ARISTOTLE

The Aim of Man

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) is the great inheritor of Plato's

influence in philosophical thought. He was a student at the Academy
of Plato in Athens from age seventeen to thirty-seven, and by all
accounts he was Plato's most brilliant pupil. He did not agree with
Plato on all issues, however, and seems to have broken with his
master around the time of Plato's death (34 7 B.C.). In certain of his
writings he is careful to disagree with the Platonists while insisting
on his friendship with them. In the Nichomachean Ethics, for ex­
ample, the most difficult section (omitted here) demonstrates that
Plato is not correct in assuming that the good exists in some ideal
form in a higher spiritual realm.
One interesting point concerning Aristotle's career is that when
he became a teacher, his most distinguished student was Alexander
the Great, the youthful ruler who spread Greek values and laws
throughout the rest of the known world. Much speculation has
centered on just what Aristotle might have taught Alexander about
politics. The emphasis on statecraft and political goals in the
Nichomachean Ethics suggests that it may have been a great deal. A
surviving fragment of a letter from Aristotle to Alexander suggests
that he advised Alexander to become the leader of the Greeks and
the master of the barbarians.
The Nichomachean Ethics is a difficult document. Aristotle may
have written it with an eye to tutoring his son, Nichomachus,
but it is also meant to be read by those who have thought deeply
about human ethical behavior. "The Aim of Man" treats most of
the basic issues raised in the entire document. It is difficult pri­
marily because it is so thoroughly abstract. Abstract reason was
thought to be the highest form of reason because it is independent

From the Nichomachean Ethics. Translated by Martin Ostwald.

691
692 ETHICS AND MORALITY

of sensory experience and because only human beings can indulge in

it. Aristotle, whose studies included works on plants, physics, ani­
mals, law, rhetoric, and logic, to name only some subjects, reminds
us often of what we have in common with the animal and vegetable
worlds. But because he values abstract thought so much, his reason­
ing demands unusual attention from contemporary readers.
Moreover, because he wrote so much on scientific subjects­
and, unlike Plato, emphasized the role of sensory perception in
scientific matters-he is careful to warn that reasoning about
humankind cannot entail the precision taken for granted in science.
That warning is repeated several times in this selection. The study
of humankind requires awareness of people's differences of back­
ground, education, habit, temperament, and other, similar factors.
Such differences will impede the kinds of precision of definition
and analysis taken for granted in other sciences.
Aristotle reveals an interesting Greek prejudice when he admits
that the highest good for humankind is likely to be found in state­
craft. He tells us that the well-ordered state-the pride of the Greek
way of life-is of such noble value that other values must take sec­
ond place to it. Because current thought somewhat agrees with this
view, Aristotle sounds peculiarly modem in this passage. Unlike the
Christian theorists of the Middle Ages, the theorists of the Islamic
insurgence, or the theorists of the Judaic Scriptures, Aristotle does
not put divinity or godliness first. He is a practical man whose con­
cerns are with the life that human beings know here on earth. When
he considers the question, for instance, of whether a man can be
thought of as happy before he has died (tragedy can always befall
the happy man), he is thoroughly practical and does not point to
happiness in heaven as any substitute for happiness on earth.

Aristotle's Rhetoric

Even though Aristotle is the author of the single most influen­

tial treatise on rhetoric, this document does not have as eloquent a
style as might be expected, which has suggested to some that the
manuscript was taken from the lecture notes of a student. But, of
course, he does use certain minor techniques that demonstrate his
awareness of rhetorical effect. He makes careful use of aphorisms -
for example, "One swallow does not make a spring" and "Perfect
justice is noblest, health is best, I But to gain one's heart's desire is
pleasantest" (para. 21).
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 693

In terms of style, Aristotle is at a disadvantage-or perhaps

the modern world is-because he addresses an audience of those
who have thought very deeply on the issues of human behavior, so
that his style is elevated and complex. Fortunately, nothing he says
here is beyond the grasp of the careful reader, although modern
readers expect to be provided with a good many concrete examples
to help them understand abstract principles. Aristotle purposely
avoids using examples so as not to limit too sharply the truths he
has to impart.
Aristotle's most prominent rhetorical technique is definition.
His overall goal in this work is to define the aim of man. Thus, the
first section of this work is entitled "Definition of the Good." In
"Primacy of Statecraft" he begins to qualify various types of good.
Later, he considers the relationship between good and happiness
(paras. 8-9) and the various views concerning happiness and its
definition (paras. 10-11). By then the reader is prepared for a
"Functional Definition of Man's Highest Good" (paras. 12-18). He
confirms his conclusions in the section entitled "Confirmation by
Popular Beliefs" (paras. 19-22). After isolating happiness as the
ultimate good, he devotes paragraphs 23-32 to its causes, its
effects, and the events that will affect it, such as luck and human
decision. The final section (paras. 33-39) constitutes an examina­
tion of the soul (the most human element) and its relationship to
virtue; he begins that section by repeating, for the third time, his
definition of happiness: "happiness is a certain activity of the soul
in accordance with perfect virtue."
It could be said that, rhetorically speaking, the body of the
work is an exploration and definition of the highest good.

PREREADING QUESTIONS:
WHAT TO READ FOR

The following prereading questions may help you anticipate key

issues in the discussion of Aristotle's "The Aim of Man." Keeping them in
mind during your first reading of the selection should help focus your
attention.

• How does Aristotle define the good?

• What is the relationship of the good to human happiness?

