Preview

The Pursuit Of Virtue In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
153 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Pursuit Of Virtue In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics focuses on an ultimate goal all human actions should aim towards. What Aristotle clearly states is that virtue should be the what all human strive for. Virtue, as described by Aristotle, is a middle ground in-between two extremes. Ultimately, all human actions should lead to happiness. We as humans need to discover the nature of our happiness. As describe by Aristotle, virtue is made of two parts intellectual and moral.According to Aristotle, the moral portion we are born with, it is not something we can be taught. Therefore, human happiness lies within our soul. Aristotle also states that virtue basically comes down to choice. One should not take a black and white approach to life. It is also important to
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

    not teaching them better. While one might have been raised to know the difference between the right and wrong, who the person begins to associate himself with could change his/ her moral character. In The Nicomachean Ethics without virtues one can not be happy so a life lived making morally wrong decisions is a life that will not see happiness according to Aristotle. An example that best proves Aristotle’s thinking is one of a man losing his dog at a local park. The man searches all over for his dog, but his dog is nowhere to be seen. After hours of searching the man returns home. The dog did in fact run away, but a young mom and her two daughters stopped the dog before it can go any further. Attempting to find who the owner of the dog is,…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To What Extent Do Modern Versions of Virtue Ethics Address the Weaknesses of Aristotle’s Teachings on Virtue?
    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To What Extent Do Modern Versions of Virtue Ethics Address the Weaknesses of Aristotle’s Teachings on Virtue?

    Aristotle’s idea of Virtue Ethics was influenced by his belief that all things and all humans have a purpose (a telos). For him a complete explanation of something has to include its final cause or purpose which essentially is to realise its potential. Virtue Ethics itself is concerned with the characteristics of a person rather than how a person behaves and it is this he outlined in his book Nicomachean Ethics. A ‘’virtue’’ are qualities that lead to a good life e.g. courage and honesty. Aristotle explains for a person to adopt these qualities into their own lives is to maximise their potential to achieve a happy life and he goes on to explain Eudaimonia as being a quality of this happiness.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Is Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Annotated
    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages

    What Is Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Annotated

    Sources A., Ross, W., & Brown, L. (2009). The Nicomachean Ethics (Oxford world's classics). Oxford: Oxford University Press. In this book, Aristotle, the philosopher, writes…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle's Theory Of Moral Virtue
    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page

    Aristotle's Theory Of Moral Virtue

    Aristotle accepts the individual choices and experiences of people and was more concerned with virtue ethics. He doesn't have an idea of free will. Along with Socrates, Aristotle believes that someone may know what the best outcome is and still do wrong, but draws the line between happiness and moral virtue. This includes depression and unhappiness. The world has moral meaning. He explains that moral virtue does not mean the end of life. His theory is that happiness is the end of life, which comes together with reason. Virtue is a state of personality that has to do with someone’s choice.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eth/316 Ethics Research Paper
    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Eth/316 Ethics Research Paper

    C. in Athens, Greece, it focuses primarily on personal character and the development of certain virtuous character traits. To act well in various circumstances by doing the right thing is the center focus of a person’s character traits as in their self-control, courage, wisdom, honesty and respect that makes the person what they are over time. This life of a virtuously ethical person emphasizes achieving human excellence by always doing the right thing, the mere meaning of virtue from both the Latin and Greek culture means “excellence”, to be a model citizen and is founded on the assumption that the purpose of life was to achieve happiness and fulfillment. Aristotle though, has the most prolific virtue ethics theory, he held that understanding the meaning of a virtue was necessary but not sufficient to make one virtuous and that there are many specific virtues: intellectual, and moral, whereas moral virtues are those we would need in order to conduct affairs in daily life such as self-control, courage, gentleness and wittiness. Intellectual virtue reflects what is unique and important about human nature, human reasoning and rationality, calmness, wisdom and knowledge to name a few. Virtue ethics is the embodiment of being all you can be by making the most of our talents and…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arguments And Ideas In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Arguments And Ideas In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

    Business seeks to create happiness for all stakeholders through the production of products and services that establish value for customers. However are the business decisions “right” or “ethical”? With relevance to business, Aristotle suggests three main arguments and ideas in the Nicomachean Ethics. First, appropriate virtues of character are the important principle in ethics that allows a person to be truly ethical and only through practicing and honing into these virtues does one exhibit sound moral judgement. Secondly, Aristotle places great emphasis on how positive and active communities are essential to nurture appropriate virtues. Lastly, guidance from successful ethical and moral leaders is essential to disseminate an appropriate depiction…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle's Theory Of Virtue Ethic
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Aristotle's Theory Of Virtue Ethic

    Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves. Aristotle is the main philosopher of Virtue Ethic. Aristotle’s writings have been read more or less continuously since ancient times, and his ethical treatises continue to influence philosophers working today.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Aristotle's Virtue Ethics
    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Aristotle's Virtue Ethics

    In this essay, with all the information I have gathered from the readings and lectures, I will be discussing an essential concept of Aristotle’s virtue ethics; his “doctrine of the mean”. I will provide a detailed explanation of Aristotle’s mean, how it is meant to be applied when making decisions, provide arguments from various sources that agree with the main concept of the “doctrine of the mean” and with all of the information gathered, I will prove that this doctrine is extremely useful to people when it comes to making moral decisions in life.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Saint Thomas Aquinas The Second Treatise Of Government
    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Saint Thomas Aquinas The Second Treatise Of Government

    In “Nicomachean Ethics,” Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices. Moral virtue is learned through habit and practice rather than through reasoning and instruction. Virtue is defined as having the proper attitude toward pain and pleasure. Aristotle lists the principle virtues along with their corresponding vices and believes that a virtuous person exhibits all of the virtues, not as distinct qualities but as different aspects of a virtuous…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Phi 160
    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Phi 160

    Aristotle one of a great thinkers left a great philosophical logic that is still being learned today. Born in Stagira, Greece Aristotle started as a student of Plato to become a tutor of Alexander the Great. In Nicomachean Ethics, book written by Aristotle’s, he explains virtues and how happiness is the means by which human beings have moral virtues. The debate whether virtue or vice should determine happiness is what Aristotle simplifies for us. Happiness should be determined by the activities human beings, virtuous or not, do in order to be happy within themselves.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle's Niconmachean Ethics
    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Aristotle's Niconmachean Ethics

    He states that if happiness comes from human cultivation, it can be easily shared and almost everybody could be able to achieve it. This is the basis for his strong belief that this is a better way to receive happiness. At one point he even writes, “it would be seriously inappropriate to entrust what is greatest and finest to fortune.” Citing this strong preference for human agency based happiness, Aristotle declares that this is how humans achieve happiness. He then remarks that this explanation dovetails well with the definition of happiness – the activity of the soul expressing virtue, with necessary and useful goods - he put forward earlier. In turn, since happiness depends on the virtue, which needs to be cultivated, teaching citizens virtue (political science) must be the best good. So this line of reasoning bolsters his conclusion that political science is the best…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Social Responsibility
    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Social Responsibility

    In Aristotle’s theory of morality, Nicomachean Ethics, he surmises that all human activities aim at some end or good. There are three types of good, sensual (pleasure), political (noble virtues for citizens), of life of thought (contemplation) (Arthur & Scalet, 2009, p. 51). He states “every scientific inquiry, and similarly every action and purpose may be said to aim at some good”. What he is saying is that everything has an end point which is something good. Everything we want to accomplish is for some good. The ends are many, and he goes on to say the end of the medical art I health, the end of the shipbuilding is a vessel, the end of strategy is victory, and the end of economics is wealth. One piece, to point out is Aristotle states there is a final end. For example some may think of money as an end, however, without something to purchase, money is meaningless. Working for example is an action not a goal, work is not the good, so what is the supreme end, what are you working to attain? “Perhaps happiness is the supreme good” (Arthur & Scalet, 2009, p. 52).…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle Virtue Analysis
    • 1765 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Aristotle Virtue Analysis

    In this paper, I will examine Aristotle's understanding of virtue and his explanation of virtuous actions as presented in Nicomachean Ethics. In Book II of the work, Aristotle distinguishes between moral virtues, which are learned through habit and practice, and intellectual virtues, which are learned through instruction. However, it is not until later in Book II that Aristotle actually defines virtue. He opens Chapter 5 with, "Next we must consider what virtue is" (35) and at its end asserts that virtue is a state of character. Therefore, the conclusion of the whole argument is: Virtue is a state of character.…

    • 1765 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle Virtue Theory
    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Aristotle Virtue Theory

    Aristotle Virtues Theory talks about doing the right thing because it is rights. Not doing the right thing because it benefits you or because something of your personal is at stake. It is also about understanding right from wrong and applying that knowledge to moral behavior. Aristotle believed that when making a decision morals tend to take over in more cases than none. The decisions that we make has to do with having the knowledge of understanding right from wrong. He also say that the right decisions we make in life is to help us find a level ground or achieve good balance in our lives. Aristotle theory also talked about the consequence behind our actions. He said that the good or bad outcome of our actions are not relevant. People who make decisions do not usually think bout the consequences behind their actions. They usually just act.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Virtue Ethics
    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Virtue Ethics

    Aristotle was one of the founders of the theory of virtue. He thought that a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics