Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

1. Revised, 2/27/07 (Text, pp. 125-138) Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics The Concept of Eudaimonia Dr. George Cronk BCC Dept. of Philosophy & Religion

2. Anthem

3. Overall Structure of A’s NEI. The Human Good II. Two Types of Human Excellence: Intellectual & Moral III. Moral Excellence IV. Freedom & Moral Responsibility V. Intellectual Excellence VI. Concluding Discussion on the Good Life

4. I. The Ultimate Human Good (Text, pp. 125-8)

5. The Human Good • The Nicomachean Ethics is an attempt to describe what it takes for a human being to live a good (i.e., happy) life. • The key concept in the NE is the idea of eudaimonia, usually translated into English as “happiness.”

6. The Goal-Directed (Teleological) Nature of Human Conduct • All distinctively human (i.e., conscious, rational, & voluntary) actions aim at some good. • Some goods are ends, and others are means to an end. • Ends are more valuable than means. • Thus, some goods are higher than others.

7. The idea of the Highest (or Ultimate) Good What is it?

8. Eudaimonia: The Ultimate Good • Verbal agreement that the ultimate human good is eudaimonia (“happiness”). Human beings naturally pursue happiness. • Substantive disagreement as to the nature of happiness. • Will the pursuit of pleasure & the avoidance of pain make us happy? • How about money, status, & power?

9. Aristotle’s View of Happiness -- General Characteristics • Finality & completeness • A pure end (not a means, not an end that is also a means). Desired entirely for its own sake & not for the sake of anything else. • Sufficient in itself. If you are happy, you don’t need any other good. • Not one good among others, but an ultimate good above all others.

10. Aristotle’s View of Happiness -- Specific Nature • What is the distinctive & characteristic function (ergon) of a human being? • It is not life (vitality) (both plants & animals are alive). • It is not sentience (animals are sentient). • The distinctive function of a human being is reasoning (nous).

11. Excellent Functioning • Aristotle adds the idea of excellence (arete) to the idea of distinctive function (ergon). • The function of a guitar player is to play the guitar; the function of an accomplished guitarist is to play the guitar excellently. • If the function of a human being is to live in accordance with reason, then the function of a self-actualized (truly happy, eudaimonic) human being is to reason excellently.

12. Thus, • happiness (eudaimonia) results from excellent reasoning & from living in accordance with excellent reasoning. • Another formulation: Happiness results from a rational life focused on the pursuit of excellence.

13. However, • in addition to living in accordance with excellent reasoning, human beings also need “external prosperity” or “circumstantial security” (money, friends, power, social status, etc.).

14. Internal & External Goods External Goods (Circumstantial Security) Friends Money Status Power Internal Goods Psychological (e.g., peace of mind) Bodily (e.g., physical health)

15. Eudaimonia (Happiness) – a product of Human Excellence (arete) (an internal good) plus Circumstantial Security (an external good)

16. II. Two Types of Human Excellence: Intellectual & Moral (Text, pp. 128-9)

17. Human Excellence (arete) • Rational Dimension = Intellect Self • Nonrational Dimension • Life, Nutrition, Growth (Vitality; Basic Organic Processes) • Desire

18. Two Types of Human Excellence Intellectual Excellence = the excellent functioning of the intellect (correct thinking & reasoning) -- corresponds to the rational dimension of the self Moral Excellence = desiring and acting in accordance with reason -- corresponds to the desiring dimension of the self

19. Questions to think about: • What about physical excellence? • Is there a type of excellence corresponding to the physical-biological level of the self? • Why does Aristotle not include this level of excellence? Should he include it?

20. (Text, pp. 129-134) III. Moral Excellence (Moral Virtue)

21. How is moral excellence (virtue) acquired? Early-life moral training (moral habituation) and Moral practice (repeated performance of morally virtuous actions)

22. What This Means Human beings have a natural potential for moral virtue, and this potentiality is actualized through early-life moral habituation and through the (life-long?) practice and performance of morally virtuous actions.

23. Moral Virtue in General: The Doctrine of the Mean Objective expression: Morally virtuous feelings and actions are those that avoid the extremes of excess (too much) and deficiency (too little). Relative expression: The moral mean is relative to the individual and to the circumstances in which the individual is situated.

24. A Qualification • The doctrine of the mean does not apply to absolute evils (e.g., murder) or to absolute goods (e.g., the pursuit of wisdom). • There is no deficiency but only excess with regard to absolute evils. • There is no excess but only deficiency with regard to absolute goods.