• What are the two kinds of human happiness Aristotle discusses?

694 ETHICS AND MORALITY

The Aim of Man

Definition of the Good

Every art and every "scientific investigation," as well as every 1

action and "purposive choice," appears to aim at some good; hence
the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.
A difference is observable, to be sure, among the several ends: some
of them are activities, while others are products over and above the
activities that produce them. Wherever there are certain ends over
and above the actions themselves, it is the nature of such products
to be better than the activities.
As actions and arts and sciences are of many kinds, there must 2
be a corresponding diversity of ends: health, for example, is the aim
of medicine, ships of shipbuilding, victory of military strategy, and
wealth of domestic economics. Where several such arts fall under some
one faculty-as bridle-making and the other arts concerned with
horses' equipment fall under horsemanship, while this in turn along
with all other military matters falls under the head of strategy, and
similarly in the case of other arts-the aim of the master art is always
more choiceworthy than the aims of its subordinate arts, inasmuch
as these are pursued for its sake. And this holds equally good whether
the end in view is just the activity itself or something distinct from
the activity, as in the case of the sciences above mentioned.

Primacy of Statecraft

If in all our conduct, then, there is some end that we wish on its 3
own account, choosing everything else as a means to it; if, that is to
say, we do not choose everything as a means to something else (for
at that rate we should go on ad infinitum 1 and our desire would be
left empty and vain); then clearly this one end must be the good­
even, indeed, the highest good. Will not a knowledge of it, then,
have an important influence on our lives? Will it not better enable us
to hit the right mark, like archers who have a definite target to aim
at? If so, we must try to comprehend, in outline at least, what that
highest end is, and to which of the sciences or arts it belongs.
Evidently the art or science in question must be the most 4
absolute and most authoritative of all. Statecraft answers best to this
description; f or it prescribes which of the sciences are to have a

1 ad infinitum Endlessly ; to infinity.

 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 695

place in the state, and which of them are to be studied by the differ­
ent classes of citizens, and up to what point; and we find that even
the most highly esteemed of the arts are subordinated to it, e.g.,
military strategy, domestic economics, and oratory. So then, since state­
craft employs all the other sciences, prescribing also what the citi­
zens are to do and what they are to refrain from doing, its aim must
embrace the aims of all the others; whence it follows that the aim of
statecraft is man's proper good. Even supposing the chief good to be
eventually the same for the individual as for the state, that of the
state is evidently of greater and more fundamental importance both
to attain and to preserve. The securing of even one individual's good
is cause for rejoicing, but to secure the good of a nation or of a city­
state2 is nobler and more divine. This, then, is the aim of our present
inquiry, which is in a sense the study of statecraft.

Two Observations on the Study of Ethics

Our discussion will be adequate if we are content with as much 5

precision as is appropriate to the subject matter; for the same degree
of exactitude ought no more to be expected in all kinds of reasoning
than in all kinds of handicraft. Excellence and justice, the things with
which statecraft deals, involve so much disagreement and uncertainty
that they come to be looked on as mere conventions, having no nat­
ural foundation. The good involves a similar uncertainty, inasmuch
as good things often prove detrimental: there are examples of people
destroyed by wealth, of others destroyed by courage. In such matters,
then, and starting from such premises as we do, we must be content
with a rough approximation to the truth; for when we are dealing
with and starting out from what holds good only "as a general rule,"
the conclusions that we reach will have the same character. let each
of the views put forward be accepted in this spirit, for it is the mark
of an educated mind to seek only so much exactness in each type of
inquiry as may be allowed by the nature of the subject matter. It is
equally wrong to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician
and to demand strict demonstrations from an orator.
A man judges well and is called a good judge of the things about 6
which he knows. If he has been educated in a particular subject he is a
good judge of that subject; if his education has been well-rounded he

2city-state Athens was an independent nation, a city-state (polis). Greece

consisted of a great many independent states, which often leagued together in
confederations.
696 ETHICS AND MORALITY

is a good judge in general. Hence no very young man is qualified to

attend lectures on statecraft; for he is inexperienced in the affairs of
life, and these form the data and subject matter of statecraft. Moreover,
so long as he tends to be swayed by his feelings he will listen vainly and
without profit, for the purport of these [lectures] is not purely theoret­
ical but practical. Nor does it make any difference whether his imma­
turity is a matter of years or of character: the defect is not a matter of
time, but consists in the fact that his life and all his pursuits are under
the control of his passions. Men of this sort, as is evident from the case
of those we call incontinent,3 do not turn their knowledge to any
account in practice; but those whose desires and actions are controlled
by reason will derive much profit from a knowledge of these matters.
So much, then, for our prefatory remarks about the student, the 7
manner of inquiry, and the aim.

The Good as Happiness

To resume, then: since all knowledge and all purpose aims at 8

some good, what is it that we declare to be the aim of statecraft; or, in
other words, what is the highest of all realizable goods? As to its name
there is pretty general agreement: the majority of men, as well as the
cultured few, speak of it as happiness; and they would maintain that
to live well and to do well are the same thing as to be happy. They dif­
fer, however, as to what happiness is, and the mass of mankind give
a different account of it from philosophers. The former take it to be
something palpable and obvious, like pleasure or wealth or fame; they
differ, too, among themselves, nor is the same man always of one mind
about it: when ill he identifies it with health, when poor with wealth;
then growing aware of his ignorance about the whole matter he feels
admiration for anyone who proclaims some grand ideal above his
comprehension. And to add to the confusion, there have been some
philosophers who held that besides the various particular good things
there is an absolute good which is the cause of all particular goods. As
it would hardly be worthwhile to examine all the opinions that have
been entertained, we shall confine our attention to those that are most
popular or that appear to have some rational foundation.
One point not to be overlooked is the difference between argu- 9
ments that start from first principles4 and arguments that lead up to

3incontinent Uncontrolled, in this case by reason.

