called dianoetic, intellectual or rational, which are means to achieve happiness and come from the rational soul itself.
He then shows how pleasure also has to do with happiness, and thus to ethics. Since man is social, he needs friends to achieve complete happiness. This leads to a final description of the happiness that will be that which is achieved by an activity consistent with the most exalted virtue.