ARISTOTLE

NICOMACHEAN
ETHICS
 ARISTOTLE
384-322 BCE
Greek philosopher He was known, in his
who pioneered time, as "the man who
systematic, scientific knew everything", and,
examination in later, as ”The
literally every area of Philosopher”
human knowledge.

Aristotle composed
At age 17 he was sent
most of his 200
to Athens to enroll in
works, of which only
Plato’s Academy.
31 survive.
 NICOMACHEAN ETHICS

• The name Nicomachean was given to the Ethics in honor

of either Aristotle's son or his father, both of whom were
named Nicomachus.

• Considered the most important ethical treatise in the

Western philosophical tradition.

• The Nicomachean Ethics connects virtue to political

science and shows his diverse love of wisdom.
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 “Every art and every inquiry, every
TELEOLOGICAL
action and every choice, seems to aim
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
at some good; whence the good has
rightly been defined as that at which
all things
The Greek wordaim”TELOS means
“end”, “goal”, or “purpose”.

ULTIMATE GOOD:
HAPPINESS
 TWO MAJOR KINDS OF ENDS:
INSTRUMENTAL END INTRINSIC END

Acts that are done as means Acts that are done for their
for other ends. own sake.
 spirit, inner knowing,
good, well
soul

EUDAIMONIA
“GOOD SOUL”
(n.) lit. “human flourishing”; a contented state of
being happy and healthy and prosperous.

HAPPINESS
 Function of Human Nature
ARETÉ
TO REASON Virtue and excellence,
including good character.
THEORETICAL
• Gives us knowledge
of fixed principles or
Philosophical Virtue is something
Wisdom. learned through
PRACTICAL constant practice
For Aristotle, we aspire that begins at a
• Gives us rational guide to become VIRTUE
to our moral action young age.
under the particular
circumstances in which HABIT
we find ourselves.
 Doctrine of the Mean
“Virtue exists as a mean state between the vicious extremes”

Aristotle observed that flourishing person/good person/wise

person exhibits behavior that is mean between two extremes.

Vice
Vice
VIRTUE
DEFICIENCY EXCESS
SHYNESS MODESTY SHAMELESS
Miss Narcissistic
opportunity
 PRACTICAL WISDOM

“To be VIRTUOUS, we need

PRACTICAL WISDOM but to have
PRACTICAL WISDOM we need to
understand HAPPINESS and VIRTUE”.
Ability to know and to act
on what is virtue and that
is called PRACTICAL
WISDOM
We must know the Mean and you
must know how to avoid Excess and
Deficiency.
 Friendship is essential to the virtuous life.
Friendship extends to many units of
society:
FRIENDSHIP
FAMILY

natural friendship
Happiness, according to
Aristotle, is a public affair, not POLITICS
a private one, so with whom
we share this happiness is of friendship is
great significance. "the justice that
is most just."
 TYPES OF FRIENDSHIP
Virtuous Friendship
wish good to each other
Friendship for Utility for the other person's own
sake, not for any kind of
Friendship for Pleasure gain.
focus on what
they can gain
from the other have fun being around
person. the other person but
do not really
appreciate their
character.
 1. What is the ultimate good in human
life?
2. What is the Greek word that means
END, GOAL, or PURPOSE?
3. It is an ability to know and act on
what is virtue?
4. It means good soul, happiness, or human flourishing.
5. Type of friendship that focus on what they can gain
from the other person.
6 – 7. Two (2) types of Reasoning
8- 9. Two (2) Vices/Extremes of the Golden Mean
10. Age of Aristotle when he was sent to Athens to study
on Plato’s Academy.

11 – 15.
Walking home from a Movie, you see a person being
mugged. With the use of doctrine of mean ,
what is the courageous action for you to take?