Summary: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics serves as a guide to living a good life by focusing on what constitutes goodness in things and humans. He emphasizes that a good human possesses an excellent soul, which is characterized by clear intellect and noble character. Aristotle identifies virtues related to intellect, such as art, intelligence, scientific knowledge, prudence, and wisdom, as well as virtues of noble character like courage and temperance. He suggests that a good life involves virtuous actions developed through study and habit, leading to a fulfilled and flourishing life based on excellence rather than mere pleasure. Happiness, according to Aristotle, comes from pursuing virtue and aligning with one’s nature as a human with a clear intellect and noble character.
A good thing fulfils its unique function. (View Highlight)
Art (techne) is the ability to make things. (View Highlight)
Intelligence (nous) is intuitive insight into underlying truths of our world. (View Highlight)
Scientific knowledge (episteme) is our logical reasoning about the world. (View Highlight)
Prudence (phronesis) is our ability to make practical (moral) decisions. (View Highlight)
Wisdom (sophia) is a comprehensive understanding of deeper truths. (View Highlight)
Courage is the right mean between cowardice and recklessness. (View Highlight)
Temperance is the right mean between gluttony and abstinence. (View Highlight)
Aristotle says that humans have a capacity to be good, but it is up to us to develop our character. This is best achieved through study and habit. (View Highlight)
Excellence is not something you are, but something you do! (View Highlight)
Everything we do should ultimately serve the best we can be: a human soul with a clear intellect and a noble character. (View Highlight)
Happiness is not a feeling of pleasure. Happiness is the pursuit of excellence. (View Highlight)