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Aristotle Research Paper

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Aristotle: The Father of Modern Ethics

Undoubtedly, the most prevalent author in the philosophical world throughout all of human history, Aristotle’s work has remained of the highest regard for some 2300 years. His historical resume includes many major developments in myriad fields that continue to be studied today, including astronomy, politics, zoology, logic and most notably, philosophy. Although he studied all of these topics, Aristotle stated that it was philosophy that was his true passion, and it could be argued that this passion, in turn, led to the magnitude of impact that he was able to have on the subject. Some of his major contributions in philosophy are those of an ethical nature, namely, his publications, Nicomachean Ethics …show more content…

Aristotle states in the very first lines of Nicomachean Ethics that “[e]very art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.” This quote exemplifies to me that there is an end goal to everything, and the end goal of ethics is to achieve happiness. By making an ethical choice, even if it is not very difficult to do, it helps us to develop an ethical character. This is very important so that making ethical choices in the future will be natural and there will be no hesitation in your mind if you are making the right decision, because you will understand the importance that there is in being ethical. Next, Aristotle shows that we can be ethical through performing virtuous acts, or acts of goodness. These acts are considered ethical as they are good in nature and they both serve the Other and promote the common good. This has shown me that all I need to do in order to act in an ethical manner, would be to make virtuous decisions and eventually develop a virtuous character, which may also be referred to as being prudent, as good decisions will then no longer be decisions, but rather, they will just be first action. Lastly, Aristotle has greatly exemplified the reason why we should be ethical, and that is simply because it promotes the greatest goal of any human life, which is to find happiness. In order to pursue happiness, we must achieve the greatest excellences available to us. When first hearing this term, I imagine that the greatest excellences would include becoming a billionaire, becoming president, living to 120 years old and other things such as these that are seen as great. This would show that it would only be possible for a very small amount of

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