Nicomachean Ethics Short Summary

In the piece, Aristotle gives a breakdown of morality and what people aim at in life. The book is an eye-opener and gives the readers insight on how humans conduct themselves. The author insists that there are no standard behaviors that can be associated with being moral. Therefore, theories should be based on a proper comprehension of human psychology.

A Comprehensive Plot Overview of Nicomachean Ethics

Since the piece was crafted, human nature has not changed. The types of humans that the author described are there even today. Many things are addressed in this book. First, the author says that all the actions that humans involve themselves in are directed towards goodness. The ultimate goal is to be happy. That is what he describes as what everyone contemplates, and it is the universal truth.

To attain a state of happiness, one should display virtues. Develop proper reasoning and work to attain wisdom. He insists that people need enough external goods to have a healthy life, live in leisure, and have the opportunity to live in virtue.

The author goes into the description of the various virtues. Courage is the ability of a person to stay confident despite being in fear. Temperance involves not being overwhelmed by physical pleasures. Magnanimity means moving towards behavior that attracts honor. Patience is having a proper behavior when angry. Modesty is behaving well when under shame. When one is just, it is said that he has gone beyond the other virtues.

In the author’s view, being of moral virtue means that one wanders between having in excess and being deficient. Moral life is one in which people do things moderately. However, virtues should be displayed in excess. Moreover, there is no human appetite that can be taken to be bad if the controlling factor is reason coupled with moral principles. To have moral virtue, you first need to be knowledgeable, make morality a habit and possess a great deal of self-discipline.

Additionally, you cannot have moral virtues abstractly. You have to do the moral actions within a social setting. There is a close relationship between the display of ethics and how people pay politics. To the author, politics can be defined as science where the society created is one where everyone can live properly and have the ability to achieve their dreams. The author concludes by saying that good people find pleasure in doing the right things.