Nicomachean Ethics

What Is the Nicomachean Ethics About?

Aristotle begins by asking what all human activity aims at. His answer: happiness — but not the modern sense of "feeling good." Eudaimonia means flourishing, living well, fulfilling your nature as a rational being.

Virtue, Aristotle argues, is a habit. You become courageous by practicing courage, generous by practicing generosity. Each virtue is a "golden mean" between two extremes — courage lies between cowardice and recklessness, generosity between stinginess and extravagance.

The work covers the intellectual virtues (wisdom, understanding), the moral virtues (justice, temperance, courage), friendship, pleasure, and the contemplative life. It's addressed to his son Nicomachus — making it one of philosophy's great father-to-son letters.

Why the Nicomachean Ethics Still Matters

• Character formation: Aristotle's insight that virtue is a habit — something you practice, not just know — is the basis of character education.
• The golden mean: The idea that excellence lies between extremes applies to everything from personal conduct to political life.
• Friendship: Aristotle's analysis of friendship (Books VIII–IX) remains the best philosophical treatment of the topic.
• Purpose and meaning: In an age of anxiety about meaning, Aristotle offers a clear framework: the good life is the virtuous life.

Why Classical Schools Teach It

The Nicomachean Ethics is central to the Great Books curriculum. At Saints Classical Academy, Aristotle's ethics are taught in the rhetoric stage and inform our entire approach to character formation.

• Provides the philosophical framework for understanding virtue and character
• Develops rigorous analytical thinking through Aristotle's systematic method
• Connects to the study of logic — Aristotle invented formal logic
• Bridges ancient philosophy and Christian moral theology (Thomas Aquinas built on Aristotle)