Chapter 1
Note on the text
For rhe sakeof having one standardsystemwhich all scholarsuse,
refeLences to any work of Aristotleare alwaysgiven accordingto the
.oage.columnandline in Bekker'sBerlin Editionof 1831.This edition
ilas th€ great advantagethat each referenceis quite unique.Thus,
ll4?bl0 refersto line l0 of the secondcolumnon page ll47 of
tsekker.Evenwith no mentionof the title of the work, this is unam-
biruouslya referenceto the Nicomachaean E rics, Book VII, chapter
l. In this book I have given the standardreferences, but have also
inciudedthe Book and chapterof the Ethicsas an additionalhelpto
Piacine a refelencein its context.
The tmnsiationsh€reare my own. But sinceit is alwaysuseful
lc comparedifferent translationsof any ancientauthor,the reader
night $ ish to consultthe other translationsgiven at the startof the
Bibliography.To maketbe senseclearerI haveoccasionallyinserted
rn squarebmcketsa word which doesnot occurin the Greek,but can
be deduced frotnthecontext.
t
s.
Aristotle's life
and work
An outline of his life and times
Aristotlecameto Athensin 367 BcE at the ageof 17,
to go to university.'University' in this casemeant
the Academy,the philosophicalschool foundedby
thegeat Plato,who himself had been a discipleof
Socrates. Athenswast/reculturalcentleofthe Mediter-
ranean, andits citizenswouldhavehadtwo reasonsfor
not being immediately impressedby the young
fuistotle.He camefrom the far north of Greece,from
thecity of Stagirain Macedonia;a countryboy, then,
doubtless lackingin cultural refirement.In this, the
Athenian prejudicewould havebeenmisleading.Both
Aristotle'sparentscame from families with a long
traditionofthe practiceofmedicine,andhis fatherwas
court physician to King AmyntasIII ofMacedon.Court
circlesin Macedonwerenot uncivilized,andthe value
fteyplaceduponeducation is demonstrated by thevery
fact of their sendingAristotle to Ath€ns. There was,
however, a secondreasonAthenianswould havehad
for not welcomingAristotlewith wholly open arms.
A RI S TO T L E ' S LIFE AND WORK

conquests
He llas connectedwith the royal family of Macedon,and Macedon to becomeknown as 'the Great' becauseof his amaztng
Ti:rkey'
had military arnbitions. AmyntasJs son Philip II embarked on a pro- which extendedthe Macedonian Empire across what is now
Aristotle
grannreof militaristexpansionwhich, much to the resentment ofmany Eg)?t, much of Western Asia, and on into India Perhaps
in the young heir to the throne' but
i-.lominent Athenians,led to his dominationover much of Greece, and hopid to in"ulcat" Plato's ideals
in the light of the brutality of some of Alexander's campaigning
evenlually to th€ subjugation of Athens itseli
on his
Still. for twenty years Aristotle remained at the Academy, tactics,oie may wonderjust how completeAristotle's influence
stud)-ing,debaring, writing and teaching. Unfortunately, most of his pupllwas.
ivrirings from that time have been lost, and we are able to do iittle Alexander left for his campaigns in the east,ard Aristotleonce
Antipater'
inore than make educatedguessesabout precisely what he studied,and againretumedto Athens,in 334, underthe protectionof
had appointed, and who was one of
,,r,herehis own interests lay. But as those years went by, the political ,f,. r.g.n, whom Alexander
point during his time in Mace-
situatiorbrought about by the policies of Philip of MacedonrapidJy Aristotle'sclosestfriends.At some
calledPythias after her mother' was bom'
worsened.and the climate in Athens became more and more nervous donia,Aristotle'sdaughter,
his wiie died,perhapsin childbirth' It was probably to
and hostile.Against this background,Aristotle,whose legal statusin but,tragically,
ater his infantdaughterthat'A'ristotle either manied'
Athenswas tbat ofa residentalien,found himselfregardedwith suspF hap*i-ttttoot<ing
ciorr.Finally the c sis came.Philip batteredthe city ofOlynthus, one or lived with (the ancientsourcesdiffer on the point)' Herpyllis
of Athens'sclose allies, into submission;and, a few months later,in Whatever his legalrelationship with her was,in his will Aristotlewas
provi
j,17,Plato died. to speakwarml! of her devotionto him, and to makecareful
child'
Aristotle was thus doubly isolated.Speusippus,a nephewof sionfo, he, support.Shealsobecamethe rrotherof his second
Plato. took over as head of the Academy. Would Aristotle have hoped 0ristimea sonwhomhe called Nicomachus'
own
Upon his anival back in Athens,Aristotle foundedhis
!
that he himself might have got the job? Did his not gettingit depend
schoolin a publicexercise park called the Lyceum The
upon the fact that Speusippuswas a relative of Plato, or on the fact philosophicat
: fiom thet custom of
tl'ratro appointAristotlewould have beenimpossiblein the prevailingI ,tudant,th"r" becameknown as 'periPatetics'
they discussed their
pcliticalcli:nate?Or was it perhapsthat Aristotle'sown philosophical;: walkingup and down (in Greek,Peripatein)as
rieu's r.veLeby this time somewhat out of tune with the prevailing .. researches.
ptrllosoiptricat Here in his Lyceum Aristotle taught and
tone in the Academy? Whatever the academic reasons may hav€ p*ru"d hi, o*n research happilyfor the nextelevenyears lt wasthe
bccn.A.ristotlethoughtit prudent,especiallygiven the hostilepolitical mostproductive periodof his life, andthe time of his mostenduring
siiiration.tc leave Athens and the Academy.He went to join a group achievements. Onceagain,though,politicaldisasterstruck Alexander
i diedsuddenlyat the young age of 32 The Atheniansat
once saw
of Platonists at Assos, a city on the north Aegean coast of what is
nori Turke],. The local monarch, Hermias, was himself interestedin I
r theirchance io rid themsel-v;s ofthe Macedonian regent' ln a waveof
feeling,they chargedAristotle with'impiety" the
phiiosophy.and the philosophersencoumgedhim to fulfil the Platonic anti-Macedonian
executron two
ideal of becoming a philosopher-king. Aristotle was later to write a samecatch-alloffencewhich had led to Socrates's
irl,rnn lamenting his untimely death (he was murdered) and praising generationsearlier.OnceagainAristotlehadto leave,remarking'it is
against
his lersonal qualities 'for which he will be raised by the Musesto iuia,tnutn" did so'lest the Athenianscommit a secondsin
philosophy'. He suwived only a year in exile, and died at the ageof
inmonalit-r,'.
Before that, though, Aristotle had himself manied Pythias,and nt- \n Jzt,
ihcy lrere again on the move. Philip II invited him to retum to
\lrcedonia to becometutor to his son Alexander.Alexanderlaterwas
 !'

