An Analysis of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
Cultivating “good” habits and virtues are lessons that we as human beings have been taught for almost as long as we have existed. Everywhere we turn, we are being told countless ways to live well and lead a happy life. It seems to be what most everyone is ultimately striving for. In searching for why this line of thought is so prevalent in our lives, I have found that Aristotle’s theory of virtue ethics provides significant insight as to why we desire a framework in order to live a life that is deemed good. Through his discussion of virtue ethics, Aristotle’s argument on the importance of virtue using the threefold distinction and the ultimate goal of happiness represents the human desire and drive towards self improvement to ultimately reach a state of contentment.
All of Aristotle’s writings that we still have today are remnants of notes intended for his students. After apprenticing under Plato, Aristotle went on to found his own school, the Lyceum. Therefore, most of the writings that we have from him are lecture notes and unfinished works that were never finalized. In this case, the Nicomachean Ethics, named after his father and son, is a collection of wisdom literature that seeks to understand and talk through the importance of virtues. Through a series of books and chapters, Aristotle first deduces that our daily activities are aimed at a specific ending or goal – in this case, it’s what he calls Eudaimonia, or happiness. He goes on to state that happiness is connected to virtue, and aims to study virtue in order to gain a greater understanding of happiness.
In order to break down virtue, Aristotle employs what is called the threefold distinction to demonstrate that virtue is the intermediate level of traits, while vices occur when a trait is either in excess or deficit. He stresses the importance of having the right level of traits and the right habits, with an additional focus on temperance, in order to have the right thoughts and reactions, all in order to live a virtuous life and eventually find happiness.
Being a prolific writer, Aristotle made great strides in expanding the knowledge available in many different fields of study. Though many of his initial scientific claims have since been revised, his line of thinking is still useful to examine. His work in philosophy and virtue ethics in particular can give us some perspective on the lives of those around him at the time, and what similarities may lie in how we think on such subjects today.
Aristotle begins with an examination of happiness. He recognizes that all action is aimed at a goal or end, and identifies this ultimate end as happiness. “Now happiness, more than anything else, is complete without qualification. For we always choose it for itself, never because of something else.” (p. 412) In identifying happiness as the end goal of human action, Aristotle can then delve into how we can achieve such an end. First, however, he also recognizes that happiness does depend on other factors outside our control, such as fortune. “Nonetheless, happiness evidently also needs external goods to be added, we cannot do fine actions if we lack the resources. This happiness would seem to need this sort of prosperity added also.” (p. 413) In his eyes, being good looking and accumulating wealth also seem to make it easier to achieve happiness, so there is some amount of good luck involved.
After establishing happiness as the end goal, Aristotle then examines virtue as the primary way to achieve this Eudaimonia. “Since happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue, we must examine virtue; for that will perhaps also be a way to study happiness better.” (p. 414) This assumes that happiness primarily comes from being good and moral, and living in accordance with the virtues laid out later in the text. He then identifies two types of virtue – of thought and of character. While virtue of thought must be taught through acquiring knowledge, virtue of character lies in habits. Aristotle focuses on the latter, stating that, “it is also clear that none of the virtues of character arise in us naturally.” (p. 414) Virtues of character, or habits, require hard work in order to acquire. “And so the virtues arise in us neither by nature nor against nature. Rather, we are by nature able to acquire them, and we are completed through habit.” (p. 414) This represents an idea that in order to reach happiness, there is a certain degree of self improvement and work that is required.
In order to examine virtue, Aristotle introduces the threefold distinction. This distinction hinges on the idea that virtue is the intermediate between vices. He compares this to craftsmanship, where we always will seek the intermediate in anything we produce. Not too much of something, and not too little. “And since virtue, like nature, is better and more exact than any craft, it will also aim at what is intermediate.” (p. 415) There will always be excess and deficit, however, intermediacy in thoughts and actions are paramount in order to live well. He stresses this point further by saying, “But having these feelings at the right times, about the right things, toward the right people, for the right end, in the right way, is the intermediate and best condition, and this is proper to virtue.” (p. 415) Being virtuous means doing everything in just the right way, not straying too far into either extreme. He describes virtue as a mean, and states that it is correct and proper to follow this mean in daily action.
