Nicomachean Ethics Book 1 Summary

Brief summary of aristotle s nicomachean ethics i.

Nicomachean ethics book 1 summary. The man he said must act according to reason. He digresses to explain that nicomachean ethics will be a work of political science the science which seeks. Arete the greek word for virtue and excellence encompasses both good character and good thought.

Aristotle returns to the topic of pleasure for a more detailed analysis. Because happiness is an activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue aristotle reasons that one must examine virtue in order to better understand happiness. Definition of the subject and nature of the problem a.

This raises the paradoxical suggestion that a person can be considered happy only after death that is once we can examine the person s life as a whole. How should we act. The moral of aristotle is an ethics based on actions.

Pleasure and pain last all our lives and enjoying and hating the right things is key to developing virtue of character. To summarize aristotle raises the question of virtue. Nicomachean ethics summary and analysis of book one.

The highest good is the end telos or goal of that activity. Book 1 chapters 12 13. Aristotle begins by seeking to identify the best way of life.

Every activity aims at some good. In nicomachean ethics 1 7 aristotle claims that to discover the human good we must identify the function of a human being. Aristotle learned a lot from socrates through plato and he emphasizes virtue s central role in a happy life.