The Role Of Virtue In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

This paper will focus on Aristotle’s claim that happiness is an activity and not just a momentary pleasure. Skeptics claim happiness is a state of mind and Aristotle is wrong to claim that happiness is an ongoing pursuit a person must actively strive for during one’s life. This paper argues that Aristotle is correct when he states that happiness is an activity, the central purpose of human life and a goal in itself that individuals strive for throughout the entirety of their lifetime and ultimately attain rather than a feeling a person experiences at any given moment. First, Aristotle’s view of happiness will be explained and then I will present objections to Aristotle’s claim that happiness is an activity. Lastly, I will address the

Aristotle’s view of virtue ethics is approached in his work Nicomachean Ethics, in which he argues that when an individual undertakes some form of action it is for an end purpose, and that the ultimate end of all ends is the chief good, the greatest good. This chief good is believed to be what Aristotle calls ‘Eudaimonia’ (meaning what makes a person truly happy) which is and should be the goal to be pursued in life by all persons. This is argued to be achieved by virtuous action and by practising the virtuous means, so that it becomes a habit (but also right), in order to become happy and live good lives. Aristotle highlights twelve golden/virtuous means (the midway point between the vices of excess and deficiency) which are as follows; courage;

The pursuit of happiness is a timeless and ageless endeavor. Since the beginning of time people have searched far and wide for the source of happiness. Even the greatest minds attempt to discover the basis of all human contentment. The father of philosophy, Socrates, was one of those few that might have unearthed the key to human happiness. His understanding shaped the way that the western world sees pleasure, joy, and happiness. His views on how to obtain them are still alive today.

In Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the ultimate human goal or end is happiness. Aristotle then describes steps required for humans to obtain the ultimate happiness. He also states that activity is an important requirement of happiness. A virtuous person takes pleasure in doing virtuous things. He then goes on to say that living a life of virtue is something pleasurable in itself. The role of virtue to Aristotle is an important one, with out it, it seems humans cannot obtain happiness. Virtue is the connection one has to happiness and how they should obtain it. My goal in this paper is to connect Aristotle’s book of Nicomachean Ethics to my own reasoning of self-ethics. I

Kurosawa’s Ikiru (1952) portrays a powerful representation of what it means to live a full life. In this film we witness a strong correlation with Aristotle’s philosophy of happiness and virtue. In this paper, we will examine both the film and Aristotle’s meaning of true happiness and critically analyze how both are related.  Aristotle’s views on happiness can be complex, and is no easy approach when it comes to obtaining it which will be discussed in this paper thru the works of Aristotle in The Nicomachean Ethics and Vanier’s Made for Happiness along side Ikiru’s characters and plot.

In his Nicomachean ethics, Aristotle argues that happiness is the chief good. He says that not all ends of actions are final ends, but that the chief good is something final. Because it’s the final end, or the chief good, we perform many different actions in order to achieve it and it is more desirable than all of the actions or goals that come before it. In any situation where we are working towards happiness, it is always the end goal, never the in-between. No one aims for happiness because it will open more doors in the future, but solely because it is desirable and thought to be a much sought-after end state.

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents the reader with a guide to living a good life. He claims the “highest good” is happiness, and the way to obtain it is through the use of reason. In order to better comprehend Aristotle’s ideas regarding happiness, we will explain his conception of eudaimonia and excellence through rational activity. Then, we will examine this concept of rational activity in relation to the aristotelian concept of self-sufficiency. At the end of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers a seemingly divergent point of view. However, we will argue that these final reflections on happiness describe the best way to experience a good life.

Human beings spend a lifetime finding the meaning of life and what makes us happy. In Aristotle’s Nicomachean’s Ethics, Aristotle gives his own wisdom to his son, Nicomachean on how to achieve the end goal of life which is happiness. He explores this virtue of happiness through many other characteristics and virtues. One of the characteristics, Aristotle explores for one to be happy is moderation. Overindulgence in food, sex, and drinks can lead to dangers in one’s life. To obtain happiness and live a complete life, one must be moderate.

