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According to Aristotle, the goal of ethics is to explain how one achieves the
good life for human beings. Aristotle considers the good for man to
be eudaimonia, which is most often translated as happiness. He argues that the
good for man, (i.e., eudaimonia), is achieved by means of virtuous activity.
Very roughly, he thinks that living virtuously is the best way of securing a
happy (or eudaimon) life. His idea is that by possessing certain characteristics
such as courage and wisdom, one will be equipped with the skills necessary to
live well and succeed in living the best possible life one’s circumstances will
permit. It is noteworthy, then, that Aristotle’s theory is based around the notion
of virtue rather than right action. It is concerned foremost with the states of a
good person (virtues and vices), rather than which actions are right and which
are wrong. This is not to say that he neglects right action, but only that he is
most centrally concerned with virtuous character.
Now, given this brief characterization, it is easy to see why Aristotle’s theory is
usually regarded as a teleological morality. This is because Aristotle says that
virtuous activity is activity which enables a person to live the good and happy
life. In this respect, the concept of a virtue is that of which enables its possessor
to achieve a certain goal, namely happiness. This makes it reasonable to regard
Aristotle’s theory as a teleological moral theory; and much the same applies to
the other Greek moral philosophers