The Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle
Aristotle
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
The good for man
What does Aristotle mean by happiness, or flourishing, and how does it differ from what we usually mean by the word?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does he insist that happiness is an activity rather than a feeling?
- Can someone be happy, on his account, if their life ends in great misfortune?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What does Aristotle mean by happiness, or flourishing, and how does it differ from what we usually mean by the word?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does he insist that happiness is an activity rather than a feeling?
- Can someone be happy, on his account, if their life ends in great misfortune?
How useful do you find Aristotle's idea that each virtue lies between two vices, as courage lies between cowardice and rashness?
Keep the conversation going
- Which virtue is hardest to place on his scale?
- Does the mean amount to a rule, or does it leave everything to judgement?
What does Aristotle mean when he says we become just by doing just acts, as builders become builders by building?
Keep the conversation going
- What does that suggest about how children should be raised?
- Can an adult with bad habits still become good, on his view?
How does Aristotle decide when a person is responsible for what they do, and when they act under force or ignorance?
Keep the conversation going
- Is someone who is ignorant through carelessness to blame for it?
- How does his account compare with how we assign blame today?
What did you make of Aristotle's portrait of the great-minded man, who thinks himself worthy of great things and is?
Keep the conversation going
- Is that figure admirable, insufferable or both?
- What does the portrait tell you about the society Aristotle wrote for?
How does Aristotle explain how someone can know what is best and still not do it?
Keep the conversation going
- Do you find his answer to that old puzzle convincing?
- Where in your own life do you recognise the struggle he describes?
Why does Aristotle give two whole books to friendship, and what kinds of friendship does he distinguish?
Keep the conversation going
- Are friendships of use and of pleasure really lesser than friendships of virtue?
- Can a person be a friend to themselves, as he suggests?
Why does Aristotle end by arguing that the life of contemplation is the happiest, after so much about action and character?
Keep the conversation going
- Does that conclusion fit the rest of the book?
- What place does he leave for politics, which he says is where ethics leads?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.