Nicomachean Ethics · Character

Aristotle

A methodical Greek philosopher who treats ethics as a practical craft, guiding readers like archers toward a definite mark: the human good.

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First appearance: Nicomachean Ethics

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Primary author and philosopher presenting the ethical framework.

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Aristotle frames his inquiry as a kind of political science, insisting that the good of a whole city is grander and more divine than the good of one man. He warns that noble and just things are so various and uncertain that we must accept only as much precision as the subject allows. That tension—between wanting firm answers and honoring messy human experience—shapes every argument that follows.

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J. A. Stewart
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In the story

Aristotle appears across 113 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Nicomachean Ethics
Primary author and philosopher presenting the ethical framework.
Book I
Primary author and philosopher presenting the inquiry into happiness, virtue, and the function of man.
The End
Author of the text; presents the function argument and defines happiness as activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.
I
Author of the text; presents the foundational argument that all actions aim at some good.
Chapter II
Author of the inquiry, presenting the argument for a final end and the supremacy of politics.
III
Author of the chapter; sets forth the methodological principles for studying Politics and ethics.
The Highest Good and Happiness
Author and primary voice; discusses the aim of politics and the nature of happiness.
The Three Lives and the Search for the Good
Author and primary voice; resumes the discussion of the good and examines the three lives.
Critique of the Universal Good
Author of the critique; argues against the Platonic Form of the Good and emphasizes practical, particular goods.
Chapter VII: The Function of Man and the Final Good
Central author and philosopher presenting the function argument and defining happiness as the final good.
Chapter VIII: Happiness, Virtue, and External Goods
Presents the argument that happiness is the best, noblest, and pleasantest thing, requiring external goods and the exercise of virtue.
Chapter IX: Happiness, Virtue, and the Human Condition
Author of the text; defines happiness as exercise of vital faculties in accordance with virtue.
Happiness, Fortune, and the End of Life
Presents the argument that happiness is an activity in accordance with perfect excellence, and that the happy man will bear fortune with dignity.
XI
Author of the argument; discusses the impact of friends' fortunes on the dead.
Happiness as a Final Good Worthy of Reverence
The author who distinguishes between praised goods and revered goods, arguing that happiness is a final good and a starting-point for all action.
Chapter XIII: The Division of the Soul and the Foundation of Virtue
Author of the text; presents the division of the soul and its relevance to virtue and politics.
Book II
Primary author and expositor of the arguments on moral virtue, habit, and the doctrine of the mean.
Moral Virtue
Primary author and philosopher presenting the doctrine of moral virtue as a mean and habit.
I
Author of the text; presents the distinction between intellectual and moral excellence and argues that moral virtue is acquired through habit.
II
Author of the inquiry, presenting the practical aim of studying virtue.
The Acquisition of Virtue Through Practice
Primary author presenting the argument that virtues are developed through habitual just and temperate actions.
V
Author of the inquiry; defines virtue as a habit, not a passion or faculty.
Chapter VI: Virtue as a Mean
Author of the text; presents the doctrine of the mean and defines virtue as a moderation between extremes.
VII
Author of the text; presents the detailed enumeration of virtues and vices as means between extremes.
IX
Author of the text; explains the doctrine of the mean and the difficulty of virtuous action.
Book III: Virtue, Choice, and the Voluntary Nature of Character
Primary author; presents arguments on voluntary action, virtue as habit, and the mean.
The Will
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of voluntary action, virtue, and vice.
I
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of voluntary and involuntary action.
Choice and Deliberation
Author and primary voice; defines and analyzes the nature of choice.
Chapter III: Deliberation and Choice
Primary author and philosopher presenting the theory of deliberation and choice.
Chapter IV: Wish and the Good
Aristotle presents and resolves the debate about the object of wish, distinguishing between the good itself and what seems good to each person, and emphasizing the role of the good man as a standard.
V
Primary author; presents the argument that virtue and vice depend on ourselves, using examples of legislators, drunkenness, and the stone-throwing analogy.
