1. The Ring of Gyges
Plato

2. Aristotle’s Moral TheoryBC
Greek Philosopher
Nicomachean Ethics
Student of Plato
Wrote on many subjects

3. Aristotle’s Ethics
Virtue Ethics

4. The Great Three Plato (429 - 347) Socrates (469 - 399)
Greek Philosophers (500BC – 200BC) Timeline
The Great Three
Plato, 20, meets Socrates, 60
Aristotle, 17, meets Plato, 62
Plato ( )
500 BC
200 BC
Socrates ( )
Aristotle ( )

5. A Roman copy of a bust of Aristotle by the Greek master, Lysippos in 330 BCE

6. What do you want to be when you grow up?

7. HAPPY!!!!

8. The end or goal of man is to be happy Isn’t your ultimate desire to
Teleological Ethics
The end or goal of man is to be happy
Isn’t your ultimate desire to
be Happy?

9. All things aim toward happiness
Why do you want to be rich?
Why do you want a nice car?
Why do you want a nice spouse?
Intermediate Goals

10. Isn’t your final goal
TO BE HAPPY?

11. Eudaimonia
Greek for Happiness

12. Eudaimonia Defined To live well Well-being Human flourishing
Self-sufficient
Family
Friends
Fame
Wealth

13. TEMPORAL CIRCUMSTANCES
But also:
Luck
Fortune
Based upon
TEMPORAL CIRCUMSTANCES

14. How do we understand happiness?
By answering the question:
What is the function of Man?

15. The function of a thing will help us determine what a “good” thing really is

16. Example What is the function of a knife? To cut
Therefore a good knife cuts good and is therefore sharp

17. The function of man is the exercise of his reason

18. Is a man who uses his reason
A Good Man
Is a man who uses his reason
The rational man

19. What does it mean to be rational?
To live in such a way that will enable you to satisfy your purpose
Which is to be happy!

20. How do we achieve this?
By Developing Virtue

21. Happiness and Virtue
Happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance with perfect virtue

22. The virtuous man is the most excellent man
Arete
Virtue
Excellence
The virtuous man is the most excellent man

23. The middle point between two extremes
What is Virtue?
The Relative Mean
between two extremes
The middle point between two extremes
The “Golden Mean”

24. Relative v. Absolute Mean
is the exact mid-point
between two extremes
Aristotle is not talking about this!

25. Specific Circumstances
Based Upon?
The Individual’s
Physical
Intellectual
Genetic
Specific Circumstances

26. How much should you drink?
For Example
How much should you drink?

27. Considerations Weight? Physical Constitution?
How much food have you consumed?
What’s your mental and emotional state?

28. These may change over time
Your Mean may change

29. You need to know yourself
Possessing Virtue means that you also know yourself
Your Limits
Your Strengths
Your Weaknesses

30. 4 Primary Virtues
Wisdom
Justice
Courage
Moderation

31. What are the two extremes that wisdom is the middle point of?

32. Justice

33. Courage

34. Moderation

35. Social Virtues

36. The Virtue is to be Generous
Concerning Money
The Virtue is to be Generous

37. Virtue Concerning Honor
Pride
(Appropriate Self-Respect)

38. We should have
Good Temper

39. We are not born with virtue
Virtue is not Natural
We are not born with virtue

40. This is Good If we had to be born with virtue and were not
That would be it
There would be nothing we could do about it

41. How do we develop Virtue
By Developing Character Qualities
Through Practice
Through Habits

42. Thru Experience
Thru a Good Teacher

43. Aristotle places ethics within the larger framework of politics
Ethics and Politics
Aristotle places ethics within the larger framework of politics

44. Everything flows from the top down
Why?
Because if the goal of human existence is happiness, our political leaders must know this
Everything flows from the top down

45. Example
Politicians
Generals
Cavalry
Blacksmith

46. Friendship
Books 9 and 10 of the “Nicomachean Ethics” deal with the questions of
What is friendship?

47. 3 Types of Friendship 1. Friendship of Pleasure
2. Friendship of Utility
3. Friendship of Excellence

48. Friendship of Pleasure
A friendship of pleasure is one based on the fact that certain people simply enjoy one another’s company,
but what both parties really seek is their own pleasure.

49. Since the good that is desired on both sides is pleasure and enjoyment,
relationships of this sort tend to fade and break off when what had given pleasure ceases to do so.

50. Friendships of young people often tend to be of this variety

51. Friendship of Utility
A friendship of utility is grounded on the mutual advantage that the parties serve with respect to one another.

52. The friendliness that marks this sort of relationship is largely based on the usefulness that is served by being nice to one another,
as in the workplace

53. There is little to sustain the relationship when the mutual utility ceases

54. Friendship of Excellence
A friendship of excellence
(also called friendship of character)
depends on virtuous people wishing well for one another.

55. Despite the fact that such relationships will also usually be pleasant or useful,
such factors are incidental,
because these people wish well to their friends for their friends’ own sake.

56. Such friendship arises from character;
therefore, the people involved must be virtuous already or,
at least, one of them must already be well developed in virtue and the other, marked by genuine potential for virtue,
which the first will aim to draw out.

57. Although the number of friendships of pleasure or of utility might be considerable,
the number of friendships of excellence one might have is probably small,
because such individuals are rare, and such relationships require considerable time and familiarity.