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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 1
Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 2
Now the virtues, as we say, are voluntary. For in fact we are
ourselves in a way jointly responsible for our states of character,
and the sort of character we have determines the sort of end we lay
down. Hence the vices will also be voluntary, since the same is
true of them. (EN III, 5, 1114b22-25).
In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle has argued that all individuals aspire to achieve
good through their deeds however, their choices are limited by their abilities to decipher between
the apparent good and good deeds. He has also asserted that when passing judgment over an
individuals actions, it is important to consider whether their actions were voluntary, involuntary
or non voluntary. Book III of this text, which is the focus of discussion here refutes assertions
made earlier by Socrates that evil deeds of men are never based on voluntary or contemplated
actions; but result through no intentional fault of any individual. Aristotle has argued that even
when a deed whose outcome is detrimental to an individuals surroundings is committed without
the malafide intent, the individual should still be held liable with limited recourse for pardon on
the grounds of ignorance or any other similar defense. (THESIS STATEMENT)
Aristotle was a disciple of Plato and the last of the great philosophers of Ancient Greece.
Although he wrote many books, very few of these have been preserved till the present age.
Aristotles Nichomachean Ethics was likely dedicated to his son, and is considered a
contradiction of the earlier works of Plato and Socrates. While his predecessors had remained
fixated with looking beyond the obvious and drawing similarities between seemingly disparate
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 3
and diverse phenomenon in nature, Aristotle may be considered an empiricist who largely relied
on first-hand knowledge and direct observations to build his arguments. Before him, Socrates
had proposed the asymmetry thesis for responsibility which contended that good deeds or virtues
among people are derived from the conscious decisions on their part to do good deeds. But, vices
present among individuals are not voluntary and the bad deeds that an individual may commit
are a result of exogenous factors that force such happenings without the endorsement of that
individual.
In book three of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle refutes Socrates assertion that virtue
is voluntary while vice is involuntary. Instead, he argued that both good and evil deeds of men
may be voluntary or involuntary; hence the underlying virtues should be considered when
passing judgment on deeds, regardless of whether an individuals actions appear intentional or
involuntary (ENIII, 1, 1109b, 30-35). To him, humans are rational animals and, as a
consequence, the main aim of the life of an individual is to realize the full potential of rationality.
It follows that the moral education of humans is essential so that they may be trained to suppress
their animalistic and primal urges in favor of upholding rationality. Aristotle further contends
that all human activity is aimed at attaining happiness. If the actions of any individual are not
aimed at achieving this greater good, he will not feel fulfillment, happiness and satiation, which
are crucial for the well being of all humans (ENIII, 2, 1104b, 10-17).
The philosopher views virtues and vices in a continuum instead of as a separate and
unrelated phenomenon. In other words, Aristotle contends that all virtues have corresponding
vices. For example, patience is a virtuous disposition to anger, as courage is to fear. He further
contends that whether a persons actions are voluntary or involuntary should be gauged in
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 4
context of the motivating factors behind any action. So, if a person ends up falling on anothers
property and damaging it because a third person had pushed him, then the former cannot be held
responsible for damaging the others property as he had no control over the occurrence.
However, Aristotle also gives a converse example where a person commits a crime on the
directives of another who has the power to harm the formers family if he does not comply with
the directives to commit the bad deed. Even though the person has been driven towards vice by
another, Aristotle asserts that since he has the ability to go through with the crime or not, the vice
would be a voluntary act on his part, despite the fact that he is committing it in fear of the harm
that may come to his family if he does not do it.
As another example, consider a person whose actions cause harm to another, without the
formers knowledge of the negative implications of his deed on others. Even though this act
caused harm to another, since that person did not cause anguish to the other on purpose, this vice
cannot be considered a voluntary act. In fact, Aristotles assessment of virtue and vice places
supreme importance on the intentions behind the actions of any individual. The best measure of
moral character is choice, since it is only in cases where an individual has freedom to choose
whether or not to commit an action that the true nature of the individual becomes apparent
(ENIII, 5, 1113b, 25-30). He goes on to elaborate that an individual deliberates over any
intended choice, only when he has the capacity to choose and the outcome is not immediately
clear in terms of its negative and positive repercussions for the individual as well as for others.
While deliberating over the likely effects of any action, a truly virtuous individual will be able to
pick the choice which aims for good, while those with a relatively lower moral standing will only
aim for the apparent good.
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 5
Put simply, Aristotles account of voluntary action is characterized by deliberation which
precedes choice which is aimed at achieving desirable consequences. Deliberation is concerned
with things that happen in a certain way for the most part, but in which the event is obscure, and
with things in which it is indeterminate (ENIII, 3, 1112b, 8-12). To explain the rationale behind
his arguments, Aristotle cites the prevalent practice of that time, whereby legislators frequently
doubled the punishment for any crime, if the accused was drunk at the time when the crime was
committed. Even though such an individual can argue that his drunken state had impaired his
ability to decipher between virtues and vice, he is still liable for his actions because the drunken
state which caused this ignorance, or lack of better judgment, was induced voluntarily by him.
