Kyo 's Key Ideas from Nicomachean Ethics
by Aristotle

There are good ways to think and good ways to act. Virtues aren't something we're born with; we learn them through habits. Since deeds make up a person's character, it's important to find the right ways to act that lead to good character, which means doing things that make sense.

Too much or too little of something can be bad for your health, just like too much or too little exercise can hurt your strength. The goal is to find the middle ground. Having the right feelings at the right times about the right things toward the right people for the right reason and in the right way is part of this mean, or intermediate state. In other words, being good isn't just about doing the right thing; it's also about doing the right thing while in the right state.

Virtues start with a number of things. For example, you have to think about and decide on the good goal you want to reach. Aristotle talks at length about different kinds of good character and the extremes between which each is the mean. For example,

Bravery is the state between being bold and being afraid.

Temperance is a balanced taste for good things.

A person who is kind avoids both being careless and not being kind.

Magnificence is spending big money on big things, like palaces for the gods.

Magnanimity is both being worthy of great rewards and knowing you are worthy of them.

A mild person only gets angry at the right times and in the right amounts.

Someone who is nice is neither ingratiating nor cantankerous.

Aristotle also talks about fairness, which is what makes and keeps people happy in a political group. Because justice looks out for the good of both the person and the group, it can be seen as a kind of summary of all the values.

Aristotle also talks about what he calls virtues of thought. These are states of mind that lead the soul toward the truth. Prudence is one of the most important virtues. It is the ability to think carefully about what makes for a good life. In other words, it is the ability to think rightly about virtue both in general and in specific cases.

Aristotle talks at length about incontinence, or not being able to control yourself, which is one of the main things that gets in the way of being good. People who don't have self-control know that it's wrong to chase a certain pleasure, and they even think about it and decide that it is wrong, but they still do it anyway. The habitual person can be taught to act in a good way, but the intemperate person is harder to change because he thinks it's okay to do what he does wrong.

Aristotle talks a lot about friendship because it has a lot to do with being good. Friendship is also important to political science because it keeps towns together. The best friendships are between people who are good in the same ways. These friends want good things for each other because it's good for their friend, not because it's good for them or gives them happiness. True friendship helps people grow in good ways. This is especially true when friends live together and share both happiness and sadness.

Aristotle's main point is that the highest human virtue is understanding, so the best way to be happy is to learn or think about philosophical ideas. But even though the contemplative life is the most desired, the political life must be followed for the good of society. He says that most people don't like being good and that arguing with them won't change their ways. This is why we need laws to teach people good habits when they're young and make them a part of their lives.

Because of this, it is necessary for anybody who cares about the welfare of others and of society as a whole to educate themselves on legal and political structures, topics that Aristotle would discuss in another part of his work.