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Nicomachean Ethics Introduction

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores the concept of eudaimonia, which is the highest good and equated with living well or flourishing, distinct from the modern notion of momentary happiness. He emphasizes the importance of virtue and reason in achieving a good life, suggesting that our pursuit of happiness is inherently social and benefits others as well. The text contrasts Aristotle's systematic prose with Plato's more dramatic style, inviting readers to engage with Aristotle's philosophical inquiries.

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6 views1 page

Nicomachean Ethics Introduction

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores the concept of eudaimonia, which is the highest good and equated with living well or flourishing, distinct from the modern notion of momentary happiness. He emphasizes the importance of virtue and reason in achieving a good life, suggesting that our pursuit of happiness is inherently social and benefits others as well. The text contrasts Aristotle's systematic prose with Plato's more dramatic style, inviting readers to engage with Aristotle's philosophical inquiries.

Uploaded by

markcheung04
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Friendship and Happiness

– the Nicomachean Ethics

What makes a life worth living? How do I live my life well? Aristotle (384-322 BCE) offers a systematic
inquiry into these questions in the Nicomachean Ethics. He proposes that all human actions seek some good.
Among the many goods, the highest and the most complete one is eudaimonia, a Greek word that means doing
well, living well, or flourishing. Eudaimonia is final, complete, and self-sufficient; that is, having attained it, we
need to pursue no further. It is eudaimonia that makes a life worth living.

Eudaimonia is most widely translated into happiness in English. In modern usage, happiness suggests a
momentary feeling of pleasure. Eudaimonia is different from this modern understanding of happiness in that it is
defined not by our feelings at particular moments, but by our continuous pursuit that lasts a lifetime (1098a20).
The Aristotelian idea of happiness can be summarized in this analogy from the Nicomachean Ethics, “One
swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day.” (1098a20)

To pursue happiness, we need to examine virtue (or excellence, Greek aretē). Aristotle’s idea of virtue has a
wider application than our modern understanding. For instance, plants’ virtue is to grow well. Human beings are
plantlike in that they, too, share the capacity to grow, but this capacity plays no part in determining whether a
human being is living well or not. Human beings excel in a different way; we reason for ourselves what our
goals would be in life, and pursue them spontaneously. This is precisely what distinguishes human beings as
such. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explains these ideas by the functional argument (1097b25-1098a20).
Here, function (Greek ergon) means characteristic task and activity. Human beings’ “proper function” (1098a) (or
what is essential to them as human beings) is to perform activities guided by reason throughout their whole
lifetime. The function of good human beings is to perform these activities well.

If virtue is examined in terms of an individual’s life, is our pursuit of the good life an egoistic one?
Aristotle proposes that what is good for one person may also benefit others. Since by nature, we are social
(sometimes translated as political) beings, we need friends. When we live with fine friends who take fine
actions, our virtues remain active and we receive “training in virtue” (1170a10). This explains the theme we
ascribe to our selection, “Friendship and Happiness”.

Reading Aristotle after Plato’s dramatic dialogue, we leap into a stylistically different world. While Plato’s
Symposium is marked by its lively characterization and literary expression, Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics,
presents his ideas in prose, which typically takes us from some common beliefs or puzzling phenomena to a set
of questions and their explication, and eventually resolving them. As you walk through Aristotle’s path, feel for
yourself its grain and texture, and decide for yourself if it is the good that you would seek.

The translation we use is by J.A.K. Thomson. It is chosen primarily because of its accessibility to modern
readers.
Yeung Yang

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