Nicomachean Ethics

References

Nicomachean Ethics

work by Aristotle

Also known as: “Ethica Nicomachea”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

The Nicomachean Ethics is a seminal work by Aristotle that explores the concept of eudaimonia, often translated as "happiness" or "human flourishing". Aristotle posits that eudaimonia is the highest human good, an end in itself, achieved through the excellent performance of human beings' characteristic function: reason.12

The work delves into virtue, defining it as a disposition acquired through practice, representing a Golden Mean between extremes of excess and deficiency. For instance, courage is the mean between cowardice and foolhardiness. Aristotle distinguishes between intellectual virtues, like wisdom, and moral virtues, such as justice and temperance. He argues that true virtuous action results from the integration of correct reasoning and right desire, emphasizing that eudaimonia is an activity achieved over a complete life, not a fleeting state.231

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

ethics
Aristotle
…most important ethical treatise, the Nicomachean Ethics, he sorts through the virtues as they were popularly understood in his day, specifying in each case what is truly virtuous and what is mistakenly thought to be so. Here he applies an idea that later came to be known as the Golden…
Read More
…most important ethical treatise, the Nicomachean Ethics, he sorts through the virtues as they were popularly understood in his day, specifying in each case what is truly virtuous and what is mistakenly thought to be so. Here he applies an idea that later came to be known as the Golden…
Read More

Aristotle
Ethics
…treatises on moral philosophy: the Nicomachean Ethics in 10 books, the Eudemian Ethics in 7 books, and the Magna moralia (Latin: “Great Ethics”). The Nicomachean Ethics is generally regarded as the most important of the three; it consists of a series of short treatises, possibly brought together by Aristotle’s son…
Read More
…treatises on moral philosophy: the Nicomachean Ethics in 10 books, the Eudemian Ethics in 7 books, and the Magna moralia (Latin: “Great Ethics”). The Nicomachean Ethics is generally regarded as the most important of the three; it consists of a series of short treatises, possibly brought together by Aristotle’s son…
Read More

golden mean
In Nicomachean Ethics, however, Aristotle goes further. He argues that all virtues lie at a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess. He compares virtues to health, suggesting that, as both deficient and excess physical exercise can destroy one’s strength, deficiency and excess can both destroy…
Read More
In Nicomachean Ethics, however, Aristotle goes further. He argues that all virtues lie at a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess. He compares virtues to health, suggesting that, as both deficient and excess physical exercise can destroy one’s strength, deficiency and excess can both destroy…
Read More

mysticism
Mysticism and reason
” In his Nicomachean Ethics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle stated that the contemplative life consists of the soul’s participation in the eternal through a union between the soul’s rational faculty and the nous that imparts intelligibility to the cosmos.
Read More
” In his Nicomachean Ethics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle stated that the contemplative life consists of the soul’s participation in the eternal through a union between the soul’s rational faculty and the nous that imparts intelligibility to the cosmos.
Read More

comedy
Theories
…to a passage in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, in which the boaster (the person who says more than the truth) is compared with the mock-modest man (the person who says less), and the buffoon (who has too much wit) is contrasted with the boor (who has too little).
Read More
…to a passage in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, in which the boaster (the person who says more than the truth) is compared with the mock-modest man (the person who says less), and the buffoon (who has too much wit) is contrasted with the boor (who has too little).
Read More