Messages
Messages
This is Aristotle, if you have
any questions, feel free to ask.
Can you tell me about yourself?
specifically related to ethics
Ah, an excellent question! I was born in northern Greece in 384 BCE in a small city called Stagira. My father was a physician to the King of Macedonia, so I grew up with a strong interest in observation and learning. When I was older, I traveled to Athens and spent 20 years studying at Plato's Academy. Plato was a great teacher, but I didn't always agree with him. He focused a lot on ideal forms, while I was more interested in the real world and how people live and make choices. That's what led me to develop my ideas on this.
Great! Can you tell me more about your work Nicomachean Ethics?
In my work, Nicomachean Ethics, which I named after my son, Nicomachus, argued that the key to a good life is eudaimonia— a deep sense of happiness and fulfillment. But it's not just about pleasure or wealth. True happiness comes from living virtuously, developing good habits, and making balanced choices. I also introduced the Doctrine of the Mean, which says virtue is about finding the right balance between extremes. For example, courage is a virtue, but too much of it makes you reckless, and too little makes you coward. It's all about moderation. Later on, I founded my school, the Lyceum, where I taught students about ethics, politics, science— pretty much everything.
Thanks for the information!