I.

Introduction

One of the known person that is included in this topic is Aristotle. He is an ancient Greek
philosophers and scientist. He is considered as one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history.
His intellectual capability is wide, which covers most of the sciences and arts. His works is said to be the
framework of the Christian Scholasticism and the medieval Islamic philosophy. When it comes to ethics,
political theory, metaphysics, and philosophy of science, his writings are still being studied by the present
generations, and his works remain powerful in contemporary philosophical debate. Among all the notable
works and ideas contributed by Aristotle, this report will further explain and elaborate the things about
Nicomachean Ethics, Eudaimonia, and moral virtue.

Another significant person to be tackled is St. Thomas Aquinas. He is an Italian Dominican

theologian, the foremost medieval Scholastic. He is the one who created his own conclusions out of the
Aristotelian premises, such as metaphysics of personality, creation, and Providence. He has two
masterpieces namely, Summa theologiae and the Summa contra gentiles, for the purpose of classical
systematization of Latin theology. He is also a poet who was able to write most of the beautiful eucharistic
hymns in the church’s liturgy. The doctrinal system he created as well as the explanations and developments
of his followers are known as Thomism. This report will include the Natural Law, and the Order of Natural
Inclination.

II. Main Ideas

1. Nicomachean Ethics

Nicomachean Ethics is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of good life for a human being.
Aristotle begins the work by positing that there exists some ultimate good toward which, in the final
analysis, all human actions ultimately aim. The necessary characteristics of the ultimate good are that it is
complete, final, self-sufficient and continuous. This good toward which all human actions implicity or
explicitly aim is happiness, in Greek, "eudaimonia," which can also be translated as blessedness or living
well, and which is not a static state of being but a type of activity.

Ethical virtue "is a habit disposed toward action by deliberate choice, being at the mean relative to
us, and defined by reason as a prudent man would define it." Each of the elements of this definition is
important. Virtue is not simply an isolated action but a habit of acting well. For an action to be virtuous a
person must do it deliberately, knowing what he is doing, and doing it because it is a noble action. In each
specific situation, the virtuous action is a mean between two extremes. Finally, prudence is necessary for
ethical virtue because it is the intellectual virtue by which a person is able to determine the mean specific
to each situation.

The first virtue is bravery. It is a mean between rashness and cowardice. A brave man is one who
faces and fears what he should for the right reason, in the right manner and at the right time. A brave man
performs his actions for the sake of what is noble. A brave man is thus one who is fearless in facing a noble
death.

The next virtue is temperance. It is a mean with regard to bodily pleasures. The intemperate man
desires pleasurable things and chooses them because they are pleasurable; he is pained when he fails to get
what he desires. A temperate man is moderately disposed with regard to pleasures and pains. He loves such
pleasures as right reason dictates. Temperance keeps the desiring part of the soul in harmony with reason.

Generosity is the third virtue which Aristotle examines. With regard to property, generosity is a
mean between wastefulness and stinginess. A generous man will give to the right person, the right amounts
and at the right times. He will also take proper care of his possessions. Generosity does not depend on the
quantity of the giving but on the habit of the giver, which takes into account the amount which the giver
himself has and is able to give away.

The next virtue is munificence, which consists giving large amounts for suitable occasions. The
deficiency of this virtue is called meanness and the excess is ostentation. A munificent man spends gladly
and lavishly, not calculating costs, but always for a noble purpose.

Magnanimity, the fifth virtue Aristotle discusses, is one of the peaks of virtue. A magnanimous
man claims and deserves great honors. Someone who deserves honors but doesn't claim them is low-
minded, and someone who claims honors but doesn't deserve them is vain. It is better to be vain than low-
minded, because vanity will be naturally corrected by life experience. A magnanimous man is great in each
of the virtues, and is a sort of ornament of virtues because he shows how good a virtuous life is.

The next virtue concerns honor, specifically small and medium honors. It is a mean between too
much and too little ambition which can be described as right ambition.

The virtue that is a mean with respect to anger is good temper. The excesses are irascibility or
bitterness. If one is irascible he gets angry quickly and retaliates but then forgets about it. Someone who is
bitter holds anger for a long time. A good tempered man is one who becomes angry on the right occasions,
with the right people, at the right time and for the right length of time.

The next three virtues are friendliness, the mean between flattery or obsequiousness and
quarrelsomeness; truthfulness, the mean between boastfulness and self-depreciation, and wit, the mean with
regard to humor and amusement. Wit entails saying the right things in the right manner and also listening
to things properly.

The last virtue, which unites and orders all of the other virtues, is justice. Justice can also be
considered in a more specific sense, as one of the virtues. Both justice in the specific sense and justice as
the whole of virtue are defined in relation to other people, but justice in the specific sense is concerned with
honor, property, safety and similar things, while justice in the larger sense is concerned with virtue as a
whole. Another subset of justice is distributive justice. Justice (in the narrow sense) is a mean between two
extremes of unfairness. What is just in distribution should be in some way according to merit, but not all
agree what that merit should be. Advocates of mob rule say that this merit is freedom, oligarchs say that it
is wealth, others say that it is good ancestry and aristocrats say that is virtue.

Natural justice is that which is just in all times and places. Conventional justice is that which is
made up of laws and customs. All laws are to some extent just because any law is better than no law, but
are always at least slightly flawed in that they must be formulated universally and cannot take into account
all specific circumstances. As a result, a judge should rule in accordance with the intention of the lawmaker
or the idea behind the law when the law does not seem to properly fit the situation.

Prudence is the intellectual virtue of practical reason. It is concerned with human actions and gives
a person the ability to choose what the virtuous mean is in specific situations. Acquiring prudence requires
time and experience. Prudence and ethical virtue are both necessary for one another.

