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The Nicomachean Ethics is one of Aristotle's great works and discusses virtues. The ten books which comprise it are based on notes from his lectures at the Lyceum and were either edited by or dedicated to Aristotle's son, Nicomachus.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle focuses on the importance of continually behaving virtuously and developing virtue rather than committing specific good actions. This can be opposed to Kantian ethics, in which the primary focus is on individual action. Nicomachean Ethics emphasizes the importance of context to ethical behavior – what might be right in one situation might be wrong in another. Aristotle believed that happiness is the end of life and that as long as a person is striving for goodness, good deeds will result from that struggle, making the person virtuous and therefore happy.
Important quotes
Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. - 1094a (Book I, Ch. 1)
See also
External links
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle 350 BC, translated by W. D. Ross. (http://www.constitution.org/ari/ethic_00.htm)
Lecture on Aristotle's Nicomachaean Ethics (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/introser/aristot.htm) A very complete analysis of Nicomachean Ethics.
Nicomachean Ethics Sparknote (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/ethics/) A study guide for Nicomachean Ethics.
[1] (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Nic.+Eth.+) Nicomachean Ethics, trans. by Harris Rackham (HTML at Perseus) with bekker numbers.
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