Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Nicomachean Ethics Human Race - 1,408 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics In Book 1 Chapter 2 of Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle writes: Suppose, then, that the things achievable by action have some end that we wish for because of itself, and because of which we wish for the other things, and that we do not choose everything because of something else - for if we do, it will go on without limit, so that desire will prove to be empty and futile. Clearly, this end will be the good, that is to say, the best good. In this passage Aristotle talks about a certain position in space and time, which he calls an end, that is characterized by the presence of all the things that any particular person desires to get. Every person has his desires and goals in his life and most of those are real goals that can be achieved through action.

Some goals are easier and some are harder but it is always necessary to take some action in order to reach those goals. Also there are goals that are almost impossible to achieve, like for example an endless life but we are not going to talk about them in this research. Usually people set their goals and make a plan according to which they are going to act as to achieve these goals, and usually this process goes from the easiest to the hardest goal or desire. This proves that the passage from Aristotle aforementioned has its real value because once you achieved some smaller goal you always start to work on the newer and usually harder and higher goal in your life. In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle tries to prove that there is an end in life. He insists that life must have an end because everything else in the world has an end.

By end he means a goal or final destination. What is the purpose of life? What are we striving for? He believes that happiness is this end and most people say that happiness includes pleasure. (p. 183) Some pleasures are good, however some pleasures are bad. So, if pleasures are bad then they can not be our goal. Aristotle questions bad pleasures.

Would someone knowingly indulge in a bad pleasure? And how does this happen? People have different views about pleasure. Some believe that no pleasure is good. (p. 184) There are many reasons to back this statement up. Some of the reasons are pleasures have different processes and these processes are different from the end, a temperate man avoids pleasure, (p. 184), children can pursue pleasures, and other reasons. Other people believe that some pleasures are good but most are bad (p. 184) because some pleasures are from reproach and because some pleasures are harmful.

Aristotle's view is that even if all pleasures are good, yet the best thing in the world cannot be pleasure. (p. 184) He believes this because pleasure is a process, therefore it can not be an end. The explanation of why a person would knowingly indulge in a bad pleasure is found through appetites. Some appetites are among most people while others just apply to an individual. Different things are pleasant to different kinds of people, and some things are more pleasant to everyone than chance objects. (p. 74 - 75) People can go wrong with natural appetites when they do it in excess. Some people delight in the wrong things, or delight in the wrong way. They delight in things that they should not delight in or they do something that they should not do because it is delightful to them.

A person is self-indulgent when they get more pain then they should when they do not have a pleasant thing. A person is temperate because they do not have any pain when they do not have pleasurable things. Aristotle shows us that there is a difference between those who are self-indulgent and those who are incontinent. Self-indulgence is the pursuit of appetite. This is out of choice and it is giving into temptations. Incontinence is out of passion and it involuntary.

Sometimes people act out of passion when they know what they are doing is wrong. However, this wrong act gives them pleasure so they pursue it. These people do know what is right. Their desire for pleasure is stronger than their desire to do that right thing. After people do incontinent acts they feel regret about doing it. However, next time they might do the same thing and feel the regret again.

The problem with incontinent people is that they may not realize at that moment that the act is wrong. Even though they may have known their whole life that the act is wrong, at the moment that the act is committed, they are so blinded by the pleasure that they do not realize that the act is wrong. Aristotle concludes that if a person fully and completely knows at that moment that something is wrong then they would not commit the act. Aristotle admits that everyone wants pleasures. He says, if there is anyone who finds nothing pleasant and nothing more attractive than anything else, he must be something quite different from a man; this sort of person has not received a name because he hardly occurs. (p. 76) Therefore, a temperate person is the best person because they are in the middle and they take things in moderation. They do not try to have no pleasures, however they do not excess in pleasures either.

A temperate person does not feel pain in the absence of pleasures. They do not give in to pleasures that are harmful to them either. Aristotle's answer to the initial question asked, would someone knowingly indulge in a bad pleasure, is no. It is no because if the person fully knew it was wrong they would not have indulged in the pleasure.

The answer to the question how does this happen, is because even though a person may know in their heart that it is wrong at the time the pleasure is indulged they do not realize that it is wrong. They do not realize it is wrong because of appetites. When Aristotle starts his argument it seems as though he is going to say that it is possible to knowingly engage in a bad pleasure, but as we read on the believe the opposite. Personally, I disagree with Aristotle. I feel that sometimes people do knowingly indulge in bad pleasures. I know that people are tempted by there appetites but they do know that the act is wrong and they still commit it.

If what Aristotle said was true than there would be a lot less crime, a lot less over-weight people, and a lot less sexually transmitted diseases going around. I am sure that some people do not realize at the time the act is committed that it is wrong because of appetite blinding them, but that is probably rare. Aristotle's definition of virtue would cause some people to be not in good condition or to be performing their functions poorly and so is an unacceptable definition of virtue. Aristotle expressed some brilliant ideas, and no one will argue that they are worth reading and thinking about. They do however lack in certain places for several reasons. He did not consider many circumstances or exceptions, taking an almost militaristic approach in his expressions.

This rigidity works against him in many ways and makes his theory unacceptable by todays standards. Holes in his argument make it even weaker. Places where his statements do not connect and leave a question create many limitations to the application of his theory. He did not make exceptions in some cases, and did not provide for others. Such carelessness from today's philosophers would be inexcusable, but Aristotle has the excuse of his time period. Many of the things that have occurred in the over two thousand years since then have greatly changed the human race and increased our knowledge.

Had we not changed at all since Aristotle, his Nicomachean Ethics probably would have been the definitive text on virtue for the human race. Most of the arguments against him have evolved during the time period after his death, leaving him no fault whatsoever for the invalidity of his writings today. Aristotle's argument that virtue is a kind of moderation is dated and inapplicable today due to insufficient detail and relativity to the lifestyle of today.


Free research essays on topics related to: time period, pleasures, human race, aristotle, nicomachean ethics

Research essay sample on Nicomachean Ethics Human Race

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com