Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Michael McNulty
Professor Bohn
Ethical Analysis
October 31, 2014
Paper 1
In my paper, I will argue that, through the pursuit of morality and virtuous behaviors, happiness can be achieved. I believe this to be true because, according to Aristotle, there is a direct correlation between happiness and leading a moral life.
So how is happiness defined? When philosophers write about “happiness”, there are two ways happiness can be defined; as a state of mind, or as a life that goes well for the person living it. For this paper, I will be using Aristotle’s definition of happiness, which corresponds with a well-lived life for the person living it. I will be using the words “happiness” and the Greek translation of “eudaemonia ”, interchangeably …show more content…
I will be defining “morality” as a code of conduct that, given the circumstance, would therefore be set into action by all reasonable people. For this paper, I will be using the terms “moral” and “virtue” interchangeably. Aristotle tells us in his Nicomachean Ethics , that the most important factor in trying to achieve happiness is to have a good moral character. Virtue is a mean between two extremes, or a middle ground between a vice of excess and a vice of deficiency. He argues that the mean isn’t always the half waypoint, but it will changes in correlation on a case-by-case basis. For example (let’s assume the truck is a big gas guzzling monster, and the sedan is pretty fuel-efficient), a work truck needs more gasoline than a standard 2014 sedan, so the mean between having to stop and refill on gas are different between the sedan and the work …show more content…
Mill and Aristotle’s disagreement is mainly based upon their definitions of happiness. John Mill’s Utilitarian definition of happiness suggests that happiness isn't to fulfill the function of man, but happiness is actually to maximize one’s utility. Mill compares utility to happiness, and that when one is happy they are more useful to society. John Mill believes that happiness isn't the only source one needs to reach one’s final end, even though happiness is a major part of the end, Mill thinks that pleasure, and freedom from pain are the only things that are desirable as an end. Furthermore, if there is pain in my life, my utility is not maximized, and I am not able to be entirely happy. He argues pleasure is happiness and doesn’t need to be backed up because he thinks that it is a given. His views also support that an action to be justified if that action has a positive reaction for a greater number of people. For example, if there are five people that needed an organ transplant and there was a man who had a perfect match for all five people, Mill’s believes that that one person who is a perfect match should be killed and harvested of their

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