4frrst principles Concepts such as goodness, truth, and justice. Arguments
that lead to first principles usually begin with familiar, less abstract evidence.
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 697

first principles. Plato very wisely used to raise this question, and to
ask whether the right way is from or toward first principles-as in
the racecourse there is a difference between running from the judges
to the boundary line and running back again. Granted that we must
start with what is known, this may be interpreted in a double sense:
as what is familiar to us or as what is intelligible in itself. Our own
method, at any rate, must be to start with what is familiar to us. That
is why a sound moral training is required before a man can listen
intelligently to discussions about excellence and justice, and gener­
ally speaking, about statecraft. For in this field we must take as our
"first principles" plain facts; if these are sufficiently evident we shall
not insist upon the whys and wherefores. Such principles are in the
possession of, or at any rate readily accessible to, the man with a
sound moral training. As for the man who neither possesses nor can
acquire them, let him hear the words of Hesiod:5

Best is he who makes his own discoveries;

Good is he who listens to the wise;
But he who, knowing not, rejects another's wisdom
ls a plain fool.

Conflicting Views of Happiness

Let us now resume our discussion from the point at which we 10

digressed. What is happiness, or the chief good? If it is permissible
to judge from men's actual lives, we may say that the mass of them,
being vulgarians, identify it with pleasure, which is the reason why
they aim at nothing higher than a life of enjoyment. For there are
three outstanding types of life: the one just mentioned, the politi-
cal, and, thirdly, the contemplative. "The mass of men" reveal their
utter slavishness by preferring a life fit only for cattle; yet their
views have a certain plausibility from the fact that many of those in
high places share the tastes of Sardanapalus.6 Men of superior refine­
ment and active disposition, on the other hand, identify happiness

5Works and Days, II. 293-297. [Translator's note] Hesiod (eighth century
B.C.) Well-known Greek author. His Works and Days is notable for its portraits of
everyday shepherd life and for its moralizing fables. His Theogony is a description of
the creation, widely taken as accurate in his day.
6 An ancient Assyrian king to whom is attributed the saying, "Eat, drink, and be
merry: nothing else is worth a snap of the fingers." [Translator's note] Sardanapalus
(d. 880 B.C.) Noted for his slothful and decadent life. When it was certain that he
was to die-the walls of his city had been breached by an opposing army-he had
his wives, animals, and possessions burned with him in his palace.
698 ETHICS AND MORALITY

with honor, this being more or less the aim of a statesman's life. It is
evidently too superficial, however, to be the good that we are seek­
ing; for it appears to depend rather on him who bestows than on
him who receives it, while we may suspect the chief good to be
something peculiarly a man's own, which he is not easily deprived
of. Besides, men seem to pursue honor primarily in order to assure
themselves of their own merit; at any rate, apart from personal
acquaintances, it is by those of sound judgment that they seek to be
appreciated, and on the score of virtue. Clearly, then, they imply
that virtue is superior to honor: and so, perhaps, we should regard
this rather than honor as the end and aim of the statesman's life. Yet
even about virtue there is a certain incompleteness; for it is sup­
posed that a man may possess it while asleep or during lifelong inac­
tivity, or even while suffering the greatest disasters and misfortunes;
and surely no one would call such a man happy, unless for the sake
of a paradox. But we need not further pursue this subject, which has
been sufficiently treated of in current discussions. Thirdly, there is
the contemplative life, which we shall examine at a later point.
As for the life of money-making, it is something unnatural. 11
Wealth is clearly not the good that we are seeking, for it is merely
useful as a means to something else. Even the objects above men­
tioned come closer to possessing intrinsic goodness than wealth does,
for they at least are cherished on their own account. But not even
they, it seems, can be the chief good, although much labor has been
lost in attempting to prove them so. With this observation we may
close the present subject.

Functional Definition of Man's Highest Good

Returning now to the good that we are seeking, let us inquire 12

into its nature. Evidently it is different in different actions and arts:
it is not the same thing in medicine as in strategy, and so on. What
definition of good will apply to all the arts? Let us say it is that for
the sake of which all else is done. In medicine this is health, in the
art of war victory, in building it is a house, and in each of the arts
something different, although in every case, wherever there is
action and choice involved, it is a certain end; because it is always
for the sake of a certain end that all else is done. If, then, there is
one end and aim of all our actions, this will be the realizable good;
if there are several such ends, these jointly will be our realizable
goods. Thus in a roundabout way the discussion has been brought
back to the same point as before; which we must now try to explain
more clearly.
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 699

