Answers on Nicomachean Ethics

Egidius Mysliwietz

December 3, 2018

Contents
1 What distinction does Aristotle make when talking about
‘end’ ? Try to illustrate his view with an example from your
own life. 1

2 People give the same name to the highest end in life: hap-
piness. Do you agree? 2

3 According to Aristotle, people disagree about what happi-

ness means. Which life-styles does he distinguish? Which
one is the best, according to Aristotle? 2

4 Why is happiness the highest end in Aristotle’s view? 3

5 In what way does Aristotle link happiness to virtuous living? 3

6 Is Aristotle’s view of happiness in harmony with what his

contemporaries thought about happiness? 3

7 Can we learn to be happy? Explain your answer. 3

8 Can children be happy? And women? 4

1 What distinction does Aristotle make when talk-

ing about ‘end’ ? Try to illustrate his view with
an example from your own life.
There are immediate and final ends. The first ones are a stepping stone to
a more final end. For example, the current goal might be to build a ship,

1
which only needs to be done to transport troops, which only needs to be
done to win the war, which is only done for defense and glory, etc.

2 People give the same name to the highest end in

life: happiness. Do you agree?
I would not call it "happiness". In principle, the name of this concept does
not matter, so calling it happiness would be fine. However, there is a fine
distrinction between the temporary emotion happiness and the metastate
of "happiness". The latter is a higher level derivation of multiple of the
first ones. The curvature of this function is just as important as its mean
value. For example, a higher order derivative might be very smooth in the
case of a drug-induced coma-like trance. However, this "happiness" could be
considered as "lower quality". Thus, I find a term such as "qualitative life"
more fitting than "happy life". Also, a happy life does not necessitate "luck",
as the german terms "Glück" and "glücklich" might lead one to believe. Not
making this difference in terminology obvious might lead to problems such
as "one person postpones his current happiness for future happiness", which
will become "one person sacrifices this moments happiness to add to his
qualitative life story"

3 According to Aristotle, people disagree about what

happiness means. Which life-styles does he dis-
tinguish? Which one is the best, according to
Aristotle?
Aristotle differenciates between three mayor styles. The first one is the one
practiced by the "vulgar masses", which only seek pleasure and enjoyment,
although they might call it differently in the moment. Aristotle dismisses
their view with an elitistic statement. The next type of life is that which
seeks honor. Those persons usually end up in politics. Aristotle respects
them, but think that they do not go far enough, as they depend on the
approval of others. The last choice of life is the contemplative one that seeks
virtue. Aristotle tries to practice this lifestyle himself.

2
4 Why is happiness the highest end in Aristotle’s
view?
Most ends are at least partially done for something else. Since the final end
shall be self-sufficient, it shall not be picked for any other end. The only end
Aristotle found that serves that definition is happiness. Even reason is done
for happiness, he adds.

5 In what way does Aristotle link happiness to vir-

tuous living?
There are differences in the degrees of doing a certain action. In general,
the better an action is done, the more pleasurable this action is percieved
to be. For example, one might apprechiate a well-made spoon more then an
ill-fitted T-shirt. For humans, living virtuously contitutes this pleasure and
is therefore the best way to "be human". It is our purpose.

6 Is Aristotle’s view of happiness in harmony with

what his contemporaries thought about happi-
ness?
Aristotle thinks that happiness is somewhat god-given. For example, one
might need health to be happy. If one happens to be born with a debilitating
illness, happiness might never be achievable. The stoics, for example, differ
here. According to them, external factors do not matter in being happy,
they might only distract and make the process harder, but also more noble.

7 Can we learn to be happy? Explain your answer.

Again, happiness is somewhat god-given. However, one can exercise in
virtue, which will then give life inherent pleasure. Achieving happiness that
way is more noble than simply being happy by accident, Aristotle states.
However, external factors can completely destroy all hopes for happiness.

3
8 Can children be happy? And women?
No, children can not be happy, as they can only be virtuous by accident.
They lack the contemplative skills and brainpower. As Aristotle does not
directly address it, the continuation of the question regarding females is
irrelevant.