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The Nicomachean ethics

Written by Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics is a comprehensive treatise on ethics that delves into the nature of virtue, the role of habituation, and the importance of practical wisdom. It is considered one of the most significant texts in the history of philosophy, offering insights into moral character and the pursuit of eudaimonia, or human flourishing. more

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Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle, a renowned Greek philosopher, is one of the founders of Western philosophy. His thoughts covered a wide range of fields, including ethics, logic, politics, and had a profound impact on the world. more

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“The virtue of a faculty is related to the special function which that faculty performs. Now there are three elements in the soul which control action and the attainment of truth: namely, Sensation, Intellect, and Desire. Of these, Sensation never originates action, as is shown by the fact that animals have sensation but are not capable of action.”

SoulFactsActionDesireThreeAnimalVirtueSpecialElementsCapableFunctionIntellectRelatedFacultySensationsAttainment
Book:The Nicomachean ethics
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“In bad or corrupted natures the body will often appear to rule over the soul, because they are in an evil and unnatural condition. At all events we may firstly observe in living creatures both a despotical and a constitutional rule; for the soul rules the body with a despotical rule, whereas the intellect rules the appetites with a constitutional and royal rule. And it is clear that the rule of the soul over the body, and of the mind and the rational element over the passionate, is natural and expedient; whereas the equality of the two or the rule of the inferior is always hurtful.”

MindMayTwoSoulBodyEvilNaturalClearConditionsEventsCreaturesElementsPassionateIntellectRationalAppetiteInferiorsRoyalUnnaturalHurtfulLiving Creatures
Book:Aristotle's Politics: Writings from the Complete Works: Politics, Economics, Constitution of Athens
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“In [the soul] one part naturally rules, and the other is subject, and the virtue of the ruler we maintain to be different from that of the subject; the one being the virtue of the rational, and the other of the irrational part. Now, it is obvious that the same principle applies generally, and therefore almost all things rule and are ruled according to nature.”

DifferentSoulPrinciplesVirtueSubjectsAll ThingsObviousRationalRulersIrrational
Book:Politics
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“Now the soul of man is divided into two parts, one of which has a rational principle in itself, and the other, not having a rational principle in itself, is able to obey such a principle. And we call a man in any way good because he has the virtues of these two parts.”

MenWayTwoSoulAblePrinciplesVirtueRationalDivided
Book:Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation
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