In the teachings of this great Greek philosopher, virtue occupies an important place; it is present in all of his works. For Aristotle, virtue is the foundation of an ideal human community, and for the individual, it is the best choice – the path that leads a person to fulfilling their role. The importance of ethics as the teaching of virtue for Aristotle can be seen in the fact that he wrote two works dedicated solely to ethics: “Nicomachean Ethics” and “Eudemian Ethics.”
“Nicomachean Ethics” is the first fully preserved work in the field of Hellenic ethics that expresses the morals and habits of the Hellenic people, their moral principles. It consists of ten books and is named after Aristotle’s son, Nicomachus, who prepared it for publication.
“Eudemian Ethics” consists of seven books and discusses the theological foundations of morality. Its basic idea is that moral action is a person’s striving towards God. It is named after Eudemus, Aristotle’s disciple who published the work.
Another work by Aristotle closely connected to ethical teaching is “Politics.” In it, Aristotle presents his teachings on the state. These works, as he himself says at the end of the Nicomachean Ethics, together provide a unique “philosophy of human life.”
The purpose of life and the role of ethics
According to Aristotle’s teachings, everything that exists has a purpose (telos) determined by its own nature. In order to achieve this purpose, action (praxis) is necessary, but not just any action, the best action. By such action, the greatest good that can and should be achieved is also realized.
Few individuals combine high social status and moral values.
The best action is fitting for humans. According to Aristotle, this is an action guided by reason as something specific to human beings. Reason enables knowledge, and the application of knowledge in practical action is ethics. Therefore, for him, virtue is not something innate, but something acquired and developed through practice throughout life. It is a state of being for a person, and its existence or nonexistence depends on the individual. , about his choice.
By acting in accordance with virtue, eudaimonia (happiness or bliss) is achieved as what is… the best and most beautiful and most pleasant for a person. It is also the best for the human community.
In the first book of Aristotle’s Ethics, he says: As for the word itself, almost everyone agrees, because both the common people and the educated say that it is bliss, and they equate “living well” and “acting well” with “being blissful”.
Aristotle emphasizes that a person should live like this throughout their whole life because… one day or a short period of time does not make anyone blissful and happy.
Soul and virtue
When Aristotle talks about virtues, he links them to his teachings about the soul. According to him, a person’s soul consists of two parts: the non-rational and the rational part.
Aristotle divides the non-rational part of the soul into the vegetative and the desiring part. The vegetative part is linked to growth and nourishment. This part of the soul is common to all living beings (humans, plants, and animals… The irrational part of the soul (appetitive) does not participate in virtue. Unlike it, the appetitive part, although not rational, can and must be subjected to reason and therefore participate in virtue.
The rational part of the human soul is also twofold – Aristotle distinguishes between passive and active reason. Passive reason, which Aristotle also calls judgmental reason, is focused on the transient and changeable, and it itself is transient. Active reason, also known as scientific reason, is directed towards eternal principles, of divine nature, and therefore is eternal and unchangeable. Passive reason is “subordinated” to active reason, just as someone is obedient to their father.
In accordance with this division of the soul, Aristotle also divides virtues into ethical virtues that are related to the irrational part of the soul, specifically its appetitive part, and into dianoetic or logical virtues related to the rational part of the soul.
Ethical virtues
According to Aristotle, the will is important for the development of ethical virtues. As freedom is the fundamental characteristic of human will, a person chooses whether they will develop ethical virtues and thus gain mastery over them. The precondition for this is the awareness that comes from the rational part of the soul, because only reason can choose what is best for a person and direct their will towards it. By acting in a way where one’s will, as the motivator, is guided by reason, i.e. through correct choices, long practice, and habits, ethical virtues are developed.
In the development of these virtues, Aristotle emphasizes the principle of the right measure or the mean that exists in nature. The mean is the right measure between excess and deficiency. The principle of “neither too much nor too little” is not only the basic principle of his ethics but also of his entire philosophical system.
Aristotle provides examples of ethical virtues:
Courage is the mean between cowardice as a deficiency and excessive boldness as an excess. Aristotle says: “A person who is afraid of what they should be afraid of, and endures it in the right way and at the right time, is courageous. Courage is beautiful for the courageous person, and it is also the goal. And every virtue is determines its purpose. Therefore, because of what is beautiful, the brave endure and do what is in accordance with bravery. … And one should be brave not out of force, but because it is beautiful.
Moderation is the middle ground in relation to pleasures, primarily bodily pleasures. Opposite it is insatiability, for which Aristotle says: … it is obvious that excessive indulgence is insatiability and deserves reprimand. Regarding moderation, he says: … in a moderate person, the desired part should be in harmony with the principle of reason; namely, for both, the goal is what is beautiful, and a moderate person desires what is necessary, how it should be, and when it should be, and so does the principle dictate.