The Several Moral Virtues and Vices
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of courage and temperance.
VII
Primary author; defines courage as a mean between fear and confidence, and discusses the motives and circumstances of courageous action.
Chapter VIII: The Varieties of Courage
Author of the chapter, defining and analyzing the nature of true courage and its semblances.
Temperance and Profligacy
Author of the text; defines temperance as moderation concerning bodily pleasures.
XI
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of desires, profligacy, and temperance.
XII
Primary author and philosopher presenting the argument on profligacy, cowardice, and temperance.
Book IV: The Several Moral Virtues and Vices Continued
Primary author and expositor of the virtues of liberality and high-mindedness.
The Several Moral Virtues and Vices—Continued
Primary author and expositor of the virtues, defining high-mindedness, gentleness, and their extremes.
Liberality
Primary author and expositor of the virtue of liberality and its opposing vices.
Magnificence
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; defines and analyzes the virtue of magnificence.
High-Mindedness and the Greatness of Soul
Primary author and expositor of the concept of high-mindedness, defining it as the crown of virtues.
Social Intercourse and the Mean
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics, presenting the mean in social intercourse.
Book V: Justice and Injustice
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of justice and injustice.
Justice
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of justice, its types, and its relation to virtue and law.
Justice as Complete Virtue
Author and primary voice; defines justice and injustice, distinguishing between lawfulness and fairness.
Chapter II: Justice as a Part of Virtue
Author and primary expositor of the distinctions between types of justice and injustice.
Chapter III: Justice as Proportion and the Mean
Author of the text; presents the argument that justice is a mean and proportionate.
V
Primary author; defines justice as a habit of deliberate, proportionate apportionment and critiques simple requital.
Chapter VI: Acts of Injustice and the Nature of Justice
Author of the text; presents the argument distinguishing unjust acts from being unjust, and defines political justice.
Chapter VII: Natural and Conventional Justice
Author of the text, presenting the distinction between natural and conventional justice.
Chapter VIII
Author of the chapter, defining voluntary and involuntary actions in relation to justice and injustice.
XI
Primary author; argues against the possibility of self-injustice, distinguishing between general and particular injustice.
Book VI: Intellectual Virtues and the Unity of Prudence and Moral Virtue
Primary author; defines prudence, wisdom, and their relation to moral virtue.
The Intellectual Virtues
Primary author and expositor of the intellectual virtues, prudence, and their relation to moral virtue.
Intellectual Virtue and Right Reason
Author and primary voice; introduces the division of intellectual virtues and the need for a precise standard of right reason.
III
Author of the chapter, defining science and its characteristics.
Chapter IV: Art and Production
Author of the text, presenting the distinction between action and production and defining art.
Prudence as Practical Wisdom
Primary author and expositor of the nature of prudence.
VII
Author of the text; defines wisdom and prudence.
Chapter VIII: Statesmanship and Prudence
Primary author and expositor of the argument that statesmanship and prudence are the same faculty, differing only in application to state versus individual.
XII
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents and resolves objections regarding the value of prudence and wisdom.
Chapter XIII
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the distinction between natural virtue and fully developed virtue, and the relationship between prudence and moral virtue.
Book VII
Primary author and philosopher presenting the arguments on pleasure.
Characters Other Than Virtue and Vice
Primary author; defines and distinguishes continence, incontinence, and related character types.
Chapter I: Incontinence, Continence, and the Brutal Character
Author and primary speaker; introduces the classification of moral characters and the method of examining common opinions.
III
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of incontinence and practical reasoning.
Chapter V: Brutal and Morbid Incontinence
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics, presenting the argument on incontinence and its types.
Chapter VI: Incontinence in Anger vs. Appetite
Author of the text, presenting the argument.
VII
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the analysis of continence, incontinence, and related moral states.
Chapter VIII: Incontinence vs. Profligacy
Primary author; defines and contrasts incontinence and profligacy, using medical analogies and discussing the role of virtue in preserving the principle of action.