25. Specific Moral Virtues See Table of Virtues & Vices in text, p. 132. See also following slides on courage, temperance, & justice. Apply Aristotle’s Table of Virtues & Vices to yourself. Using at least three of his virtue-vice categories, how virtuous (or un-virtuous) are you? Something to think about:

26. The Major ("Cardinal") Moral Virtues • Courage (fortitude) -- fear & confidence; endurance of pain • Temperance -- pursuit of pleasure & avoidance of pain • Justice -- doing good with regard to others

27. The willingness & ability to expose oneself to danger & pain when necessary to the achievement of some real & substantial good The coward shrinks or runs from danger & pain; & the reckless person exposes her/himself to danger & pain even when it is not necessary to the achievement of a real & substantial good. Courage

28. The willingness & ability to forego pleasure when necessary to the achievement of some real & substantial good The mindless hedonist always pursues pleasure & always avoids pain, no matter what; & the “insensible” person fails to enjoy the pleasures of life at all. Temperance

29. A just person is in the habit of obeying the law & of treating people fairly. An unjust person is a law-breaker and/or one who takes unfair advantage of others. Justice:The Virtue of Doing Good with Regard to Others

30. 1. Justice as lawfulness 2. Justice as fairness There are, then, two forms of justice:

31. Justice as Lawfulness • Good laws aim at the common good of society, i.e., the production & preservation of the happiness of the political community. • A system of good laws requires us to act in a morally virtuous way, i.e., to exercise ALL of the moral virtues, and it forbids ALL immoral conduct. [Is this true? Should it be?]

32. Questions to think about: Is a just person always morally obligated to obey all laws, even bad laws? Why or why not? Under what circumstances is “civil disobedience” justified? Examples?

33. Justice as Fairness • Giving and taking in accordance with • the principle of equality and • the principle of assignment by desert or merit • This seems to amount to a principle of equality or inequality of desert or merit.

34. Fair (Equitable) Distribution of Goods & Evils • Should be based on equality or inequality of desert or merit: • Equally deserving = equal shares • Unequally deserving = unequal shares in proportion to inequality. That is, those who are more deserving get more; those who are less deserving get less.

35. Application to Penalties & Punishments • Penalties & punishments should be imposed only on those who deserve them, and no one should be penalized or punished either too much or too little. • What about unequal penalties or punishments imposed on the equally deserving? Mr. A & Mr. B are guilty of murder, and both deserve the death penalty. Mr. A is executed, but Mr. B receives a life sentence. This seems unjust on the basis of Aristotle’s theory of fairness, but where, exactly, is the injustice?

36. The Law The RetributiveTheory of Punishment -- Criminals deserve to be punished (needs clarification). -- Only criminals (& no non-criminals) should be punished (needs clarification). -- The punishment should be proportionate to the gravity of the crime. -- Where does deterrence fit in? Does it?

37. Questions: • Why does Aristotle call justice as lawfulness “complete” or “universal” justice? • Why does he call justice as fairness “partial” or “particular” justice? • In what sense is justice a mean?

38. Summary to this point: • Eudaimonia = excellence + external security • Human excellence: intellectual & moral -- • living in accordance with reason • Moral excellence • In general: pursuing the mean (except • where there is no mean) • In particular: courage, temperance, • justice, & the other specific moral virtues

39. IV. Freedom & Moral Responsibility Next Slide (Text, pp. 134-5)

40. Moral Excellence, cont’d -- Moral Responsibility • Should we praise the morally virtuous and condemn the morally vicious? • That is, should we hold people morally responsible for what they feel and do? • If so, what is the basis of moral responsibility? Under what circumstances does it make sense to hold people morally responsible?

41. The Distinction between Voluntary and Involuntary Action Generally speaking, people may be held responsible for their voluntary actions, but not for their involuntary actions. What, then, are the differences between voluntary & involuntary action?

42. Two Types of Involuntary Action • Actions performed under compulsion, i.e., (1) caused by a force external to the agent & (2) the agent contributes nothing to the action. • Actions performed on the basis of ignorance of the “particular circumstances” of the action (agent, act, object of action, instrument, aim or purpose, manner).

43. Voluntary Action Not performed either (1) under compulsion or (2) on the basis of ignorance, but rather caused by the agent with knowledge of the “particular circumstances” of the act.

44. Distinction between volition & choice • Some voluntary actions are not products of choice. Examples? • The nature of choice: requires thinking & reasoning; a product of prior deliberation. • Proper objects of deliberation: things that are possible; things we can control; means, not ends. [Not ends?]

45. Moral Freedom & Personal Responsibility • Voluntary actions that result from deliberation & choice are morally free. • Actions that are morally free may be praised or blamed.

46. Questions to consider: • In what sense do praising, blaming, rewarding, & punishing imply the reality of moral freedom & personal responsibility? • Is it always morally incorrect to blame &/or punish people for involuntary actions based on ignorance? Why or why not? Examples?

47. The Determinism-Libertarianism Debate in MetaphysicsDeterminism: All human behavior is caused (determined) by environment (e.g., “society”), heredity, fate, etc. The individual is not free.Libertarianism (“self-determinism”): At least some human behavior is self-caused (i.e., chosen by the individual).

48. Are you a determinist or a libertarian? Why? Where do you stand?

49. VI. Intellectual Excellence & the Intellectual Virtues (Text, pp. 136-7)

50. Intellectual Excellence • How is intellectual excellence acquired? • Instruction • Study • Learning