ETHICAL TEACHINGS OF ARISTOTLE

             One of Aristotle’s oft discussed ideas is The Doctrine of the Mean. In it is found a lot of philosophical jargon which does not impart wisdom and instruction or rules of morality; philosophical fellows may argue its merits but one is none better for the discussion. This thinking emphasizes avoiding too much or too little and is applied to everything from appetite to charitable giving to punishment. Arguments arise because no specifics or measurements can be accurately given. From this doctrine arise questions about man, what is a “good” man; what is the difference between technical goodness and moral goodness?

Happiness is the highest good and the end at which all our activities ultimately aim. All our activities aim at some end, though most of these ends are means toward other ends. For example, we go grocery shopping to buy food, but buying food is itself a means toward the end of eating well and thriftily. Eating well and thriftily is also not an end in itself but a means to other ends. Only happiness is an end in itself, so it is the ultimate end at which all our activities aim. As such, it is the supreme good. The difficulty is that people don’t agree on what makes for a happy or good life, so the purpose of the Ethics is to find an answer to this question. By its nature, the investigation is imprecise because there are so many variables involved when considering a person’s life as a whole.

Aristotle defines the supreme good as an activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue. Virtue for the Greeks is equivalent to excellence. A man has virtue as a flautist, for instance, if he plays the flute well, since playing the flute is the distinctive activity of a flautist. A virtuous person is someone who performs the distinctive activity of being human well. Rationality is our distinctive activity, that is, the activity that distinguishes us from plants and animals. All living things have a nutritive soul, which governs growth and nutrition. Humans and animals are distinct from plants in having a sensitive soul, which governs locomotion and instinct. Humans are distinct above all for having also a rational soul, which governs thought. Since our rationality is our distinctive activity, its exercise is the supreme good.

Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices. We learn moral virtue primarily through habit and practice rather than through reasoning and instruction. Virtue is a matter of having the appropriate attitude toward pain and pleasure. For example, a coward will suffer undue fear in the face of danger, whereas a rash person will not suffer sufficient fear. Aristotle lists the principle virtues along with their corresponding vices, as represented in the following table. A virtuous person exhibits all of the virtues: they do not properly exist as distinct qualities but rather as different aspects of a virtuous life.