His.worksand philosophical
background Platoagreedthat ethicsand politics had ultimatelyto rest on more
seneral considerations of epistemologyand metaphysicsThere are
The r\,.osrearinfluenceson Aristotles philosophy were Ptato and his F ilso somesimilaritiesin method Plato, following Socrates'often
o.,rn researchinto biology, especiallythe biology of animals. starts his dialogues by elicitingthe views of one of his students'and
Plato must have been a hard act to follow. He had developed thengoingon to seehow far thoseviews will standuP to criticism'
and transfomred the philosophical method of Socratesand appliedit Somewhat similarly,Aristotlehabituallytakesas his startingpoints
tc an arnazingly wide range of problems, including the immonality endo:ra, receivedopinions'.By lhis term Aristotlemeansto include
aswell
of the soul. the nature of virtue, the meaning of justice, and the viewswhichareheldby everyone,or at leastby mostpeople'
th€ory of truth. He had atteltlptedto give a tbeoretical justification for asthoseheldby the wise.2We should start,then' with what cornmon
.,rhat he regarded as the right way to live both as an individual and sense mightsuigest,or with what earlierphilosophers havethought'
rs a member of the city-state.In so doing, he had been forcedto andthensubjectthoseviewsto critical assessment Aristotle is more
seek for the foundations of ethics and politics by developing s),rnpathetic ihan Plato to the thoughtthat most people cannot be
highil- original views in tnetaphysicsand in the theory of knowledge. whollymistaken.
The very scopeand stvle of philosophyitself were those which had ihe viewmostpopularlyascribedto Aristotleis thathe rejected
treconreestablished in Plato's Academy. The framework was to all Plato's'Theoryof Forms'.Certainlyat one time Plato did believe
'good' were
appealances firmly established. Was there any room for genuine tlat, if wordslike 'beauty'or 'courage'or 'equaliry' or
ofiginalit y ? to haveanymeaning,they must point to the corresponding Forms-
Recall that Aristotle studied and debatedin Plato's Academy for of these properties Only if thereare
reallyexisiing,perfect,instances
t\\'er'rq'years, from the age of 17 until he was 37. He must surely have itsell will there be any
,u.h Fo*, as Beautyitself, or Goodness
beenenonrously influencednot merely by Plato'smethodand by the satisfactory explanation ofthe way in which we understand the beauty
.L-rnch,rsions whiclr Plato and his studentsbelieved to be beyond andgoodness of this-worldlythings,imperfectas they are Only if
disnuie.but alsoby the placesat which Plato'sargumentswere recog- thesJperfectFormsexist will therebe any solid basisfor morality'
nizerlas cieficient,oiien by Plato himsell [t is still a matterofdispute or irdeedfor knowledgeitsell So' the popularview has it' Aristotle
'r i'.ciherthe young Aristotle startcd oflby being more in agreement hadno time for suchmetaphysical speculations, and madea radical
.r ith Platoand endedup being much more critical;or whether he was breakwith Plato.This view is a gross oversimplification' First' Plato
moie criticaj in his earlier years and only later began to see that there himselflaterin his life at leastconsiderably modified the Theoryof
nls pe:hapssome$'hattnore to be said for his old teacher'sviews Foms,if by thatis meantthe kind of viewsadvanced in the Phaedo'
rhan he used to think. It may also be true that the brilliant young Besides, Aristotleis perfectlywilling to talk about forms' and on
prruil influencedhis teacher.and that this influence shows up in someinterpratations evenendedup by holding a view of forms not
someof Plato'slater uorks.r Still, at leastsomethings are reasonably whollyunlikePlato's.Still,thereis an impoftanttruthbehindthe over-
clear.ArislotleretainedPlato'sinterestsin ethicsand politics,andlike simplification. The clue lies in Aristotle'sinterest.in.biology'.which
perhaps hadbeenfirst arousedby his parentswith their medicalback-
Theprr'blerris nol madearryeasierby the factthal we cannotwith certainty gouni practice.Much of the researchdoneby Aristotle and his
"nO of
r]:uenranyof Aristotle'sworksevento the extentof clearlydistinguishing the itudrnr,.onrirt.d in the meticulousexaminationandclassification
laterffom lhe earlier.In any casemanyof Aristotle'sworksare knownto be animals,fish and insects,and in the attempt to explain why
they were
lcst For a sholt andjudiciouscommenton the problemsof sayingan)'thing
rborr Arislolles philosophical seeT. H. Invin [1988]'ch l' $5,
development,
Ethics1l43bll-]!4' ll45b2-'7
seealsoNicohachaean
DD.Il lJ. andlheaniclesreferedto in lrwin'snotes- 'Iopicsl00b2l;
 as the) \\'ere, and why they behaved as they behaved. Aristotle was
convinced that the explanations were to be found not in some super-
