Aristotle

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Aristotles Nichomachean Ethics(Books I, II,
and X)

• Honors 2101, Fall 2006
• Bryan Benham

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Aristotle (384-322)

• Originally from Macedon
• Arrived Athens in 367, Student of Plato
• Left Athens in 347, taught Alexander
• Returned to Athens 334, founded Lyceum
• Left Athens in 323, after death of Alexander
• Works on topics biology, physics, logic, music
  and art, politics, ethics, etc.
• Wrote dialogues, but only lecture notes survive
• Considered The Philosopher in Middle Ages

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Nichomachean Ethics

• A treatise on the nature of moral life and human
  happiness, based on the unique essence of human
  nature
• Continuous with the Politics, which discusses
  human happiness in the context of social and
  political structures
• Named after one of Aristotles sons who is
  thought to have edited it from lecture notes.

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Outline

• The Greatest Good Eudaimonia
• Eudaimonia and the Human Soul
• The Virtues
• The Golden Mean
• Justice (Book V and Politics)

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The Greatest Good Eudaimonia

• Every action aims at some good
• Some actions aim at an instrumental good
• Some actions aim at an ultimate good
• Ultimate goods are better than instrumental goods
• Instrumental goods (ends) are aimed at only
  insofar as they are for the sake of something
  else
• Ultimate goods (ends) are aimed at for their own
  sakes.

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Ultimate Good?

• Candidates
• Pleasure
• Wealth
• Fame Honor
• Happiness

• Critiques
• Transient, not complete
• Only instrumental, not self-sufficient
• Depends on others, not self-sufficient
• Complete and self-sufficient

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Happiness?

• Eudaimonia
• Well-being or doing well
• activity of the soul in accordance with virtue
  or excellence (EN I.7)
• More complete than merely feeling good or joyful
• Feeling well in all aspects of life

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Eudaimonia and the Human Soul

• Human happiness must be uniquely human, or a
  distinct human function.
• Consider the structure of the psyche
• nutritive, sensitive, and rational parts
• Which is uniquely human?
• Only the rational element is distinctive of
  humans.
• So, human happiness consists of a rationally
  directed lifea whole life

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Aristotles Tripartite Soul
Rational Humans Theoretical Practical Rational
Sensitive Animals Will Appetites Sensation Movement Partly-rational
Nutritive Plants Animative Generative Non-rational
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The Virtues

• A virtue (areté) is what makes one function well
  usually understood as a disposition or state of a
  person.
• Conditions for virtue fortune and success
• Basic necessities, good birth, friends, wealth,
  good looks, health, etc.
• Types of virtue
• Virtues of thought wisdom, comprehension, etc.
• Achieved through education and time
• Virtues of character generosity, temperance,
  courage, etc.
• Achieved by habitual practice
• Both should be in accord with reason and are
  needed for eudaimonia

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The Golden Mean

• Virtue is ruined by excess and deficiency (in
  feelings and action)
• Consider health
• So, is learned by the mean of excess and
  deficiency
• A balance or intermediate between extremes
• But a relative mean
• Not a geometric or arithmetic average
• A mean relative to the person, the circumstances,
  as well as the right emotional component (EN II.3
  and II.6)

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Courage

• The right action and emotional response in the
  face of danger
• Fool-heartiness or rashness is an excess of the
  emotional and/or proper action (doesnt properly
  appreciate the danger, not fearful)
• Cowardice is the deficiency of proper emotion
  (motive) and action (the danger is
  over-appreciated, too fearful)

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Some Virtues Means
Deficit Virtue Excess
Cowardice Courage Rashness
Insensible Temperance Self-indulgence
Meaness, stinginess Liberality or generosity Prodigiality, spendthrift
Mock-modesty Truthfulness boastfulness
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What?
Deficit Virtue Excess
? Magnificence (money matters) ?
Lazy ? Zealous
Undue Humility ? Vanity
? Pleasantness (Friendliness) ?
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What?
Deficit Virtue Excess
Niggardliness Magnificence (money matters) Tasteless or vulgarity
Lazy Proper Desire (ambitious?) Zealous
Undue Humility Proper Pride Vanity
Quarrelsome, surly Pleasantness (Friendliness) Obsequious. flatterer
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Others
Deficit Virtue Excess
Shameless Modesty Bashfulness
Envy Righteous Indignation Spite
Boorishness Witty Buffoonery

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Basic Model
Ends
Eudaimonia
Want
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Basic Model
Ends
Means?
?
Eudaimonia
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Basic Model
Ends
Means
Areté
Eudaimonia
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Basic Model
Ends
Means
Areté
Eudaimonia
Rationally guided, whole life complete with
emotion, intellect, action, sociality, etc.
A disposition or character trait (intellectual,
emotional) to choose or be motivated to actions
that are a relative intermediate between extremes
of excess and deficiency.
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Justice?

• Two types (V)
• Special justice or lawfulness relation between
  virtues
• General justice or distribution goods
  distributed in a population
• Parts Physis and Nomos (VI.7)
• Political justice is natural unchangeable or
  equally valid everywhere
• Legal justice is conventional changeable,
  different in relation to particular legal or
  political organizations.

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Concluding Remarks

• Compare Aristotles account of the virtuous life
  with Platos just person.
• Which is more accurate? Better?
• Which is a richer account?
• Compare Aristotles tripartite soul with Platos
  account
• Why is reason always the ruler?

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Some Paper Topics

• Compare Aristotles account of the virtuous life
  with Platos just person. Which is more accurate?
  Better? Which is a richer account? Are there any
  modern parallels to either view?
• Compare Aristotles tripartite soul with Platos
  account. Why is reason always the ruler? Do you
  agree?
• Aristotle argues that virtues are character
  traits (or emotional states) that are
  intermediate between extremes of excess and
  deficiency, and which lead to the good life. Pick
  a central virtue (such as courage or temperance)
  and describe how it fits with Aristotles theory
  of the golden mean. Then evaluate whether this
  virtue by itself can lead to the good life? If
  not, what other virtues are needed and why?
• Consider Aristotles theory of the virtues (the
  golden mean) in relation to the virtue(s) of
  Homeric or Biblical heroes. Are these views of
  virtue compatible? Explain. What are the
  different types of good life recommended by
  Aristotle, Homer, or other text we have read? Are
  any of these views relevant to contemporary
  American society?