Continence and incontinence are concerned with bodily pleasures just like temperance and
intemperance, but are distinct from them. The incontinent man is disposed to do what he knows is bad
because of his passions. The continent man knows that his desires are bad but does not follow them because
of reason. The difference between continence and temperance lies in the fact that for a temperate man his
desires are in line with his reason.

Friendship is a necessary part of the good life. There are three types of friendship: friendship based
on usefulness, friendship based on pleasure and friendship based on virtue. Only the last type is genuine
friendship. Friendships based on usefulness and pleasure tend not to be very enduring, since they only last
as the long as each party derives the usefulness or pleasure he desires from the relationship. Friendship
based on virtue is based on wishing the good for the other person. This genuine friendship is necessary for
self-knowledge and helps both of the friends to grow in virtue. Friendship presupposes justice and goes
beyond it. The virtue of a friend is to love. The relationship one has with a friend is like the harmonious
relationship between the different parts of the soul of a virtuous man.
 In spite of what many philosophers may say, pleasure is a good. It perfects actions. The goodness
of pleasure is determined by the goodness of the action which it accompanies. The highest good, happiness,
must also involve pleasure.

Man's highest action and most complete happiness is a life of contemplation of the highest goods.
Man's intellectual capacity is his highest capacity, and therefore his highest happiness resides in the use of
that capacity. The life of contemplation is so sublime that it is practically divine, and man can achieve it
only insofar as there is something divine in him. Contemplation is the action which best fulfills all the
qualifications that the ultimate good should have, because it is the most continuous, complete and self-
sufficient of all actions.

III. Content Outline

 Definition
Nicomachean Ethics - a philosophical inquiry into the nature of good life for a human being.
Ethical virtue - a habit disposed toward action by deliberate choice, being at the mean relative to
us, and defined by reason as a prudent man would define it.
Bravery - a mean between rashness and cowardice.
Temperance - mean with regard to bodily pleasures.
Generosity - a mean between wastefulness and stinginess.
Munificence - giving large amounts for suitable occasions.
Magnanimity - claims and deserves great honors.
Right ambition - a mean between too much and too little ambition.
Good temper - a mean with respect to anger.
Friendliness - the mean between flattery or obsequiousness and quarrelsomeness.
Truthfulness - the mean between boastfulness and self-depreciation.
Wit - the mean with regard to humor and amusement.
Justice - unites and orders all of the other virtues.
Natural justice - just in all times and places.
Conventional justice - made up of laws and customs.
Prudence - intellectual virtue of practical reason.
Incontinence - disposed to do what he knows is bad because of his passions.
Continence - knows that his desires are bad but does not follow them because of reason.
  Key Ideas/Advocates
- Nicomachean ethics is about the nature of good life and attaining the ultimate goal, happiness.
- There are 11 virtues that are included in Nicomachean ethics: bravery, temperance, generosity,
munificence, magnanimity, right ambition, good temper, friendliness, truthfulness, wit, and
justice.
- All laws are to some extent just because any law is better than no law, but are always at least
slightly flawed in that they must be formulated universally and cannot take into account all
specific circumstances.
- Prudence is concerned with human actions and gives a person the ability to choose what the
virtuous mean is in specific situations. Acquiring prudence requires time and experience.
- Continence and incontinence are concerned with bodily pleasures.
- There are three types of friendship: friendship based on usefulness, friendship based on
pleasure and friendship based on virtue.
- Man's intellectual capacity is his highest capacity, and therefore his highest happiness resides
in the use of that capacity.
 Explanation
When it comes to living our lives, the Nicomachean ethics tells us that there is more into
just living our lives either to its fullest or not. A goal always resides within ourselves, and it is
happiness. Aside from that, we must act well by being aware of our actions and what should be
executed. This things falls under the idea of virtues which will serve as everyone’s guide to the
path of proper actions and living. Through proper experience and time, one could already assess
the virtue that should take place during a certain situation. The ultimate happiness can only be
acquired through the way a man utilize his intellectual capacity.

IV. Relevance
This topic will enlighten everyone that as a human being, we have always an ultimate goal, which
is to be happy, through our own ways of living our lives. The ideas of virtues will also help everyone
identify what is appropriate and right when facing certain events. In this way, one’s actions are managed
properly to avoid things that will take them away from the ultimate goal.

V. Summary
Nicomachean ethics is about human beings attaining the ultimate goal in life known as happiness.
It can only be fulfilled once a person’s purpose is defined and his actions are directed to that particular
purpose. Actions must be observed and performed according to the following virtues: bravery, temperance,
generosity, munificence, magnanimity, right ambition, good temper, friendliness, truthfulness, wit, and
justice. Through course of experiences, one can have the ability to choose the virtuous mean to a particular
situation which we call the prudence. Friendship and pleasure are also part of attaining a good life. Being
able to utilize our highest intellectual capacity is also the time where we attain the highest level of happiness.

VI. Conclusion
Humans live while searching for their own happiness. The happiness itself is the reflection of their
own satisfaction towards a certain situation. Achieving or being able to do your purpose in life is the main
reason of our happiness. Basically, the ultimate goal is also the characteristic of having a good life. We may
act based on our own will but it will always define the virtue we currently possess and what do we lack as
an individual.

VII. Recommendation
Whatever it may seem to live our own lives, we must always remember to take with us the virtues
that will forever exist, and will define us as a person based on what we do. There maybe people that will
happen to be encountered, make sure to assess everything because only one type of friendship is considered
genuine. Never forget that if you are having a hard time today, happiness will always be waiting at the end.

VIII. References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas
https://www.gradesaver.com/aristotles-ethics/study-guide/summary