Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics - Assignment Example

Aristotle is an ancient Greek philosopher whose works have been very influential in modern-day science and philosophy. Aristotle rose to prominence after the death of his master, Plato. Among his legendary works include his writings on ethics. Aristotle’s ethics represented a significant shift from the traditional ethics taught by his predecessors Socrates and Plato (Pakaluk and Giles, 2010). Nicomachean ethics is a collection of ten different books written by Aristotle on various topics in ethics. The central point in Nicomachean ethics is the question of the nature of a good life and how best man ought to live a good life on earth (Kraut, 2006). Aristotle’s answer to this was very fundamental in the development of virtue ethics in modern-day philosophy.

Nicomachean ethics begins by reflecting on whether there is an ultimate goal that all human life aims at. This goal is the ultimate good that all men hope to enjoy in their lifetime. According to Aristotle, such a goal must be complete, self-sufficient, final, and continuous. Aristotle concluded that the ultimate good upon which all human life should be based is happiness. The main objective of Aristotelian ethics is to find out how best one can achieve happiness. Human beings can achieve happiness when they live a virtuous lifestyle.

Aristotle defines virtue as a disposition for one to act in the right way for the right reasons and derive happiness from acting rightly. Virtue is a mean between deficiency and excesses in one's actions. Actions must also be done voluntarily for them to be judged to be either good or bad actions. Virtue must emanate from an individual’s conscious choice and must have a purpose. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses various virtues including courage, justice, temperance, patience, and moderation (Kraut, 2006).

Nicomachean ethics discusses various themes such as virtue and happiness, moral education, friendship, and the doctrine of the mean (May 2010). These themes are spread across all the ten books that make up Nicomachean ethics. Virtue and happiness form the largest part of the discussion on ethics. Virtue leads to the attainment of the ultimate goodness of human life, happiness (May 2010). Another important part of Aristotle’s ethics is moral education. This relates to how best individuals can be taught to live a good life.

According to Aristotle, one can live a good life by practicing virtues consistently. Two of the ten books in Nicomachean ethics focus their attention on friendship. In these books, Aristotle discusses the various forms of friendship and the importance of friendship in building strong ties among citizens. The final theme is the doctrine of the mean, which is based on the idea that virtues are the mean state of extremes of deficiency and excess behavior.