As there is evidently a plurality of ends, and as some of these are 13

chosen only as means to ulterior ends (e.g., wealth, flutes, and
instruments in general), it is clear that not all ends are final. 7 But the
supreme good must of course be something final. Accordingly, if
there is only one final end, this will be the good that we are seeking;
and if there is more than one such end, the most complete and final
of them will be this good. Now we call what is pursued as an end in
itself more final than what is pursued as a means to something else;
and what is never chosen as a means we call more final than what is
chosen both as an end in itself and as a means; in fact, when a thing
is chosen always as an end in itself and never as a means we call it
absolutely final. Happiness seems, more than anything else, to answer
to this description: for it is something we choose always for its own
sake and never for the sake of something else; while honor, plea­
sure, reason, and all the virtues, though chosen partly for themselves
(for we might choose any one of them without heeding the result),
are chosen also for the sake of the happiness which we suppose they
will bring us. Happiness, on the other hand, is never chosen for the
sake of any of these, nor indeed as a means to anything else at all.
We seem to arrive at the same conclusion if we start from the 14
notion of self-sufficiency; for the final good is admittedly self-sufficient.
To be self-sufficient we do not mean that an individual must live in
isolation. Parents, children, wife, as well as friends and fellow citizens
generally, are all permissible; for man is by nature political. To be
sure, some limit has to be set to such relationships, for if they are
extended to embrace ancestors, descendants, and friends of friends,
we should go on ad infinitum. But this point will be considered later
on; provisionally we may attribute self-sufficiency to that which taken
by itself makes life choiceworthy and lacking in nothing. Such a thing
we conceive happiness to be. Moreover, we regard happiness as the
most choiceworthy of all things; nor does this mean that it is merely
one good thing among others, for if that were the case it is plain that
the addition of even the least of those other goods would increase its
desirability; since the addition would create a larger amount of good,
and of two goods the greater is always to be preferred. Evidently,
then, happiness is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end
and aim of all that we do.

7 not all ends are fmal By ends Aristotle means purposes. Some purposes are
final-the most important; some are immediate-the less important. When a cor­
poration contributes funds to Public Broadcasting, for example, its immediate pur­
pose may be to fund a worthwhile program. Its final purpose may be to benefit from
the publicity gained from advertising.
700 ETHICS AND MORALITY

But perhaps it will be objected that to call happiness the supreme 15

good is a mere truism, and that a clearer account of it is still needed.
We can give this best, probably, if we ascertain the proper function
of man. Just as the excellence and good performance of a flute player,
a sculptor, or any kind of artist, and generally speaking of anyone
who has a function or business to perform, lies always in that func­
tion, so man's good would seem to lie in the function of man, if he has
one. But can we suppose that while a carpenter and a cobbler each has
a function and mode of activity of his own, man qua man8 has none,
but has been left by nature functionless? Surely it is more likely that
as his several members, eye and hand and foot, can be shown to have
each its own function, so man too must have a function over and
above the special functions of his various members. What will such
a function be? Not merely to live, of course: he shares that even with
plants, whereas we are seeking something peculiar to himself. We
must exclude, therefore, the life of nutrition and growth. Next comes
sentient9 life, but this again is had in common with the horse, the
ox, and in fact all animals whatever. There remains only the "practi­
cal"10 life of his rational nature; and this has two aspects, one of
which is rational in the sense that it obeys a "rational principle," the
other in the sense that it possesses and exercises reason. To avoid
ambiguity let us specify that by "rational" we mean the "exercise or
activity," not the mere possession, of reason; for it is the former that
would seem more properly entitled to the name. Thus we conclude
that man's function is an activity of the soul in conformity with, or
at any rate involving the use of, "rational principle."
An individual and a superior individual who belong to the same 16
class we regard as sharing the same function: a harpist and a good
harpist, for instance, are essentially the same. This holds true of any
class of individuals whatever; for superior excellence with respect to
a function is nothing but an amplification of that selfsame function:
e.g., the function of a harpist is to play the harp, while that of a good
harpist is to play it well. This being so, if we take man's proper func­
tion to be a certain kind of life, viz. an activity and conduct of the soul
that involves reason, and if it is the part of a good man to perform such
activities well and nobly, and if a function is well performed when it
is performed in accordance with its own proper excellence; we may
conclude that the good of man is an activity of the soul in accordance
with virtue, or, if there be more than one virtue, in accordance with

8man qua man Man as such, without reference to what he may be or do.
9sentient Knowing, aware, conscious.
10"practical" Aristotle refers to the actual practices that will define the ethical
nature of the individual.
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 701

the best and most perfect of them. And we must add, in a complete
life. For one swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day;
and similarly one day or brief period of happiness does not make a
man happy and blessed.
So much, then, for a rough outline of the good: the proper 17
procedure being, we may suppose, to sketch an outline first and
afterwards to fill in the details. When a good outline has been made,
almost anyone presumably can expand it and fill it out; and time is a
good inventor and collaborator in this work. It is in just such a way
that progress has been made in the various "human techniques,"11
for filling in the gaps is something anybody can do.
But in all this we must bear constantly in mind our previous 18
warning: not to expect the same degree of precision in all fields, but
only so much as belongs to a given subject matter and is appropriate
to a particular "type of inquiry." Both the carpenter and the geometer
investigate the right angle, but in different ways: the one wants only
such an approximation to it as will serve his work; the other, being
concerned with truth, seeks to determine its essence or essential attri­
butes. And so in other subjects we must follow a like procedure, lest
we be so much taken up with side issues that we pass over the matter
in hand. Similarly we ought not in all cases to demand the "reason
why"; sometimes it is enough to point out the bare fact. This is true,
for instance, in the case of "first principles"; for a bare fact must always
be the ultimate starting point of any inquiry. First principles may be
arrived at in a variety of ways: some by induction, 12 some by direct
perception, some by a kind of habituation, and others in other ways.
In each case we should try to apprehend them in whatever way is
proper to them, and we should take care to define them clearly,
because they will have a considerable influence upon the subsequent
course of our inquiry. A good beginning is more than half of the
whole inquiry, and once established clears up many of its difficulties.

