Nicomachean Ethics

Our objective as humans has always been about reaching an ultimate end. Aristotle
states that to better achieve our good we need to understand what it means to flourish. Aristotle
not only talks about the “good” or the general good but he places emphasis on the highest good.
It must be the good that we desire for its own sake rather than for the sake of another good as
doing so will deviate our desire to something empty and in vain. Eudaimonia, according to
Aristotle, is achieved through living virtuously, and in living virtuously can we flourish.

Aristotle states that all things have their own end and it doesn’t matter how we go about
reaching the end as the end will always aim for the good which will eventually lead us to
happiness. We must always lean on virtue.

This nature of happiness for Aristotle does not center on wealth, money-making, or
amusement as he calls it plain. Aristotle states that happiness is life’s aim and not goodness for
the sake of goodness. Health, wealth, and these other resources are sought because they
promote well-being. However, the right actions must be understood according to virtue. We
should take into account the impact of our actions on the flourishing of others. These ethical
dilemmas boil down to common sense as we deliberate how our actions will affect other people.
If we do not trample on another individual’s “flourishing” and if we do not do good just for the
sake of it we can achieve our own flourishing. Happiness itself is the supreme practical good.
Living virtuously in itself is its own reward.

Yet Aristotle does not offer guidance on how to solve ethical problems where one is
caught between two extremes. He only goes on about the whereabouts of virtue but it is hard to
make decisions in an actual situation where a lot of factors come into play when deliberating a
choice. We may always opt for the virtuous path yet even the most honorable man can make
the wrong decisions. How can we live virtuously if our choices can be affected by outside
influences. He states that every person has the capacity to know how to act but if this is the
case then man would not need counseling anymore. Who is our role model for virtue and what
standards do these virtues lean to? What would a good man exactly do? Virtue is boiled down to
personal choice as these moral standards will differ according to the environment of each
individual.

References:
Ethics Centre (2016, August 4). Ethics explainer: What is Eudaimonia? The Ethics
Centre - Bringing ethics to the centre of everyday life.
https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-eudaimonia/

Ezedike, E. (2019, February 2). Happiness as an end: A critique of Aristotle’s rational

eudaemonism. African Journals Online.
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijhss/article/view/183278

Kraut, R. (2001, May 1). Aristotle’s ethics (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy).

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/

Solomon, R. C. 2008. Morality and the Good Life: An Introduction to Ethics Through
Classical Sources. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.