He extends a similar reasoning towards any individual whose vices are a consequence of
a general disregard or lack of care. Although such a person does not mean to cause harm to
others or to commit vice, and since his lifestyle is reckless and unconcerned about the
ramifications of his actions, it is argued that any negative outcome due to his actions are
voluntary. This is because that person has made the conscious choice to lead a lackadaisical life
without much concern for virtue or vice. Aristotle considers such an attitude to be the vice of the
soul. He distinguishes that, similarly, the vice of the body is also only those bad aspects about a
persons physique that could have been better had that person made an active effort to improve
on them (ENIII, 5, 1114a, 24-31). He explains that if a person is blind from birth, that person
will naturally receive pity from others. But a person who loses his vision because of excessive
consumption of intoxicants should and will be looked upon with disdain by others because this
person has brought such a condition upon himself by choosing to continuously harm himself. in
fact we are ourselves in a way jointly responsible for out states of character, and the sort of
character we have determines the sort of end we lay down (ENIII, 5, 1114b, 21-25)
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 6
Aristotle has not provided a conclusive definition of what may constitute moral behavior
or benchmarks to gauge human behavior against. Instead, he has highlighted those cases where a
person should not be held accountable for the repercussions of his actions. While ignorance of
any negative ramifications is considered a defense for vice by Aristotle, its implementation is
limited to those cases where a person can claim that it was not his responsibility to be thoroughly
informed about the likely outcome of the relevant action.
It is interesting to note that Aristotle seems to agree with Socrates to the extent that both
philosophers believe that people always aim to do good and the evil that men do is not a direct
aim of any rational being. However, the difference emerges in Aristotles explanation as to why
people end up committing bad deeds. He believes that those who have a low moral standing, or
have not been educated to the desired level in terms of virtue and conscientiousness, end up
doing things that they consider to be good, but are, in fact, bad. The reason that Aristotle has
stopped short of identifying exactly what constitutes best practices for rational beings is, in part,
his own argument that different people perceive good and evil in different ways ( ENIII, 5,
1114b, 1-5). As a consequence, their decisions and actions are also driven by differing
motivations. So, while those who have attained a high level of moral consciousness are able to
pick the virtuous option from among different choices, those who are not as morally strong are
unable to pick out the good and are, instead, distracted by the apparent good which they falsely
assume to be the best choice from the given alternatives.
In summation, the crux of Aristotles argument is that humans are rational beings who
aspire to achieve the best possible outcome from their actions. However an individuals ability to
recognize and pick the most virtuous alternative depends on his moral stature and this differs
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ARIST OT L E 'S N ICHOMACHE AN ET HICS 7
based on a persons upbringing, knowledge and previous interactions. While the most virtuous
people are able to identify the good, others will only be able to identify the apparent good
which they assume to be the best moral alternative. Moreover, Aristotle has argued that while
individuals cannot be held liable for vices committed in ignorance, this defense only applies
where that individual had no reasonable duty to address such ignorance. The philosopher has
contended that individuals should only be praised or commended for those virtues which they
adopt voluntarily, while those vices that are adopted involuntarily should be overlooked or
pardoned. Aristotles arguments are quite comprehensive and convincing. In fact, his assertion
that judgment over any action should consider the intent and motivation behind that act has
become a basis in meting out justice in modern societies. For this reason, when sentencing a
criminal charged of any crime, judges routinely consider the circumstances surrounding the
crime as well as the influences on the person who has committed it. Moreover, the concept of the
tort law is based on the Aristotelian concept that those charged with providing any public service
or with maintaining control over any process or event have a duty to exercise reasonable care
and, if any negligence of this due care leads harm to any other party, the responsible party or
individual can be held liable for that harm.
However, some aspects of Aristotles writings deserve more scrutiny, given the inherent
contradictions. Firstly, Aristotle has set the tone of his argument by claiming that the most
morally desirable state for a rational being is when they perform virtuous acts as an end in
themselves. So a brave soldier is courageous because he values this virtue. But later on, the
philosopher gives the example of a soldier who displays courage when fighting off the enemy so
that he can save his compatriots. Obviously, the ends in this case are not the achievements of the
virtue of courage. Instead courage is a means that is used to achieve the end of saving the lives of
http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1 -
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ones compatriots. Moving on, Aristotle has also steered clear of any discussion of just how
much free will an individual enjoys and what proportion of ones decisions can be considered to
have been driven by other metaphysical occurrences. However, this omission can be overlooked
since Aristotle is primarily concerned with simply delineating those actions for which individuals
can be held accountable from those actions which can be considered involuntary.
http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1 -
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Resources
Aristotle, and Terence Irwin. Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis, Ind. [u.a.:
Hackett, 2006. Print.
http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=imD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=8TC9Toa6DqiciAfl_s3wBA&ved=0CBUQvgUoAA&q=Aristotle%27s+Nichomachean+Ethics&nfpr=1