Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle's goal in Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, is to argue that since there cannot be an infinite number, "of merely extrinsic goods, there must be a highest good," to which all human activity ultimately aims (Aristotle 1). Every human activity aims at some end, whether it is an activity or a product beyond that activity. The majority of ends are simply means to a higher end, but the highest end is an end in itself. It is Aristotle's belief that the supreme good, or the highest end which we pursue for its own sake, is happiness (Aristotle 2).People agree that the supreme good is happiness, "...and suppose that living well and doing well are the same as being happy" (Aristotle 5). The question people tend to disagree about is the nature of happiness. Common people associate happiness with pleasure, and while Aristotle believes that pleasure may be sufficient for animals, he believes that human life has a higher end than purely sensual pleasure (Aristotle 7). Other people believe that the greatest good is found in honor; however, honor is more dependant upon those who award it than upon those who accept it, therefore there must be a greater good than that which honor rewards (Aristotle 7). Money is also thought of by many
I trust that human beings, with a few exceptions, attempt to do only things that they perceive in some way or another to be good. Aristotle speaks in a powerful and convincing voice and challenges human values, assumptions, and the way we approach life's daily tasks. The ultimate good for human beings must in essence involve the proper functioning of human life as a whole. The supreme end, the end pursued only in itself, the end that we are ultimately looking for, is the unconditionally complete and best good (Aristotle 14). Playing the piano is a pianist's function because the piano is his or her unique interest. I agree with Aristotle's belief that everything we do in life, we do for the sake of good, or at least something we consider to be good. "In medicine this is health, in generalship victory, in house-building a house; in another case something else, but in every action and decision it is the end, since it is for the sake of the end that everyone does the other things" (Aristotle 13). According to Aristotle, human beings have different characteristic functions. Aristotle does an excellent job of defending his theory that there "is a highest good at which all human activity ultimately aims," and that this highest good is happiness (Aristotle 1). From Aristotle's point of view, not even intellect, enjoyment, and virtue are good only in themselves, but good because they are means for us to achieve happiness. The examples of money, pleasure, and honor that Aristotle uses to distinguish between goods which are desired for the sake of something else and the ultimate good which is desired for it's own sake, really helped to clarify the point that he was trying to make throughout book I. People do not perform actions or make choices without having some greater ulterior motive that will assist them in achieving true happiness. He proves that virtue is a reward in itself and that to be virtuous is to be ultimately happy. There are not many instances where people do things knowing that they are deliberately wrong.
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