sensibleworld of Platonic Forms, but in the intemal organization of
tle organisms tbemselves. Their patteros of growth, development
and behaliour were directed by an inbuilt purposiveness,different for
each species,the nature of which could be called the 'form' of that
orsanism.and could be discoveredby patient study and inquiry.
i\'lore generaliv, perhaps the nature of every kind of thing could be
drscoveredin a similar way. This quest for the naturesof things -
for the p/rasrsof each kind of thing - is what Aristotle called Pilsics;
and the further underlying truths about explanation in general, upon
ri hich such inquiries ultimately rested, were what he discussedin his
.\.1etaohtsics.3
Here, then, is the original contriburion which Aristotle believed
he could make towardshandling the questionsthat Plato had raised.
lnsteadof looking to an abstmctdiscipline such as mathematicsto
provide the ultimate explanation of things, as did the Platonistsin the
Academ).,,A stotle proposed to study in detail the world around him,
and to deal with tbe philosophical implications of that study in an inte-
grated\r'a-v.W}tat, he asks, must be the fundamentalcharacteristicsof
a iuorld if inquiry into the naturesof things in that world is to be
possibleat all? Like Plato, then, Aristotle seeksto know the ultimate
explanaiions ofthings; unlike Plato,he thinksthat questionsaboutulti-
mate explanations must arise out of, rather than dispense with,
rurun,Jane questionsabout how we are to explain the shapesand move-
ments and growth of animals, and the regular behaviour of the
inanirnatepads of nature. ln particular, looking at how the different
speciesof organisms are by nafure impelled to pursue what is good
for them, rve can begin to see how values are central to the behaviour
of iiving things. Once we learn to look at ourselvesas animals, and to
understand how animals function, we can begin to glimpse how
biolocy,with its inbuilt values,can in the caseofthinking animalslike
ouriel\'eslead on to ethics.
'i'vleta-Ph)rsics
probabJy (metoin Greek)
relersto an inquirywhich.ofiesaJTer
tle directinquiryjnto the naturesof things,whenthe inquirerseesthardeeper
oue\rior,s rnustbe dealtwith.
Aristotle would have thought it astonishingif thinking animals
like ourselveshad no way of expressingto themselveswhat was good
for them. So, at many points n the Ethics, he starts by considering
what people usually or frequently think about va ous questrons
connectedwith norality, on the assumptionthat their views must either
be right or at least contain some considemblekemel of truth which
would explain why people hold them. But is this assumptiona reason-
able one to make? Might an entire society not be blind to the rights
of women, or acceptracist beliefs quite uncritically? Quite in general,
doesAristotle's method not amount to little more than repeating the
prejuilicesand unquestionedassumptionsofhis own culture? Aristotle
might reply to this that he has no intention of merely repeating the
views of the ordinary person,nor of the wise, without criticizing and
assessingthem. If one asks how this criticism is to proceed' Aristotle
would reply that a good first step would be to bring into the open any
hidden inconsistenciesin common beliefs, and try to sort those out'
But, the cdtic might press the point, even if that results in a coherent
account,mere coherencedoesn't guaranteelnl&. A person might be
consistently rucist or sexist and still be simply mistaken' surely?
Aristotle might reply to this that even if it is comparatively easy to be
consistentwithin a limited area of one's beliefs (say, about the rights
of women), it is much harder to be consistentacrossa wide spectrum
of one's beliefs. One would have to integrate ethics and psychology,
physiology, sociology and the rest; and once one t es to do this' at
some point the hidden inconsistencieswill reappear. Achieving an
overall 'fit' between one's experienceand one's beliefs is not at all
easy;and when it has been achieved, that is as close as one is ever
likely to come to the truth. This is a very complex issue,and we shall
haveto see as we go along whether Aristotle's method seemslikely
to deliver what he is looking for.
For the moment, at least, this much can be said. Like Plato,
Aristotleis concemedto get behind what people might happento thint
in order to assesstheir views, to examine their foundations and their
justification. Like Plato, Aristotle is concemed with how individuals
oughtto live, and how they ought to contribute to their communities.
He.too. is concernedwith the nature ofmoral virtues,justice, personal
resoonsibilitvand moral weakness.Like Plato, he believesthat ethics
A I t I : TO T L € ' S LIFT A NO WORK

