Need urgent help? See our urgent help page.

Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics

Philosophy asks big questions in careful steps. This page is a short introduction to Aristotle's ethics. It is general education. It is not advice for your own situation, and it is not therapy. It is a short orientation and does not settle scholarly debates.

Ethics and its methods

Aristotle treats ethics as a field whose methods must match its subject, which is good action. Because of this, many generalizations in ethics hold only for the most part.

Why study ethics

Aristotle says we study ethics to improve our lives. His main concern is human well-being, which he calls eudaimonia. The word is often translated as happiness or flourishing.

Virtues as skills

Like Socrates and Plato, Aristotle takes the virtues to be central to a well-lived life. He sees the ethical virtues, such as justice, courage and temperance, as complex rational, emotional and social skills.

A difference from Plato

Aristotle rejects Plato's idea that complete virtue requires training in the sciences, mathematics and philosophy in order to understand what goodness is.

Goods that fit together

To live well, Aristotle says, we need to appreciate how goods such as friendship, pleasure, virtue, honor and wealth fit together as a whole.

Practical wisdom

Through proper upbringing and habits, we gain the ability to see, on each occasion, which action is best supported by reasons. This ability is practical wisdom.

The book

The Nicomachean Ethics is traditionally divided into ten books. The title "Nicomachean" was added later, perhaps because the work was edited by Aristotle's son Nicomachus. A related work is the Eudemian Ethics.

Sources

This page draws on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry "Aristotle's Ethics" (substantive revision Aug 11, 2026) at plato.stanford.edu. The link goes to the organization's own site.

All Hotolosophy resources stay free. Support is optional.

If this brings something up

It is okay to pause. You can explore support privately and do not have to share your story. For urgent help, see our urgent help page.