Confinnation by Popular Beliefs

It is important to consider our ethical "first principle" not 19

merely as a conclusion drawn from certain premises, but also in its
relation to popular opinion; for all data harmonize with a true prin­
ciple, but with a false one they are soon found to be discordant.

11 "human techniques" Arts or skills; in a sense, technology .

12induction A process of reasoning based on careful observation and collec­
tion of details upon which theories are based. "A kind of habituation" may refer to a
combination of intellectual approaches characteristic of an individual.
702 ETHICS AND MORALITY

Now it has been customary to divide good things into three classes:
external goods on the one hand, and on the other goods of the soul
and goods of the body; and those of the soul we call good in the high­
est sense, and in the fullest degree. "Conscious actions," i.e., "active
expressions of our nature," we take, of course, as belonging to the
soul; and thus our account is confirmed by the doctrine referred to,
which is of long standing and has been generally accepted by stu­
dents of philosophy. . . .
We are in agreement also with those who identify happiness 20
with virtue or with some particular virtue; for our phrase "activity in
accordance with virtue" is the same as what they call virtue. It makes
quite a difference, however, whether we conceive the supreme good
as the mere possession of virtue or as its employment-Le., as a
state of character or as its active expression in conduct. For a state of
character may be present without yielding any good result, as in a
man who is asleep or in some other way inactive; but this is not true
of its active expression, which must show itself in action, indeed in
good action. As at the Olympic games it is not merely the fairest and
strongest that receive the victory wreath, but those who compete
(since the victors will of course be found among the competitors), so
in life too those who carry off the finest prizes are those who mani-
fest their excellence in their deeds.
Moreover, the life of those active in virtue is intrinsically pleas- 21
ant. For besides the fact that pleasure is something belonging to the
soul, each man takes pleasure in what he is said to love-the horse
lover in horses, the lover of sights in public spectacles, and similarly
the lover of justice in just acts, and more generally, the lover of virtue
in virtuous acts. And while most men take pleasure in things which,
as they are not truly pleasant by nature, create warring factions in the
soul, the lovers of what is noble take pleasure in things that are truly
pleasant in themselves. Virtuous actions are things of this kind;
hence they are pleasant for such men, as well as pleasant intrinsically.
The life of such men, therefore, requires no adventitious13 pleasures,
but finds its own pleasure within itself. This is further shown by the
fact that a man who does not enjoy doing noble actions is not a good
man at all: surely no one would call a man just who did not enjoy
performing just actions, nor generous who did not enjoy performing
generous actions, and so on. On this ground too, then, actions in
conformity with virtue must be intrinsically pleasant. And certainly
they are good as well as noble, and both in the highest degree, if the
judgment of the good man is any criterion; for he will judge them as

13adventitious Unnecessary; superfluous.

 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 703

we have said. It follows, therefore, that happiness is at once the best

and noblest and pleasantest of things, and that these attributes are
not separable as the inscription at Delos14 pretends:

Perfect justice is noblest, health is best,

But to gain one's heart's desire is pleasantest.

For our best activities possess all of these attributes; and it is in our best
activities, or in the best one of them, that we say happiness consists.
Nevertheless, happiness plainly requires external goods as well; 22
for it is impossible, or at least not easy, to act nobly without the
proper equipment. There are many actions that can only be per­
formed through such instruments as friends, wealth, or political
influence; and there are some things, again, the lack of which must
mar felicity, such as good birth, fine children, and personal comeli­
ness: for the man who is repulsive in appearance, or ill-born, or soli­
tary and childless does not meet the requirements of a happy man,
and still less does one who has worthless children and friends, or who
has lost good ones by death. As we have said, then, happiness seems
to require the addition of external prosperity, and this has led some
to identify it with "good fortune," just as others have made the
opposite mistake of identifying it with virtue.

Sources of Happiness

For the same reason there are many who wonder whether happi- 23
ness is attained by learning, or by habituation or some other kind of
training, or whether it comes by some divine dispensation,15 or even
by chance. Well, certainly if the gods do give any gifts to men we may
reasonably suppose that happiness is god-given; indeed, of all human
blessings it is the most likely to be so, inasmuch as it is the best of
them all. While this question no doubt belongs more properly to
another branch of inquiry, we remark here that even if happiness is
not god-sent but comes as a result of virtue or some kind of learning
or training, still it is evidently one of the most divine things in the
world, because that which is the reward as well as the end and aim of
virtuous conduct must evidently be of supreme excellence, something
divine and most blessed. If this is the case, happiness must further be
something that can be generally shared; for with the exception of