r'nustbe rooted in a view of the humansoul. But unlike Plato,his Chapter 2

conception of what a soul is derivesin the first instancefiom biology,
ratherthan from religiousviews aboutthe incamationand reincama-
ricn of a disembodiedtrue self And this differencehas profound
for morality.
irnlrlications
Style, structure
and aim of
the Ethics

The NicomachaeanEthics
TheNicomachaean gt}ics is so calledeitherbecause
Aristotlededicated the work to his youngson,or, more
probably,becauseit was Nicomachushimself who
editedthe work and gaveit its final form someyears
afterhis father'sdeath.Aristotle also wrote another
bookon moralphilosophy,theEudemianElhics,which
for the purposesof our presentstudy we may leave
to one side.l I shall here be dealingjust with the
Nicomachaean Ethics,andfor convenience I shallrefer
to it simply as the Ethicswhen thereis no dangerof
confusion.
We know that Aristotlewrote stylishdialogues
andotherworkson philosophyintendedfor the general

rNot only are there the two works: to complicate matters

further,three of the eight books of the Eudemian Ethics arc
identicalwith three of the ten books of the Nicomochaean
Et ics. The more widcly held view is that the EudemianEthics
waswritten first. How to explain the duplicatebooks?Perhaps
lhrec of the books were losl from one of the two works, and
werereplacedby the three p3rallel books from the other work
(which probably w^s the Eudemianttrl.J). However, there is
> TY t E , ST R U C T U R E A NO AIM OF T HE ET H' CS
S T Y L E , 5 T R U C T U R E AN D AIM OF TH E ETH i C 5