Continence, Incontinence, and Prudence
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of prudence, incontinence, and moral character.
Of Pleasure
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of pleasure and pain.
XII
Primary author presenting arguments in defense of pleasure as good.
XIII
Presents the argument that pleasure is good because pain is bad, and discusses the relationship between pleasure, happiness, and unimpeded activity.
XIV
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the analysis of pleasure, pain, and continence.
Book VIII: Friendship or Love
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of friendship.
Friendship or Love
Primary author and philosopher presenting the analysis of friendship, its types, and its relation to justice and political systems.
I
Author of the text, presenting the discussion on friendship.
Chapter III: The Three Kinds of Friendship
Author of the text, presenting the classification of friendships.
IV
Author of the analysis; defines and distinguishes types of friendship.
Chapter V: Friendship, Habit, and Living Together
Primary author and philosopher discussing the nature of friendship.
Chapter VI
Author of the text; presents the analysis of friendship based on character, age, and social position.
Chapter VII: Friendship Among Unequals
Author of the text; presents the analysis of unequal friendships.
Chapter VIII
Author of the text; presents the analysis of friendship and love.
Chapter IX
Author of the text; presents the argument linking friendship and justice to various forms of community.
Friendship and Political Constitutions
Primary author and philosopher analyzing constitutions and their perversions.
Chapter XI
Author of the text; presents the analysis of friendship in various political constitutions.
XII
Aristotle is the author of this text, analyzing the nature of friendship in different relationships.
Chapter XIII: The Varieties of Friendship and the Nature of Accusations
Author and primary voice; analyzes the dynamics of friendship, accusations, and requital.
XIV
Author of the text; presents the analysis of unequal friendships and the principle of proportional exchange.
Book IX: Friendship, Self-Love, and the Happy Life
Central author and philosopher presenting arguments on friendship, self-love, and the nature of happiness.
Friendship or Love—Continued
Primary author and philosopher presenting the argument that the happy man needs friends for continuous virtuous activity and contemplation.
Chapter I: Proportionate Exchange and the Nature of Friendships
Author of the text, presenting the analysis of friendships and proportionate exchange.
Chapter II
Author of the text, presenting the ethical analysis of competing claims and duties.
Friendship and Self-Love
Primary author and philosopher presenting the argument that friendship originates from self-relation.
Chapter VII: The Love of Benefactors for Their Beneficiaries
Author of the chapter; provides the philosophical analysis of benefactor-beneficiary love.
Chapter VIII
Author of the text; presents the argument on self-love and the good man's relationship to reason and virtue.
Chapter IX: The Happy Man and the Need for Friends
Presents the main argument that a happy man needs friends for continuous virtuous activity and contemplation.
On the Number of Friends
Author of the text, presenting arguments on the optimal number of friends.
XI
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the argument on the role of friends in prosperity and adversity.
XII
Author of the text; presents the analysis of friendship and its connection to community and shared life.
Book X: Pleasure and the Contemplative Life
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the main arguments on pleasure and the supremacy of contemplation.
Pleasure
The primary author and philosopher analyzing pleasure and its role in ethics.
I
Author of the chapter; presents the philosophical inquiry into pleasure and its role in virtue and happiness.
Chapter III
Author of the arguments in this chapter, defending pleasure as a good and distinguishing between desirable and undesirable pleasures.
Chapter V: Pleasures, Activities, and the Good Man
Primary author presenting the argument that pleasures differ by kind and are tied to specific activities, and that the virtuous man is the measure of true pleasure.
Conclusion
Primary author; presents the final arguments on happiness as contemplative activity and the role of law in moral education.
Happiness as the Exercise of Virtue
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the argument that happiness is the exercise of virtue, not amusement.
Chapter VIII: Happiness as Contemplation
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; presents the argument that perfect happiness is contemplative activity.
The Need for Law and Habit in Moral Education
Author of the Nicomachean Ethics; argues for the necessity of law and habituation in moral education.
Endnotes
The author of the Nicomachean Ethics, whose arguments and distinctions are clarified in the endnotes.

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