Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics | In Our Time: Philosophy

Intro

In this episode of “In Our Time: Philosophy,” the discussion revolves around Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, a seminal work that explores the concepts of happiness and how to live a good life. Aristotle, a renowned philosopher born in 387 BCE, studied under Plato and went on to develop his own unique philosophical ideas. The Nicomachean Ethics, although challenging to interpret, provides valuable insights into Aristotle’s philosophy and its relevance to ethics and virtue.

Main Takeaways

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

• Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics addresses the questions of happiness and how to live a good life, which have fascinated philosophers for over two millennia.
• The text is challenging to interpret due to its condensed, elliptical, and ambiguous nature, but it is a valuable resource for understanding Aristotle’s philosophy.

Structure and Themes of the Work

• The work is a two-part series that leads into politics, as the author believes ethics is a branch of politics.
• The structure of the work is divided into 10 books, which cover various aspects of ethics and virtues.
• The author focuses on the highest good, happiness, and virtue, and delves into individual virtues and the virtuous life.
• The work also discusses intellectual virtues, puzzles about weakness of will, pleasure, and friendship.

Aristotle’s Philosophy

• Aristotle’s philosophy focuses on living well and the concept of the good.
• He believes the good is an attribute of different things and is expressed in many ways.
• Aristotle defines ethics as the activity of the soul in accordance with excellence.
• He emphasizes rational excellences as what distinguishes humans from animals and plants.

The Role of Virtue and Happiness

• Virtue and happiness are interconnected, with one being as important as the other.
• Aristotle builds on Plato’s work, developing certain ideas and disagreeing with Plato on the importance of family and community in ethics.
• Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is innovative in its disagreement with Plato and its emphasis on the importance of family and community in ethics.

Practical Wisdom and Virtue

• Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom, or Frenesis, is essential for achieving virtue.
• Virtues are mean points between excess and deficiency in feeling or action.
• Virtue is achieved through habituation and repeating correct actions.
• Understanding secures and grounds virtue.

Achieving Eudaimonia

• Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia focuses on achieving the best possible fulfillment of human faculties, particularly rational faculties.
• Practical reasoning is key to achieving eudaimonia, and it involves habituating oneself into doing the right actions and feeling the right things.
• Aristotle acknowledges that achieving eudaimonia can be a matter of chance, influenced by factors like wealth and social status.

The Importance of Friendship

• Aristotle emphasizes the crucial importance and necessity of friendship for happiness.
• Humans are social animals and must live together in political communities.
• Friendship is intertwined with virtue and is essential for living a complete life.
• Aristotle distinguishes between selfishness and self-love, emphasizing the importance of valuing oneself and one’s friend.

Relevance and Contemporary Perspectives

• Aristotle’s work has been hugely important over the last two and a half thousand years, with his ethics continuing to be studied and relevant in contemporary philosophy.
• Contemporary analytic philosophy has seen a resurgence in interest in Aristotle’s virtue theory and virtue ethics.
• Philosophical ethics in the last century focused more on abstract duties and rules, neglecting character and personality.
• Neo-Aristotelian thinkers have brought back the virtues, leading to a movement towards contemporary virtue theory and ethics.

Summary

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: Exploring Happiness and Virtue

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is a renowned work that delves into the questions of happiness and how to live a good life. The text, although challenging to interpret, provides valuable insights into Aristotle’s philosophy and its relevance to ethics and virtue. The work is divided into 10 books and covers various aspects of ethics and virtues, including the highest good, happiness, and virtue. Aristotle’s philosophy focuses on living well and the concept of the good, with an emphasis on rational excellences that distinguish humans from animals and plants.

Practical Wisdom and Virtue: Achieving Moral Excellence

Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom, or Frenesis, plays a crucial role in achieving virtue. Virtues are mean points between excess and deficiency in feeling or action, and they are achieved through habituation and repeating correct actions. Understanding secures and grounds virtue, while practical wisdom is used to moderate responses to circumstances. Aristotle’s philosophy highlights the importance of character development, which is within our control but cannot be altered beyond a certain point. Virtues as means offer the best account of virtues, and human life can be separated into spheres with right ways to act and feel.

Achieving Eudaimonia: The Fulfillment of Human Faculties

Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia focuses on achieving the best possible fulfillment of human faculties, particularly rational faculties. Practical reasoning is key to achieving eudaimonia, and it involves habituating oneself into doing the right actions and feeling the right things. Aristotle acknowledges that achieving eudaimonia can be influenced by factors like wealth and social status, and the role of fortune or luck plays a significant part. Aristotle’s philosophy aims to describe a way of life free from luck, exemplified by Socrates who lived immune from luck despite external circumstances.

The Importance of Friendship: Essential for Happiness

Aristotle emphasizes the crucial importance and necessity of friendship for happiness. Humans are social animals and must live together in political communities, and friendship is intertwined with virtue and is essential for living a complete life. Aristotle distinguishes between selfishness and self-love, highlighting the importance of valuing oneself and one’s friend. Deep affectionate ties lead to complete friendships, where the friend is seen as another self. Friends help each other deliberate and make decisions, leading to the development of virtues. Aristotle’s work on friendship is considered some of the most beautiful parts of his philosophy.

Relevance and Contemporary Perspectives

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics has had a significant impact over the last two and a half thousand years and continues to be studied and relevant in contemporary philosophy. Contemporary analytic philosophy has seen a resurgence of interest in Aristotle’s virtue theory and virtue ethics, reflecting a movement towards contemporary virtue theory and ethics. Neo-Aristotelian thinkers have brought back the virtues, challenging the focus on abstract duties and rules in philosophical ethics. Aristotle’s ideas on virtue and ethics are being worked through and applied in various fields, including legal studies and ethics.

Conclusion

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics provides valuable insights into the concepts of happiness and how to live a good life. The work explores various aspects of ethics, virtues, practical wisdom, and the importance of friendship. Aristotle’s philosophy focuses on living well and achieving the best possible fulfillment of human faculties. His ideas have had a lasting impact and continue to be studied and relevant in contemporary philosophy, particularly in the resurgence of interest in virtue theory and ethics. Understanding Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics offers a deeper understanding of ethics and the pursuit of a good life.