between BooksVIII andIX, andthe moralvirtuesaretreatedin Books

lrublic. Unfonunately,only some fragmentsof thesehave survived,.
ll andIV andV). Within a singlebook,too, successive chaptersoften
and in any case most of these probably date fi'om Aristotle's first stay
seemto hop from one topic to another almost without waming' To
in Athenswhen he was working in Plato's Academy.The surviving
someextentthis is the result of the editing,but it also reflectsthe
\rorl(s. in contrast, were not intended for the wider public, and most
natureofethicsasa subject,comprisingasit doesseveral issueswhich
of them could not be described as polished literary creations. More
probably.they contain Aristotle's own notes for lectureshe was giving, arelooselyrelatedto oneanotherratherthantightly interlockingStill,
0i topics he was working on. The Ethics most likely dates from the we shouldnot exaggerate. Whetherit is Aristotle'sor that of a later
editor,thereis at leastsomestructure,andan intelligiblesequence of
pcriodafterAristotiehad retumedto Athensand foundedthe Lyceum.
Likc er erlthing else we have from this period, in some places the topics,alongthe following lines:
ri,riting is extremely condensed,and would, presumably, have been
er1-.iaincdmore at length in the course of the lecture. In other places, I What do we aim at in life? what is it that would make
thesiyie js more elaborateand the text could havebeendeliveredmore living worthwhile?A worthwhilelife mustsurelyinvolve
developingour specificallyhumancharacteristics to the
oi lessas it stands.Thereare alsosomeinconsistencies. Did he perhaps
revise rvhat he wanted to say iD some places, but did not get round to full. How couldwe find out what thoseare?Upon reflec-
tion,we canseethatwhatis mo$ characteristically human
making the conesponding corrections elsewhere? Altematively, it
aboutounelves is the way in which thought colours all
rright u'ell be that Nicomachus or some later editor was responsible
our lives - not just our intellectual but
pursuits, also our
lbr alTalrgingwhatevernraterialshad come down to him from Aristotle,
and fitredsomebis in as best he could. lvhat has come down to us ls feelingsandemotions,our choicesandrelationships'
rt leasi ro solrle extent a record of work in progress,and we should II So rve start by consideringthe ways in which thought
fead it in fiat spirit. lt should encourage us to think about the prob- influencesthose tmits of characterwhich contributeto
lrrrrs as Aristotle hinself was thinking about them. Rather than being living a wonhwhile,fulfllled life. What are thesetraits?
How do we cometo possess thcm?And how do our char-
rjaunrrCby a great man's finisheddefinitivework, we might perhaps
actcrs in turn influence the choices which we makein life'
thiLrkof the questjonswe night put to a lecturer,or the contributions
ric rri3ht tr1 to rnaketo a seminar. andfor which we are held responsible?
-llrc Ctirics will strike the modem rcader as, if not exactly III We needto thinli aboutchoiceandresponsibilifyin more
chaolic.irt lcnstrathcr looselywritten. For a start,the traditionaldivi- detail.Are we responsible for all our behaviour,and also
.ro n lnt o B ook s 'a n d ' c h a p te rs ' i sa l mo s tc e rta i nl ynot A l i stotl e' s,and for the characterwe havedeveloped?
$e shouldnot allow it to distEct us.?Sontetopicsrun over from one Wc canusethe examplesof individualvirtuesto illustratethese
book to anotlrer(as for example, friendship straddlesthe divrsion ..,
points,
aboutthe relativedatingof the rwo works.The questiontumson
no llgrec-llrent Miscussion of severalmoreexamplesof virtue'
oncs estinrateof thesignificanceofthe differencesbetweenthetwo woiks,and V Thevirtueofjustice(whichis not quitelike the others)'
\rlrichis moreplausiblyregarded asa revisionof theother.A powerfulcascfor Vl Livinga wonhwhilelife requires not only thatwe havea
qucslioning the comnon view that the EudemiahEthicswas writtenfirst has character,but alsothatwe have
ar€ to be foundin well-roundedandbalanced
bernput by AnthonyKenny 09781i his funherreflections
Kcnnyll992l,AppendixI. dcvelopcdthe intellectualskills neededto gmsP which
choiceswe necdto make as we go along What is it to
I1hilshccnsuggesled of theamountoftext whichwould
thata Bookconsisted
lir onroi singleroll of papyrus. havea goodmoraljudgement?

