Eudaimonia is the central notion in Aristotle's ethics, often translated as 'happiness' or 'flourishing'; for Aristotle it is the activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue over a complete life, not a mere feeling of contentment.

What is the doctrine of the mean?

It is Aristotle's view that virtues of character are dispositions to feel and act in a way that hits a mean between excess and deficiency, with the mean determined by practical reason and relative to the situation.

Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

Aristotle's ethics locates the human good in eudaimonia, achieved through activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, where virtue is a stable disposition to feel and act well as determined by practical reason.

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Definition

Aristotelian virtue ethics holds that the human good is eudaimonia, the activity of the rational soul in accordance with complete virtue across a complete life, and that a virtue of character is a disposition, acquired by habituation, to choose the mean relative to us as determined by reason.

Scope

This topic covers the moral philosophy of Aristotle's Nicomachean and Eudemian Ethics: the function argument for eudaimonia, the doctrine of virtue as a mean between extremes, the distinction between moral and intellectual virtues, practical wisdom (phronesis), and the role of habituation. It is the historical foundation for the wider area of virtue ethics.

Core questions

What is the highest human good, and why is it eudaimonia?
How does the function argument support an account of the human good?
What is the doctrine of the mean, and how does it characterize the virtues?
What is practical wisdom, and how does it govern virtuous action?

Key theories

The function argument: Aristotle's argument that the human good must be identified by reference to the characteristic activity (ergon) of human beings, namely the exercise of reason, so that the good life is rational activity done well.
The doctrine of the mean: The claim that each virtue of character lies in a mean between excess and deficiency in feeling and action, where the mean is relative to the agent and fixed by practical reason rather than by arithmetic.

History

Aristotle composed the Nicomachean and Eudemian Ethics in the fourth century BCE as systematic inquiries into the human good. His account of virtue, habituation, and practical wisdom shaped the ethical traditions of late antiquity, was absorbed into Christian thought by Aquinas, and remains the touchstone for the contemporary revival of virtue ethics.

Debates

Intellectualist vs. inclusive readings of eudaimonia: Interpreters dispute whether Aristotle identifies the best life with contemplation alone or with an inclusive combination of contemplative and practical virtuous activity.
The doctrine of the mean as guidance: Whether the mean offers genuine action guidance or merely labels the right response once it is independently identified is a long-standing interpretive and philosophical question.

Key figures

Aristotle
Thomas Aquinas
John McDowell
Sarah Broadie

Seminal works

aristotleNE
aristotleEE

Frequently asked questions

What is eudaimonia?: Eudaimonia is the central notion in Aristotle's ethics, often translated as 'happiness' or 'flourishing'; for Aristotle it is the activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue over a complete life, not a mere feeling of contentment.
What is the doctrine of the mean?: It is Aristotle's view that virtues of character are dispositions to feel and act in a way that hits a mean between excess and deficiency, with the mean determined by practical reason and relative to the situation.