Aristotle dissects several traits using the threefold distinction in order to further stress his point about finding the intermediate path between excess and deficit. He states the qualities of someone living within the virtue’s mean, and what one would be called if they lived in excess or deficiency. “In sources of pleasure in amusements let us call the intermediate person witty, and the condition wit; the excess buffoonery and the person who has it a buffoon; and the deficient person a sort of boor and the state boorishness.” (p. 417) He uses very specific words to describe those who are living by vices instead of virtues.
Lastly, Aristotle also pays particular attention to temperance, or moderation. Through reading the text, it seems that he views this virtue as among the most important, especially when raising children to be good and virtuous people. He describes intemperance in terms of overindulgence, and makes reference of “gluttons” who “glut their bellies past what is right;” (p. 419) People with insatiable appetites will find it hard to be virtuous – that is why Aristotle stresses the importance of teaching children temperance. “If, then, [the child or the appetitive part] is not obedient and subordinate to its rulers, it will go far astray. For when someone lacks understanding, his desire for the pleasant is insatiable and seeks indiscriminate satisfaction. The [repeated] active exercise of appetite increases the appetite he already had from birth, and if the appetites are large and intense, they actually expel rational calculation.” (p. 421) In order for children to begin down the path of achieving a virtuous life and ultimately happiness, they must be raised having been taught moderation. If not, they will find excess harder to resist, and their subsequent decisions will not align with temperance or those that are virtuous.
In lecturing on this subject, Aristotle intended to offer practical knowledge, which he classifies as “knowledge for the same of doing something.” (p. 410) By examining happiness and why we wish to achieve it, he is also examining the purpose of human beings. His hope is that, by following the threefold distinction and choosing the path of intermediacy in all things, we will eventually find Eudaimonia and thus, our purpose. However, he also recognizes that this is a hard road, and that being bad is definitely easier. He makes reference to this by comparing it to aiming at a target; “Moreover, there are many ways to be in error—for badness is proper to the indeterminate, as the Pythagoreans pictured it, and good to the determinate. But there is only one way to be correct. That is why error is easy and correctness is difficult, since it is easy to miss the target and difficult to hit it.” (p. 415) By providing a framework for determining whether one is missing the mark on a virtue and living in vice, Aristotle aimed to provide guidance on how to live well and become your most improved self.
Aristotle also briefly makes reference on what it means to be human, and what separates us from beasts. In his lecture on temperance, he pays particular attention to two of the senses – touch and taste. He recognizes that we share these senses with other animals, but he also maintains that we as humans remain a level above such animals. “The pleasures that concern temperance and intemperance are those that are shared with other animals, and so appear slavish and beasital. These pleasures are touch and taste.” (p. 419) In associating traits that we share with animals as “beastial,” Aristotle seems to hold a very human-centric point of view where life revolves around humanity, being the most important than the other animals. He further highlights this point when he begins to explore the opposite end of intemperance, which he does not name because it cannot be found very often. “If someone finds nothing pleasant, or preferable to anything else, he is far from being human. The reason he has no name is he is not found much.” (p. 420) Experiencing pleasure, then, is a core part of what makes us human. This assumes that all other animals do not experience such pleasure, at least not nearly as much as we do.
However, if it is part of who we are as humans to experience pleasure, why is there so much of a focus on moderation and tempering these appetites? It seems that the road to eudaimonia is partially paved through self improvement. Aristotle stresses tempering our feelings and actions to be intermediate in all things, but this also means that they do not start out easily tempered. If it is our base instinct to experience all of the pleasures that life has to offer, how would we get any work done? Aristotle believes that we as humans have unchecked desires, but can overcome them through perseverance and self improvement in order to be a well-functioning part of society. Following this, we use virtues to keep ourselves in check in order to make sure we are being the best we can be at whatever our occupation is in life, eventually reaching the end of the road – happiness, when we are at our most content and fulfilled.
No one is virtuous automatically. It is something to be learned and practiced through habit. To Aristotle, virtue is ultimately up to us. “We have found, then, that we wish for the end, and deliberate and decide about things that promote it; hence the actions concerned with things that promote the end are in accord with decision and are voluntary. The activities of the virtues are concerned with these things [that promote the end]. Hence virtue is also up to us, and so also, in the same way, is vice.” (p. 417) Virtue, then, is a choice that we have to make. If happiness and purpose are very much linked, and we continually live our lives in vice, then it follows that we will never reach our purpose and find contentment. It is only when we put work into finding the correct habits that we will be able to reach our fullest potential.