14inscription at Delos Delos is the island that once held the Athenian trea­
sury. It was the birthplace of Apollo, with whom the inscription would be associated.
15 divine dispensation A gift of the gods.
704 ETHICS AND MORALITY

those whose capacity for virtue has been stunted or maimed, everyone
will have the ability, by study and diligence, to acquire it. And if it is
better that happiness should be acquired in this way than by chance,
we may reasonably suppose that it happens so; because everything in
nature is arranged in the best way possible-just as in the case of
man-made products, and of every kind of causation, especially the
highest. It would be altogether wrong that what is greatest and noblest
in the world should be left to the dispensation of chance.
Our present difficulty is cleared up by our previous definition of 24
happiness, as a certain activity of the soul in accordance with virtue;
whereas all other sorts of good are either necessary conditions of,
or cooperative with and naturally useful instruments of this. Such a
conclusion, moreover, agrees with the proposition we laid down at
the outset: that the end of statecraft is the best of all ends, and that
the principal concern of statecraft is to make the citizens of a certain
character-namely, good and disposed to perform noble actions.
Naturally, therefore, we do not call an ox or a horse or any other 25
brute happy, since none of them is able to participate in conduct of
this kind. For the same reason a child is not happy, since at his age
he too is incapable of such conduct. Or if we do call a child happy,
it is in the sense of predicting for him a happy future. Happiness,
as we have said, involves not only a completeness of virtue but also a
complete lifetime for its fulfillment. Life brings many vicissitudes
and chance happenings, and it may be that one who is now prosper-
ous will suffer great misfortunes in his old age, as is told of Priam16
in the Trojan legends; and a man who is thus buffeted by fortune
and comes to a miserable end can scarcely be called happy.

Happiness and the Vicissitudes of Fortune

Are we, then, to call no one happy while he lives? Must we, as 26
Solon17 advises, wait to see his end? And if we accept this verdict, are
we to interpret it as meaning that a man actually becomes happy only
after he is dead? Would not this be downright absurd, especially for
us who define happiness as a kind of vital activity? Or if we reject this
interpretation, and suppose Solon to mean rather that it is only after
death, when beyond the reach of further evil and calamity that a man
can safely be said to have been happy during his life, there is still a

16Priam King of Troy in Homer's Iliad. He suffered a terrible reversal of for­

tune when Troy was defeated by the Greeks.
17 Solon (638-558 B.C.) Greek lawgiver and one of Greece's earliest poets. He
was one of the Seven Sages of Athens.
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 705

possible objection that may be offered. For many hold that both good
and evil may in a certain sense befall a dead man ( just as they may
befall a living man even when he is unconscious of them)-e.g., honors
and disgraces, and the prosperity or misfortune of his children and the
rest of his descendants. And this presents a further problem: suppose
a man to have lived to a happy old age, and to have ended as he lived,
there are still plenty of reverses that may befall his descendants-some
of them will perhaps lead a good life and be dealt with by fortune
as they deserve, others not. (It is clear, too, that a man's relationship
to his descendants admits of various degrees.) It would be odd, then,
if the dead man were to change along with the fortunes of his descen­
dants, becoming happy and miserable by turns; although, to be sure,
it would be equally odd if the fortunes of his descendants did not
affect him at all, even for a brief time.
But let us go back to our earlier question, 18 which may perhaps 27
clear up the one we are raising at present. Suppose we agree that we
must look to the end of a man's life, and only then call him happy,
not because he then is happy but because we can only then know
him to have been so: Is it not paradoxical to have refused to call him
happy during just the period when happiness was present to him?
On the other hand, we are naturally loath to apply the term to living
men, considering the vicissitudes to which they are liable. Happi­
ness, we argue, must be something that endures without any essen-
tial change, whereas a living individual may experience many turns
of fortune's wheel. Obviously if we judge by his changing fortunes
we shall have to call the same man now happy now wretched, thereby
regarding the happy man as a kind of chameleon and his happiness
as built on no secure foundation; yet it surely cannot be right to
regard a man's happiness as wholly dependent on his fortunes. True
good and evil are not of this character; rather, as we have said,
although good fortune is a necessary adjunct to a complete human
life, it is virtuous activities that constitute happiness, and the oppo-
site sort of activities that constitute its opposite.
The foregoing difficulty [that happiness can be judged of only 28
in retrospect] confirms, as a matter of fact, our theory. For none of
man's functions is so permanent as his virtuous activities-indeed,
many believe them to be more abiding even than a knowledge of the
sciences; and of his virtuous activities those are the most abiding
which are of highest worth, for it is with them that anyone blessed
with supreme happiness is most fully and most continuously occu­
pied, and hence never oblivious of. The happy man, then, will possess

181.e., whether we are to call no one happy while he still lives. [Translator's note]
706 ETHICS AND MORALITY

this attribute of permanence or stability about which we have been

inquiring, and will keep it all his life; because at all times and in pref­
erence to everything else he will be engaged in virtuous action and
contemplation, and he will bear the changes of fortune as nobly and
in every respect as decorously as possible, inasmuch as he is truly
good and "four-square beyond reproach. "19
But the dispensations of fortune are many, some great, others 29
small. Small ones do not appreciably turn the scales of life, but a mul­
titude of great ones, if they are of the nature of blessings, will make
life happier; for they add to life a grace of their own, provided that a
man makes noble and good use of them. If, however, they are of an
evil kind, they will crush and maim happiness, in that they bring
pain and thereby hinder many of our natural activities. Yet true
nobility shines out even here, if a multitude of great misfortunes be
borne with calmness-not, to be sure, with the calmness of insensi­
bility, but of nobility and greatness of soul.
If, as we have declared, it is our activities that give life its char- 30
acter, then no happy man can become miserable, inasmuch as he will
never do what is hateful or base. For we hold that the truly good
and wise man will bear with dignity whatever fortune sends, and will
always make the best of his circumstances, as a good general makes
the most effective use of the forces at his command, and a good
shoemaker makes the best shoes out of the leather that is available,
and so in the case of the other crafts. On this interpretation, the happy
man can never become miserable-although of course he will not
be blessed with happiness in the full sense of the word if he meets
with such a fate as Priam's. At all events, he is not variable and
always changing; for no ordinary misfortunes but only a multitude
of great ones will dislodge him from his happy state, and should this
occur he will not readily recover his happiness in a short time, but
only, if at all, after a long period has run its course, during which he
has achieved distinctions of a high order.
ls there any objection, then, to our defining a happy man as one 31
whose activities are an expression of complete virtue, and who at
the same time enjoys a sufficiency of worldly goods, not just for
some limited period, but for his entire lifetime? Or perhaps we had
better add the proviso that he shall be destined to go on living in this
manner, and die as he has lived; for, whereas the future is obscure to

