Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics - Book Report/Review Example

In the first book, Aristotle points out something that is of critical importance to any reader who seeks to understand his ideas. He asserts ‘Our account of this science will be adequate if it achieves such clarity as the subject-matter allows; for the same degree of precision is not to be expected in all discussions, any more than in all products of handicraft’( (Aristotle 7). This quote helps the reader develop realistic expectations from the book. Contrary to what many people would expect, there are no defined rules of acquiring virtues.

He seeks to alert the reader that having virtues only comes after consistent practice. Therefore, the reader cannot expect to decipher distinct rules and a code of conduct by reading this volume. In this book, Aristotle highlights that happiness is the ‘supreme good’ precisely because there all the other things that an individual does have happiness as the ultimate end. He perceived that beyond ‘happiness’, there was nothing else that humans sought to achieve. According to him, happiness denoted a distinct way of life, and did not denote an array of dispositions or state as viewed by many people.

In the second book, Aristotle writes about virtue. He delivers an interesting definition of what virtue is by saying ‘So virtue is a purposive disposition, lying in a mean that is relative to us and determined by a rational principle, by that which a prudent man would use to determine it’.. Therefore, an individual must stay away from extremities, beware of the mistakes that one may easily fall into and realize the potential that pleasure has in impeding good judgment. In book three, Aristotle highlights the criticality of the ‘free will of choice’ that humans possess.

This free will allows an individual to make informed choices. The ability to make choices that manifest virtues indicates that one voluntarily seeks to become virtuous. In some cases, one may do things involuntarily. This only shows that there is a limit to what an individual can do voluntarily, and this forms the basis for excusing some vices because a person out of ignorance. In this book, Aristotle tackled the virtues of courage and temperance. In book four, Aristotle discussed the nobility of virtuous actions.

In chapter one of the book he says ‘Now virtuous actions are noble and done for the sake of the noble. Therefore the liberal man, like other virtuous men, will give for the sake of the noble, and rightly; for he will give to the right people, the right amounts, and at the right time, with all the other qualifications that accompany that right giving and that too with pleasure or without pain; for that which is virtuous is pleasant or free from pain-least of all will it be painful’(82). This quote emphasizes the virtue of liberality that Aristotle said should govern the virtue of giving.

According to him, a level of nobility accompanies the virtue of giving. Aristotle also discusses magnificence and magnanimity in this book. According to him, a magnanimous person realizes his worth and accepts the different types of honors accorded to him. In book five, the author