Aristotle’s first book in the Nicomachean Ethics, tackles the pursuit and function of man. Aristotle believes that because of mans rationality and intelligence, there must be one great purpose to all that we do. It cannot be something as basic as the gratification of pleasure since we are superior creatures, and it must be something beyond each sole virtue since there is not a complete end in themselves. Aristotle comes to the conclusion that this final end or “good”, must be happiness and uses the first book in the series to not only state his theory, but to also be a guide so that the reader may live a good life and earn the final and self- fulfilling good on to which all their actions aim.

Aristotle’s thoughts on ethics conclude that all humans must have a purpose in life in order to be happy. I believe that some of the basics of his ideas still hold true today. This essay points out some of those ideas.

Aristotle presents a system of virtue ethics in Nicomachean Ethics. This work presents a prescriptive theory with the aim of showing how humans may reach a proper state of happiness in which the natural human end is fulfilled. This end is regarded as an end in itself to which subordinate ends are related. This master end itself is understood as a type of activity rather than a state that can be achieved with a limited series of actions, and this activity is described as a general practice of acting well in accord with reason. The Ethics launches an inquiry into what makes human happiness, or eudaimonia, possible, and

Pleasure plays an essential part in Aristotle’s philosophy of living the virtuous life. Throughout his book “Nicomachean Ethics”, Aristotle outlines how one must live to achieve the moral, virtuous life. Not only does he explain the many virtues, and how they should be applied to life but also delves into how pleasure plays a part in this as well. Aristotle makes the argument that pleasure and pain are linked to living the virtuous life, the reactions humans have to these two, must be examined through practical wisdom to determine how it applies to if a person is living the virtuous life.

He argued that everything in the world had a purpose, and he goes on to explain that the ultimate purpose to human life is happiness. He clarifies that happiness is not a state of pleasure, in which we associate it with today; it is rather the continuous use of virtue. Happiness depends on the exercise of reason according to one’s soul, and we can see this kind of thinking when reading the Nicomachean Ethics, especially when reading what Aristotle describes as happiness, …the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity implies a rational principle, and the function of a good man is the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, then happiness turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. (Nicomachean Ethics, 1098a13). It is to develop a moral character in which many of life’s virtues are acquired, such as justice, friendship, courage, and much more. It cannot be entirely achieved until death is upon man since happiness is a goal and not a temporary state of being. Happiness is something that all humans desire for the sake of itself, not for any other reason. It is not something that can easily be taken away from humans since it is an end result rather than a temporary state of being. Aristotle argues that

My moral philosophy is what you put in you get back. For example, I put into my life my thoughts, my beliefs and my behaviors. What I get back from this is my reality that my thoughts, beliefs and behaviors have created. In my philosophy like Aristotle, I believe in Aristotle’s views on happiness and human flourishing with his philosophy. (Aristotle 4) I also believe in some of Kant’s philosophy through his concept of its our duty to live up to our highest moral capacity. (Kant 3) I believe it will make the world a better place in the sense that if everyone decides to “put in” good things then the world will be a better place. The negative to that is that if someone decides to “put in” negative things then they will receive negative results. Most people will strive for positive results so we will end up with a better world because more people will put in positive things trying to achieve better things.

people are happy then they are doing what is good in life or, at least they are doing what is good for their specific life. Aristotle’s beach bum analogy works perfect to support this theory that happiness is the highest influence. He claimed that a beach dumb does not do anything productive all day, but lay on the beach and soak up sunrays, many people view that as a waste of life. However, Aristotle argues that it is not a waste of life because people naturally want what makes them happy. Most people view getting a job and working hard to gain money as happiness likewise, the beach bum is achieving happiness in his own way by choosing to do what he/she enjoys doing, soaking up sunrays rather than making money. This can be applied why Aristotle would choose option 1 with the fire detector dilemma. One should not force people to buy one fire detector over the other rather, allow them to choose what they want. By making both fire detectors people can choose what fire detector best fits them, what makes them happy whether that be a cheaper fire alarm that works most of the time or opting for a more expensive model that works even better. Allowing for choices, Aristotle would say is ethical.