l1
l0
 AND A]M OF T HE EIHlC5 S T Y L E , S T R U C TU R E AN D AIM OF TH E ETH l C 5
i. I Y t '. S- RUiTURE

Vll Horv can people responsiblymake wrong choices?The Aristotle's aim in writing the Ethics
connection between good and bad choices and virtues and It included
Plato'smostambitiouswork on moralitywashis Repablic
vices. Pleasureas a possible source of temptation abouthow an individualshouldlive' but' much
notsimplydiscussions
VII! The preceding topics might give the impression that a picture
ror. urntitloutty,integntedthat view into a comprehensive
wortlrwhile huuran life fright be lived entirely on one's morality,goodcitizenship'andthebestway
of theidealstatePersonal
own. On the contrary humans are naturally inclined
to organize a stateall fit together.Aristotle'saim in writing the Erhics
towatds various kinds of friendsltip' an accountof
urndih"Politiu rvasno diiferent.He hopedto provide
lX N4oreou iiiendship: its justification and its importance' should be struc-
how the goodpersonshouldIive, and how society
X Pleasureagain; for surely a worthwhile life must somehow did not believe
ruredin o'rderio make suchlives possible Adstotle
be fulfiliing and enjoyable? This leads on to a final give people a true
thatall thatwasneededfor moraleducationwasto
discussion of the ingredients of fulfilled life' both for the worthwhile'
understanding of what was goodand nobleand morally
individual. and for the individual as a member ot a com-
Understandirig is not enoughwithout motivation'which knowledge
n.runity. of moral
ulon..unnotirouide. SoAristotlesetsout to give an account
A detailed discussion of all this can
So Aristotle's train of thought goes more or less like this: To trainingas *ell us moraltheory.
two texts will serveto
lire a fullilled life, we need to be guided by errotions which are rait uitil lat"r, in Chapter4, but the following
giveus a preliminaryoutlineof what he is trying to do:
balrnced,and by habltsof thoughtwhich enableus to seewhat is and
;s not relevantto our decisions'and why. In developingthesebalanced It is well said,then' that it is by doingjust acts that someone
rntotions and disceming choices,we are presumablyacting respon- becomesjust, and by doing temperateacts that they become
lriblvi so \\'e need to know u'hat we can properly be said to be temperate. Withoutdoingthese,no onewould haveany chance
for. (Digressionhere,to eiaborateon the variousexamples actrons
rcs1.'tonsible ofbecominggood.But mostpeopledo not performthese
ol Lralanced and unbalancedrcsponseswhich can be fitted into the but tuke,eiulc in theory,thinkingthat they are being pliloso-
ibor c schenre.)Now much of the foregoingdependson the notion of phersandwiii becomegoodin thisway'Theybehavea bitlike
ir discemingchoice:so we needto discusshow suchchoicesare made' of the
patientswho listencarefullyto their doctors'but do none
rundwhat kinds of knowledge they presuppose Again, obviously well
ihing, th.y weretold to do. As the latterwill not be made
cnough,pcopleare otien held responsiblefor wrong choices But how not be
in tiOy ty sucha nethod of treatment,the formerwill
..n *,n"on. knowingly do what they know they should not do? At t" on'iilllli;*r_,r,
anapproach
weliinsoulbysuch
made
Ihis point. somethingof a leap: we have discussedthe qualitiesofthe
gooj indi"ldual, but what of the individual'srelationshipsto others? theoret-
\ihi Lrotherwith such relationships,and how do they contributeto a Our presentinquiry (unlike our othets)is not aimedat
We are not conducting our inquiry in ordeJ to
lirlfilledlife for rte? When we have answeredthosequestlons'we can
ical knowleclge.
in orderto become good' other-
try to sultl up. Ethics has to say something about the fulfilled life' and knowthedefinitionofvirtue,but
what
wiseit would not benefitus at all so we mustthink about
about tbe kind of community in rvhich personsleading such a life perform them
nrighthope lo functionbest.Just a sketchof this last point here' since concemsactionsandhow we oughtto '
01, 2, I 103b26-31)
aftef the Erllcs conles tlle PoliticJ.
 5TY LE , STRUCTURE AND AIM OF T HE fT Hi CS AND AI M O F THE FTHI CS
5TY LE , S TR UCTURE

Aristotle'sPrelace(1): Why do we do anything at all? Reasonsare hierarchicallyordered:we read a book to leam about
Adstotle;and we want to leam about Aristotle becausewe want to get
Aristotletellsusthattheflrstthreechapters of theEthicsareby way a degrce,perhaps;and we want to get a degreebecause. . . and so on.
of being a prefaceto the work as a whole (1095a12).In thesechap- Now, most of the things that we do involve know-how. We need to
ters. he gives an outline of his approach, indicates the results which leam how to read, and, indee4 how to read Aristotle; know-how is
might be expected, and describes the kind of student for whom his neededfor making a ship, or a CD. These various bodies of know-
lectur€sare designed. ledgearestructured, just as our reasons for individualactionsare.
Ethicsand politics are concemedwith what we shouiddo. If we Practicalsciencessuch as marine engineeringor electronicsare presup-
do something(as distinct from have sonethinghappento us, or from posedby the scienceof commerce (which needs ships) or the music
a piece of purely reflex behaviour), we do it for a reason.So Aristotle industry(which needs CDs), and these in tum have their own aims.
itans off his introductionby making somegeneralobservations on the His point is that these second-levelaims explain why the firstlevel
reasonsra,emight give for doing anything. The observationsare indeed aims arc important to us. He then raises this question: is there some
very general:and that is becausehe wants to get back to the most basic highest-levelpractical scienceto which all the others are subordinate?
asslunptionsinvolved in ethics. We commonly try to think out prob- lf thereis, its end will be the highest of all ends, and to understandit
lems such as 'Should mother come and live with us. or would she would be to understandhow ever'4hing else fits together, and why in
be better where she is?', or 'Can we really blame him for what he the end we do an)4hing at all.
rlid?' and so on. k is nruchmore rarely that we ask 'What shouldI be His answer (in l, 2) is that there is indeed a plausible candidate
cloingu ith rry life?', and even more rarely that we ask 'What is the for the position ofhighest-level practical science- politics. To seewhv
b.st wav to livel' Aristotlethinks that to deal with the more everyday he saysthis, we need to grasp two points. The first concems the way
problcnrs.we have in the end to deal with the very general,but very in whichAristotlethinksofthe scienceofpolitics. The word 'politics'
lundarncltalissues.'Why do anythingat all?' is indeeda strangeques- doesnot have for him the somewhat ambiguous overtones it might
rron:but it might provide a clue to what is neededin orderto answer have for us, where to be a politician might suggest being adePt at
lhc others.So, he begins: wheelingand dcaling, manipulating the levers of power, and so on
Nor doeshe mean what we might mean by 'political science', which
rl) Sonretimeswe moL:ethings (such as a statue,or a chair), ano is a theoreticel study of how political institutions work and interact.
sometimes*'e simply do things (like walking, or discussing Like Plato, Aristotle had a noticn of politics which was at once more
philosophy). idealistic and more practical. The science of politics consists in
(l) Some of the things we do, we do for their own sake(listening knowinghow to organizethe community for the best.3'Politics' is all-
to music, or keepinga promise,for instance). embracing,involving all the many ways in which we should interact
i-r ) Sor,relimes,we do something, or make something, for the sake with one anothcr in a community. The people whose task it is to orga-
of something else that we want (we read a book in order to leam nizethe community are the ones who in the end decide what is to be
about Aristotle; we paint a picture in order to enjoy looking at
it: we make CDs in order to eam a living).
I 'Community'. to remember
sinceit is inrportant thatat thisperiodthepolitical
1-l) Somerimeswe do things both lor their own sake and because
unitwasa ccrmparaiively smallcity - a polis - andsuchempiresas therehad
the),ale meansto achievingsomethingelse as well. (We go for becnin Greece werenevefiheless thoughtofas alliancesof individualcities,even
l \talk bccausewe enjoy walking, and in any casethe exercise if therewerca dominantpartner(asAthenshadoncebeen,andMacedonwas
is gcrodfor our health.) rc DCCOme.)