The idea that we as humans have an innate desire to find happiness and will naturally seek ways to live well is very much supported by this reading and similar ones found throughout the ancient world. By giving a framework in order to help determine the intermediary between vices, Aristotle makes it a little easier to live a moral, virtuous life. In our desire for the end, which in this case is happiness, our lives are spent searching for how to fulfill our purpose to gain said happiness. Aristotle does recognize that it is much easier to be bad than it is to be good, much easier to miss than it is to hit the mark. We all have our own potential that we must work to reach, but that hard work does seem to pay off. Cultivating good habits is difficult and takes perseverance, but it does appear to be worth it in terms of self mastery. Self improvement seems to make us feel good, and we seem to want more of it – however, going about it is the hard part. Without guidelines like Aristotle’s, it can be easy to get lost in a world with so many vices.
When talking about temperance, Aristotle stresses the importance of moderation, and not allowing the senses of touch and taste to cause us to become gluttonous. However, he also states that it is our ability to find so many things pleasurable that is part of what makes us human. Within this paradox lies the idea that our ability to moderate and choose to be virtuous despite so many temptations also makes us human, and well on the way to living a moral life. We must make the choice ourselves to be virtuous, and it always will seem like an uphill battle against an onslaught of vices and temptations. However, though it seems we will always have these things to overcome, it is the overcoming that makes us who we are. It guides us to self-improvement, which in turn will lead us to our purpose.
Throughout this reading, it was very striking in similarity to rhetoric that we still hear today. From birth, we are taught to form good habits that will help set us up for success in our adult lives, as well as which virtues are socially acceptable. In my childhood, I was taught to share with others, not speak out of turn, and to respect my elders. If everyone in a society is taught these things as soon as they are able to learn them, then supposedly there would be less conflict if everyone had the same habits and virtues guiding them. If one person was taught not to speak out of turn, but another was taught to always get their point across no matter what, those two habits would clash and make things more difficult.
Habit forming is also incredibly prevalent in our society. Even when we’re young, we are taught to form habits. This is usually done through constant reminding, and some take to it easier than others. We are reminded by our parents to brush our teeth every night, make our beds, and clean our rooms. This teaches us that repetitiveness is key to forming habits. However, we must also watch what habits we form. Exercising daily is considered a good habit, while eating junk food before bed is seen as a bad habit. Good habits in today’s society are seen as one that help make it easier to live a successful life. If you are organized, take care of yourself, and have a good work ethic, then you are more likely to do well in your chosen field. This is also incredibly similar to what Aristotle speaks of – in order for everyone to reach their full potential, we must have good habits and know how to cultivate them.
Similar to habit and virtue, the desire to improve oneself is also still very much alive today. There are many who have written books or made businesses promoting all the different ways one can improve in order to eventually find happiness. This holds particular importance for me. Several years ago, I was deeply unhappy and struggling until one day, I made a choice. Things had gotten so bad that I decided to embark on a very long and arduous journey of self improvement. My habits at the time were not healthy, making me unable to reach my goals. I was definitely living within the lines of excess and deficiency. I had forgotten how to work hard – so, in order to force myself to remember, I went into the woods for three months in order to participate in wilderness therapy, and spent about a year afterwards in a transition therapy program. Though it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do so far, the payoff in terms of happiness and purpose has been massive. I still struggle from time to time with old habits, but for the most part, I am the best I have felt in a very long time and feel myself inching ever closer to finding true contentment and my purpose in life.
We have a common saying in our society – “Hard work pays off.” When you dedicate yourself, you can achieve a level of satisfaction and reward in some way. Aristotle, and subsequently those around him at the time, seemed to think much the same. Though it can be complicated to figure out the right things to dedicate yourself to, Aristotle laid out significant groundwork for how to live morally, making it easier for people to find the right way to find happiness through purpose. Much like peoples in the ancient world, we are still trying to find our own purposes. It appears to be a very long and rocky road, just like it was back then. However, by continuing to find ways to live in the best way we are able, we may yet find a formula for how to achieve happiness. Until then, perhaps it is enough to endevor to overcome and improve to the best of our abilities.
References
UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA P. (2022). from Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. In Global Humanities Reader: Volume 1 – engaging ancient worlds and perspectives (pp. 409–421)