... every sort of self-sufficiency: it comes to be for the sake of living, but continues for the sake of living well. (2) Self-sufficiency is the end. (3) The end, that for the sake of which, is the best. (4) Therefore, the city exists by nature. [COMMENTS: (1) By a self-sufficient life, as he points out in the Nicomachean Ethics (I.7.1097b8-17, X.7.1177a28-b2), Aristotle does not mean a solitary life, but a life which is ... choiceworthy and lacking nothing. This was identified in the Nicomachean Ethics with the exercise of the specifically human virtues of thought and ... ...

• Word Count: 1587
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... good in a certain way. If one does something well they are considered "good". Therefore, the final good is considered an action in which one strives to reach. Throughout Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, the effort to reach the final good is something one must do. When talking about happiness, Aristotle considers one's life as a whole, not just brief moments of it. This makes one question that ... family, or anything else. Each action aims at some kind of end. The final good should be self-sufficient. Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle is a philosophical journal that expresses the nature of t...

• Word Count: 914
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... an education is to learn from doing, not from stealing other peoples work. So, onward I trudged into an abyss of ethics, of thoughts of what Aristotle would have done. Clearly, in his Nicomachean Ethics writings, he touches on the virtue of making the right decisions. "Aristotle says that the virtuous person decides on virtuous action for it's own sake." (Pg. 322) This description is beautiful in that he ... touches on the fact that there are people that might not be so virtuous, but the decisions they make everyday, can help them to be more virtuous ... , ultimately sacrificing my own ...

• Word Count: 1072
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Upon reading Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, I initially thought that human virtue was to be happy, to achieve happiness. The ultimate end, the final cause, according to Aristotle would be to achieve happiness in one's life. On gaining a better understanding to Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, I've found that in reality, human virtue is so much more than achieving happiness. Human virtue is about disposition, skill. It is about the ability for something to ... function. For example, the virtue of a kitchen knife is to cut. Now if the knife becomes dull, then it loses its ability to cut ... ...

• Word Count: 620
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School