Generosity is the middle ground in relation to money. It is between two extremes – stinginess and extravagance. Regarding them, Aristotle says: … we attribute stinginess to those who worry about money more than necessary, … and we call spendthrifts those who are unrestrained and wasteful to excess. … Furthermore, he says: Everything that Usable, can be used for good and bad; and wealth is one of the benefits; the one who possesses virtue towards it best utilizes every thing. In the same way, the one who possesses virtue towards money will best utilize wealth. And such is a generous person. … Activities in accordance with virtue are beautiful and are undertaken for the sake of beauty. Therefore, the generous person will give for the sake of beauty, and correctly: to those who need it, how much and when they need it… Generosity is, for Aristotle, the “ornament” among virtues. It is the mean between cowardice and arrogance. Aristotle says: … the generous person is extreme in greatness, but is a mean in correctness; they consider themselves worthy according to merit, while others either overdo or fall short in that… And it seems that the characteristic of a generous person is greatness in every virtue. He says that it is difficult to be truly generous because it requires the realization of harmony between beauty and goodness, physical and moral excellence, and nobility – kalokagatia. In terms of justice, Aristotle
There are two types of laws: written laws that govern a state, and unwritten, natural laws that apply to all people. In addition to this general, unwritten law, there is also a “higher form of justice” that is guided not by the letter of the law but by its spirit. Dianoetic virtues
Dianoetic virtues belong to the rational part of the human soul, which Aristotle sees as twofold: the discursive part that deals with the transient and changeable, and the scientific part that deals with the eternal and unchanging. The discursive part of reason “listens” to the scientific part.
Positivity of character is more reflected in the performance of what is good than in the non-performance of what is bad.
The rational part enables us to reach the truth, what is right and good, and that is precisely the basis for the development of all virtues.
According to Aristotle, there are five ways in which the soul achieves truth: skill and prudence (the discursive part of reason) and knowledge, art, and wisdom (the scientific part of reason). These ways are simultaneously dianoetic virtues.
Skill (techné) is a virtue that concerns creation, and its purpose is beyond itself, i.e. …the purpose different from itself… Its purpose is in what it creates, for example, the skill of making a table.
Prudence (phronêsis) (thesis) refers to action, and its purpose is in itself because … good action is its own purpose. It deals with things that are human and can be contemplated. Aristotle believes that … the task of a prudent person is primarily to think well … A prudent person is capable of assessing what is best for him among the things that can be done.
Prudence, for Aristotle, is the good that is done, it is … the ability to perform human goods, truly and according to reason. Prudence has no authority over wisdom … it does not use wisdom but strives for its creation; therefore, it commands for its sake, but not to it.
Prudence is important for the development of ethical virtues because it enables a person to “see” what is true and good and to choose exactly that, and then act accordingly with the help of the will.
The most important virtues belonging to the scientific part of reason are:
Knowledge (episteme) – the subject of knowledge is what is eternal, … and eternal things are also uncreated and imperishable. Science The power of provability exists, and scientific knowledge is possible only if the beginnings are known… what is scientifically known is also proven…
Mind (nous) – … encompasses the beginnings themselves. It is the intuitive knowledge of the highest principles.
The highest dianoetic virtue
Just as reason surpasses will, dianoetic virtues surpass ethical virtues, and therefore mind is the “crown of all virtues”.
Mind is the expression of what is best in man, and through it, a man rises above his transient nature and comes closest to the divine… We should strive for immortality as much as possible and make every effort to live according to what is noblest within us.
Ethics and politics
Aristotle believes that the highest human good lies in the unity of ethics and politics.
By nature, man is “politikos”. “Man, or rather, only in community with others, within the polis, can the individual achieve the purpose of their existence through their best actions. The polis is not just a city-state as an institution, it is the creation of the citizens, those who have the capacity for ethical improvement, and act in accordance with virtue. Ethical virtue is therefore a prerequisite for being a citizen. Most people find happiness in sensory pleasures and the possession of goods that can ensure a comfortable life. Since the majority submits only to fear and seeks only to satisfy their own desires, making laws in accordance with them, they cannot achieve a true polis. Therefore, the best order is one that aligns with the nature of a true citizen in contrast to the order desired by the majority. As it is practically impossible to achieve an ideal order, Aristotle proposes a compromise between these two extremes, a compromise that will ensure the stability of the polis.
Therefore, ethics as the science of goodness, and specifically the highest good that can only be achieved in the state, is directly linked to the polis.” Politics – they condition and complement each other.
Friendship
Friendship is one of the most important ethical themes in Greek philosophical schools, especially among the Pythagoreans, and for Socrates, friendship is the most precious good of a person… Aristotle believes that friendship is a necessary virtue for human life, which is why he introduces it into his ethics.
A good person treats their friend as they treat themselves.
Depending on the aim, Aristotle distinguishes three types of friendship: friendship that aims at common benefit, common enjoyment, or the realization of moral good. True friendship, as the highest and noblest type, is friendship that aims at the realization of moral good. According to Aristotle, this type of friendship is only possible between good people, it is long-lasting and rare, as many do not have the capacity for such friendship. Other friendships are transient. A good person behaves towards their friend as they do towards themselves, because a friend is “another self,” and in order for a person to truly love their friend, they must first love themselves. One can always be a friend to others, but they must be a friend to themselves as well, that is, they must love themselves. Aristotle says that kindness is the beginning of friendship and mentions that harmony represents political friendship, that is, the highest and broadest form of friendship among people. So, for Aristotle, the development and practice of virtues is the best thing a person can and should achieve in their own life. Ethical virtues will enable them to make their practical life the best possible and most suitable for them as an individual, to choose what is best with the help of reason and to implement it with the help of will. And dianoetic virtues will elevate them internally towards the most sublime and noble that they have within themselves.