Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Certainly, the Nicomachean Ethics, which I taught many, many times. 20 weeks, four hours a week, we barely finished.

I go with Aristotle. He's my guy. He's my favorite philosopher. And he pointed out in the Nicomachean Ethics 2,300 years ago that to be happy requires the good benefit of having material needs met.

Aristotle knew this, right? Two books of his famous Nicomachean Ethics are devoted to friendship.

And his views about what it is to live a good life have survived in an extraordinary volume, basically, of lecture notes known as the Nicomachean Ethics.

He says that virtue is acquired through habit.

I would say, go on and get yourself a copy. They're great. There are some excellent translations. And the most recent Penguin one is an excellent translation. And Aristotle's ethics is, I think, one of its real strengths is that it's incredibly realistic.

There's a chapter in Nicomachean Ethics that whenever I'm sort of teaching it, I occasionally go to speak at schools and teach things.

Aristotle writes that we're more garrious comes to the Greek word for flock that horses or bees right and that means and so it's this nature of man but then logos is not when we talk we can see you know how to get from A to B.

Aristotle says the younger particularly given to that their bodies are really great and getting better all the time.

In book 10 of the ethics he describes this beautiful activity and you have to become you have to get the moral virtues first you have to be courageous and you have to be moderate you have to be just and you have to be what you have to be wise.

Aristotle says if you're afraid of the bees buzzing around you you will not be capable of this you see it requires all the virtues and years of work.

the highest human activity in Aristotle is a secular version of the highest human activity or any religion communion with God and that's contemplation is called and it's hard to get your soul to state to be able to do that.

First of all, Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics. It's a book about virtue.

Aristotle's idea of a good person later adopted by both Thomas Aquinas and Maimonides. His basic idea is instead that the way you become a good person is you cultivate virtues within you.

The Aristotelian definition of courage involves a few things.

which again is the point that Aristotle is making throughout Nicomachean ethics.

I love learning about the existentialists and their approach to life. I love learning about the Nicomachean ethics. That's interesting.

We must suppose it to be mere theory

We deliberate not about ends but about means. For a doctor does not deliberate whether he shall heal, Nor an orator whether he shall persuade, Nor a statesman whether he shall produce law and order...

I will leave Jenny with one thought if she's looking for ammunition for why she's right to think that young people are terrible. This is from Aristotle who did his thinking many centuries ago. He wrote, And for the record, That is true. Aristotle wrote, Aristotle is really cranky. I think he's throwing everyone under the bus.

So I guess if Jenny wants to feel better, she should read some Aristotle and say that compared to him, everybody is actually pretty awesome. I think that's a good antidote.

Aristotle in his Ethics, and this is one of the very first major comprehensive books on ethics, had a huge section on self-control.