1. 1
 : . I iLi 5TiIU'TURE AND AIM OF T HE ET HICS STY LE , S TR U C TU R E A I{ D A IM OT l H E E TH IC S

tir0!jtt aod to whom, how money is to be spcni, what laws are to

be scientificlaws have no exceptions,whereasmoral principles, such as
cn3crcd.$trat p)ays and festivals to be celebrated,which types of 'You
shouldnot tell a lie' surely have all kinds ofexceptions. Someone
belririiour to be encoumged,and which not. plato toot it for
iianted, might even wish to argue that, whereas the truths of physics should
:ud.{risiotle u,ouid not have disputed,that all thesepracticaldeci_
beacceptedby anyone,different individuals or culturesneednot accept
sionshave as rheir ultimatepurposerhe wel)-beingof the citizens,
as the sameethical principles at all. Despite what he has just said about
indiyidu3lsand as a community.Ifwe could understand how to achieve uffeasonableexpectationsin ethics, Aristotle would neverthelessat
rhatgoal. rhen, saysAristotle,we could seehow each action
of each thispointurgecaution until we seehowtheinquiryintoethicstums
irrdiyidualmight be gocd for that personand might also conu.ibutero politics
out. Ethics and are indeed different from physics. Aristotle
a flourishingcommunity.Ethics and politics are alike concemedwith admitsthat
in contrastwith the naturalworld 'noble and just actions,
$l]at is most importantto us; ethics looking at it from the point of
which arc the subject matter of politics, differ and vary so much that
irc.x of the individual. and politics from the point of view
of the it night appearas if rhey dependsimply upon hunan convention rather
ronrnrunitl,as a whole. The Ethics,then,will attemptto answerques_ thannature'(1094b14-16). it might seem.But, as we shall
So s€e,
tiorisabout \,vhateach of us should do by showing how thc answen
Aristotledocs not in fact endorsethat conclusion.While ethics and
crinbc found;and answerscan be found by considcringwhat it is thal politics
may be inexactby comparisonwith the physical sciences,it
i:r Ultinlarelyirnponantto us.
doesnot follow that there are no natural limits to what should be
regardedas morally or politically admirable, or that ethics cannot in
Aristotle'sPreface(2): Realisticexpectations anysensebe regardedas a scientiflc discipline. We shall have to wait
andsee.
\\ iil lhc sludy of ethics tell us exactly what we should do in
every
srruirrronin which we find ourselves?Certainly not, says Aristotle.
onl)' s()rtrcoue rvhohad no knowledgeofthe subjectwould expectthat Aristotle'sPreface(3): Suitablestudents
1.. . . ,.1. f , lc r r ilc dc l a rrry .
As we saw, Aristotle's aim in w ting the Ethics is not just to teach
Ilrc discussionwill be quite sufficientif it attainsto as much peopletheory,it is to help peopleto becomegood. While in a way
clafiry as the subject allows. Detailed accuracyis not to be thatseemsfair enough (though perhapsthe emphasisis not one which
lookcd lbr equally in all discussionsany more than in the various would always be found in moml philosophy lecturesnowadays!), one
thlngsu,e can make. mightbe forgiven for thinking that there is neverthelesssomething of
a paradoxhere. If, by Aristotle's own account, attending a course on
fl . 3, t094bl t-t2)
moralphilosophywill not guaranteethat the studentswill end up being
In talking about what we should do, we must not expect the morallygood, then why
should reading Aristotle's Ethcs or listening
prccistonthat we might expect in, say, mathematics,or in the phys-
to his lecturesbe any more effective? It's not enough for him simply
icol scicnccs.Only the ill-infonned would expectthe samedegreeof
to r4_vthat hjs aim is not just theoretical but pmctical. How is that
liqt.rur.Once again,Aristotle is here making an introductoryremark,
supposedto work out?
lLrrNhich he u ill give his detailedreasonslater (partlyin Book Il, and
Aristotle would tahe the point. No more than a contemporary
panlv in Book VI). Now, it might not strikeus as too surprisingto
say lecturerin moral philosophy rvould Aristotle have thought it his busi-
thal ethics{or-poiitics) is nor an exact sciencein the way in which
nessto provide the kind of good moral training one might look for
pn\stcj or astronotly are. We might be inclined to say that
moral fromparcnlsor schools.Such traininghas to slan in early childhood,
piincil:,lesale very diflerent from scientific laws. At least idealtv.
so that the young person acquiresbabits of good behaviour.Still,