19 A quotation from Simonides. [Translator's note] Simonides (556?-469 B.C.)

Greek lyric poet who lived and wrote for a while in Athens. His works survive in a
handful of fragments; this quotation is from fragment 5.
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 707

us, we conceive happiness to be an end, something altogether and in

every respect final and complete. Granting all this, we may declare
those living men to be "blessed with supreme happiness" in whom
these conditions have been and are continuing to be fulfilled. Their
blessedness, however, is of human order.
So much for our discussion of this question. 32

Derivation of the Two Kinds of Human Excellence

Since happiness is a certain activity of the soul in accordance with 33

perfect virtue, we must next examine the nature of virtue. Not only
will such an inquiry perhaps clarify the problem of happiness; it will
also be of vital concern to the true student of statecraft, whose aim is
to make his fellow citizens good and law-abiding. The Cretan and
Spartan lawgivers,2° as well as such others as may have resembled
them, exemplify this aim. And clearly, if such an inquiry has to do with
statecraft, it will be in keeping with our original purpose to pursue it.
It goes without saying that the virtue we are to study is human 34
virtue, just as the good that we have been inquiring about is a human
good, and the happiness a human happiness. By human virtue we
mean virtue not of the body but of the soul, and by happiness too we
mean an activity of the soul. This being the case, it is no less evident
that the student of statecraft must have some knowledge of the soul,
than that a physician who is to heal the eye or the whole body must
have some knowledge of these organs; more so, indeed, in proportion
as statecraft is superior to and more honorable than medicine. Now all
physicians who are educated take much pains to know about the body.
Hence as students of statecraft, too, we must inquire into the nature of
the soul; but we must do so with reference to our own distinctive aim
and only to the extent that it requires, for to go into minuter detail
would be more laborious than is warranted by our subject matter.
We may adopt here certain doctrines about the soul that have 35
been adequately stated in our public discourses: 2 1 as that the soul
may be distinguished into two parts, one of which is irrational while
the other possesses reason. Whether these two parts are actually dis­
tinct like the parts of the body or any other divisible thing, or are

20Cretan and Spartan lawgivers Both Crete and Sparta were noted for their con­
stitutions, based on the laws of Gortyn in Crete. These laws were aristocratic, not demo­
cratic as in Athens; they promoted a class system and a rigid code of personal behavior.
21 our public discourses Aristotle may be referring to speeches at which the
public is welcome, as opposed to his lectures to students.
708 ETHICS AND MORALITY

distinct only in a logical sense, like convex and concave in the cir­
cumference of a circle, is immaterial to our present inquiry.
Of the irrational part, again, one division is apparently of a veg- 36
etative nature and common to all living things: I mean that which is
the cause of nutrition and growth. It is more reasonable to postulate
a vital faculty of this sort, present in all things that take nourish­
ment, even when in an embryo stage, and retained by the full-grown
organism, than to assume a special nutritive faculty in the latter.
Hence we may say that the excellence belonging to this part of the
soul is common to all species, and not specifically human: a point
that is further confirmed by the popular view that this part of the
soul is most active during sleep. For it is during sleep that the dis­
tinction between good men and bad is least apparent; whence the
saying that for half their lives the happy are no better off than the
wretched. This, indeed, is natural enough, for sleep is an inactivity
of the soul in those respects in which the soul is called good or bad.
(It is true, however, that to a slight degree certain bodily movements
penetrate to the soul; which is the reason why good men's dreams
are superior to those of the average person.) But enough of this sub­
ject: let us dismiss the nutritive principle, since it has by nature no
share in human excellence.
There seems to be a second part of the soul, which though irra- 37
tional yet in some way partakes of reason. For while we praise the
rational principle and the part of the soul that manifests it in the
case of the continent and incontinent man alike, on the ground that
it exhorts them rightly and urges them to do what is best; yet we
find within these men another element different in nature from the
rational element, and struggling against and resisting it. Just as
ataxic limbs,22 when we choose to move them to the right, tum on
the contrary to the left, so it is with the soul: the impulses of the
incontinent man run counter to his ruling part. The only difference
is that in the case of the body we see what it is that goes astray,
while in the soul we do not. Nevertheless the comparison will
doubtless suffice to show that there is in the soul something besides
the rational element, opposing and running counter to it. (In what
sense the two elements are distinct is immaterial.) But this other ele­
ment, as we have said, seems also to have some share in a rational
principle: at any rate, in the continent man it submits to reason,
while in the man who is at once temperate and courageous it is pre­
sumably all the more obedient; for in him it speaks on all matters
harmoniously with the voice of reason.

22 ataxic limbs Aristotle refers to a nervous disorder of the limbs.

