Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: The Friendship Of Good People

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that the human good is the soul’s activity that expresses virtue. Aristotle concludes this from an invalid argument. On the one hand I do agree that the activity expressing virtue is a requirement for the human good. But on the other hand, I insist that the human good is a state and not an action. By modifying this argument, I believe we can reach a new conclusion that will help us better understand what Aristotle meant by these concepts.

This is the first real demonstration of bravery in the play and it is followed by many other acts of bravery from many different characters. In the beginning of the story, in the castle of Thebes, Antigone tells her sister Ismene that she is going to bury Polyneices and go against Creon’s directions to not give Polyneices a proper burial. Ismene reacts and says, “ What? Challenge Creon to his face?”

In Book eight and nine of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle addresses the topic of friendship. Aristotle’s argument is that friends should be regarded as second selves. Aristotle believes that as virtuous behavior improves an individual, friendship has the potential to make improvements in each other’s lives.

and Creon says that she is boasting barefaced anarchy but Antigones says, “I should have praise and honor for what I have done. All these men here would praise me”(Sophocles 828). Creon is angry that Antigone knows what she has done and she doesn’t care and feels like what she is doing is the right thing to do and the around here would agree to that. As also observed in this quote Antigone again reveals how she is a tragic hero by illustrating that she is responsible for own actions. When Antigone showed these characteristics she showed how she is a tragic

Antigone is a courageous person because she defy's the law to do what is right. Even though antigone might due burying her brother, she still goes through with it. " Am not afraid of the danger if it means death. " This quote is trying to say that not even death is going to stop her from doing the right thing.

Friend is the word that warms the cold reality and indifferent society. We have friends since infancy. We grew up gaining and losing friends. Everyone has their own interpretation of this bittersweet experience. We gradually form our definition of friends and prudently choose who we are going to interact with.

Antigone showed bravery when she was brought in to Creon, she said, “I deny nothing… Your edict, King, was strong, But all your strength is weakness itself against… This death of mine / Is of no importance; but if I had left my brother Lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now I do not.’” This rebellious action shows that Antigone is not afraid of dying but she is afraid of not doing the right thing.

Antigone shows how important it is to make choices that will advocate for yourself, stand up against authority, and to always choose the morally right thing even if it means breaking the law or even

On the other hand, Antigone may be prideful, but not like her father; instead she is more arrogant towards her actions that she thinks is just. For instance, in the illegal act of burying her brother, Antigone doesn’t show any guilt as to committing the offence, she instead tells her uncle “I should have praise and honor for what I have done. All these men here would praise me were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.” This is a bold statement said by Antigone as she tells her uncle that he is wrong, for leaving her brother unburied and that she acted in virtue not haste for what he had done. In saying this Antigone shows that she is prideful in what she had done and that others will agree with her upon it.

When it comes to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, I believe that he has found a common thread in humanity in the fact that humans strive for the moderate in living virtuously. However, I would argue that the thread is varied enough to have no true worth in discerning the aspects of humanity. People have too different moralities and goals. Because Aristotle allows for these “local variations”, as Martha Nussbaum later terms in her defense of Aristotle, he is acknowledging that there cannot be an overarching analysis of humanity.

This principle lies at the heart of the great-souled man, the first of Aristotle’s peaks of humanly excellence. The great-souled man is chiefly concerned with—and strikes the mean with—external goods. The greatest of these goods is “the one that we assign to the gods, and at which people of high standing aim most of all, and which is the prize given for the most beautiful deeds; and of this kind is honor” (67:1123b19-21). A man who has achieved greatness of soul is deserving of great honors, but more importantly, he understands his own desert and acts appropriately.

Aristotle’s four causes, then, are as follows: material cause, efficient cause, formal cause and final cause. Aristotle develops his famous doctrine of “the golden mean’’, according to which a morality is the midway point between two abstracts, each of which an immorality thus kindness is the mean between profligacy and selfishness; courage between careless and spiritlessness; self-respect between self-regard and self-humility; modesty between shamelessness and shyness. Aim should be always an average personality. And it is the way to achieve happiness in life. Comparison:

This makes me believe that Aristotle 's statement is true because one of the main causes of a friendship is happiness, and having enjoyment from one another is what causes happiness. If bad people can find enjoyment in each other then they will not find happiness in each other. This makes it impossible for them to be

Virtues, according to Aristotle are formed by habits. As a result, virtues are the result of habits. Furthermore, Aristotle makes the argument that virtue is the disposition to act in a right manner. Furthermore, the habits to be acquired need to be repeated and corrected to live an ethical life. Therefore, virtue requires discipline and consistent habits, more external than internal, as opposed to say, Socrates.

Is pleasure what we strive for or is it the icing on top? It can be argued that pleasure in the end and final goal for all rational beings. However, pleasures can be good or bad, and the end goal of life should be to do well. But then how can one person argue pleasure as being the final desire, if it may be bad. Aristotle takes a unique approach to describing the nature of pleasure within his text, The Nicomachean Ethics.