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 STY LE ,5TR U C IU I{! A I\U
STYL E ,s T RUCT UREA N D AIM OF T H E ET H l C S

someonewho has been weil brought up will typically come to wonder what Aristotleis trying to do, then,is to give his studentsan
1r'/n they have been trained to behave in this way rather than tbat explanationof why they shouldhavebeenbroughtuP as they were'
InGeedthey might well question whether their upbringing has been andanaccountof how an adult
is to go aboutmakinggooddecisions'
along the right lines at all. Doubtless there were rebellious adolescentr H€hopesthatwhathe hasto
saywill havethepractical effectof crys-
in Arhe)rs too. Rather than geting hold of them at once, however, tallizingfor them attitudes
andways of thinkingwhich they haveas
explainorjustify for themselves'His lectureswere
Aristotle rvould have consideredthem as still too young to profit fron yetnotbeenableto
of a process of moral education;or' to be
his lectures. The rebellious adolescent simply does not as yet havr io providethe final stag€
they wereto give the theoreticalbacking to a process of
enough experience of life and its complexities to be able to forn ror. "*r.,, In-l doing'
which hadilreadybeenlargelycompleted'
rrature moral judgements. So Aristotle consideredas prerequisitesfor moraltraining -produce
to morally thoughtfuladultswho would be good
iris course fiat people should have been well brought up, and, further he aimed
Ihat they should already have had some experienceof life and of the people, andgoodmembersof the community'
' ' to
complex problems which life presentsone with. He remarks that:
in tfte chaptersthat follow, I shall not adhere strictly
Aristotle'sorderof exposition(if indeedit is Aristode's) l shall try
Wlile young men become geometricians and mathematicians to explainthe key pans of it 6rst' and then fill in the sufioundings
and very adept at such subjects [we might includc being marvel. t"t"r.i *outa sugieit thata goodplanto follow wouldbe to readfairly
lous at dealing with computersl,it is commonly believedthat quicklythrough-thesectionsof the text which are dealtwith in each
then
a young man does not leam practical wisdom. ... A young ctraoter ottnis Uoot,which aregivenat the startof eachchapter:
man has no experience.for it is length of time that gives readthe chaptercarefully,following up the references to the text as
expetience. yougo along.
(V I, 8. I l 42al l -15)

tlere is a fonhright descriptionof the krnd of studenthe does

.\ young rnan is not a suitable person to take a course on hov

tr-'run a city, for he is inexperiencedin the affairs of life (which
are tt e starting point and subject-matterof the course). Besides,
since he tends to be led by his feelings. attending the course wili
be porntlessand unprofitable, since the aim of the course is nol
knouiedge but action. [t makes no difference whether he is
young in years, or immature in character.The problem is nor a
mafter of time, but a life-style which pursues one kind of thing
:ftcr another as feelings dictate. To people like this knowledge
is Ito use, any more than it is to people who lack self-control
But for those whose desires and actions are directed in a well-
ordered way, it would be very helpful to have knowledge about
such topics.
(1, 3, 1095a2-ll )

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