 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 709

Evidently, then, the irrational part of the soul is twofold. There 38

is the vegetative element, which has no share in reason, and there is
the concupiscent,23 or rather the appetitive element, which does in a
sense partake of reason, in that it is amenable and obedient to it: i.e.,
it is rational in the sense that we speak of "having logos of" [paying
heed to] father and friends, not in the sense of "having logos of"
[having a rational understanding oO mathematical truths. That this
irrational element is in some way amenable to reason is shown by
our practice of giving admonishment, and by rebuke and exhorta­
tion generally. If on this account it is deemed more correct to regard
this element as also possessing reason, then the rational part of the
soul, in turn, will have two subdivisions: the one being rational in
the strict sense as actually possessing reason, the other merely in the
sense that a child obeys its father.
Virtue, too, is differentiated in accordance with this division of 39
the soul: for we call some of the virtues intellectual and others moral:
wisdom, understanding, and sagacity being among the former, liberal-
ity and temperance among the latter. In speaking of a man's character
we do not say that he is wise or intelligent, but that he is gentle
or temperate; yet we praise the wise man too for the disposition he has
developed within himself, and praiseworthy dispositions we call
virtues.

23 concupiscent Sexual; Aristotle corrects himself to refer to the general nature

of desire.

QUESTIONS FO R C RITI C A L R EADING

1 . Define the following terms: good, virtue, honor, happiness, truth, soul, body.
2. In the first paragraphs of the selection, Aristotle talks about aims and
ends. What does he mean by these terms?
3. Do you feel that Aristotle's view of the relationship of virtue to happi­
ness is as relevant today as he argued it was in his day?
4. What is Aristotle's attitude toward most people?
5 . What characteristics can we assume about the audience for whom
Aristotle writes?
6. In what senses is the selection modem? In what senses is it antique or
dated?

SUG G ESTIONS FO R C R ITI C A L W RITING

1 . Aristotle discusses the virtuous life in this selection. How would you
apply his views to your own life? What ethical issues is Aristotle pointing
710 ETHICS AND MORALITY

us toward in this essay? To what extent does his guidance translate to

modem life? Explain.
2. In his section on the primacy of statecraft, Aristotle makes a number of
assertions regarding the relationship of the happiness of the individual
to the welfare (or happiness) of the state. Clarify as much as possible
the relationship of the individual's happiness to that of the state. How
can a state be happy? Is the term relevant to anything other than an
individual? Does Aristotle think that the individual's interests should
be subservient to the state's?
3. In paragraph 1 5 , Aristotle talks about the function of man. Relying on
that discussion and other aspects of the work, write your own version
of "The Function of Man . " Be sure to use man as a collective term for
both men and women. Once you have clarified the function of man,
establish the connection between function and happiness. Is it true
that the best-functioning person will be the happiest person? Aristotle
implies that it is not enough to be, say, honorable or noble, but that
one must act honorably or nobly. Is the implication true?
4 . Take Aristotle's definition, "Happiness is a certain activity of the soul in
accordance with perfect virtue." Define it in terms that are clear not
only to you but also to your peers. Take care to include each part of
the definition: "certain activity" (or lack of it) , "soul" (which in modem
terms may be "personality" or "psyche") , "in accordance with," "perfect
virtue." You may rely on any parts of the selection that can be of help,
but be sure to use the topic of definition to guide you through the
selection. You certainly may disagree with Aristotle or amplify aspects
of his definitions. In one sense, you will be defining happiness for your­
self and your times.
5. In his "confirmation by popular beliefs" (para. 19 and following) , Aristotle
talks about the good. He mentions three classes of good, ranking them in
order from lowest to highest: external goods, goods of the body, and
goods of the soul. Using concrete examples, define each of these classes
of good. Do you agree with Aristotle's order? Do you think that your
peers agree with it? Where possible, give examples to help establish the
validity of your opinion. Finally, do you think that our society in general
puts the same value on these three classes of good that Aristotle does?
Again, use examples where possible.
6. Analyze the following quotations from the selection, taking a stand on
the question of whether or not Aristotle is generally correct in his
assertion about the aim of man:
It is in our best activities, or in the best one of them, that we say hap­
piness consists. (para. 2 1)
A man who does not enjoy doing noble actions is not a good man at
all. (para. 21)
Even supposing the chief good t o b e eventually the same for the
individual as for the state, that of the state is evidently of greater
and more fundamental importance both to attain and to preserve.
(para. 4)
 ARISTOTLE: The Aim of Man 711

In life . . . those who carry off the finest prizes are those who mani­
fest their excellence in their deeds. (para. 20)
If, as we have declared, it is our activities that give life its character,
then no happy man can become miserable, inasmuch as he will never
do what is hateful or base. (para. 30)
7 . CONNECTIONS Write an essay in which you define happiness by
comparing Aristotle's views with those in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The
Origin of Civil Society" (p. 55) or in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of
Independence (p. 77). Compare their attitudes toward material and
spiritual happiness as well as their attitudes toward political freedom
and the need for possessions. What does Aristotle leave out that others
feel is important?
8. SEEING CONNECTIONS The people in the household featured in
Wright's An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (p. 687) have obvi­
ously chosen to have the scientist come into their house to perform his
experiments. How would observing this experiment have contributed
to the happiness of those assembled in the painting? What is the
nature of good in this painting7 What role does virtue play in the
painting? Considering the soul in psychological terms, what range of
soulful experiences are present in the painting7 Do they all contribute
to ultimate happiness?