Nicomachean Ethics, The

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Aristotle's classic treatise is based on his famous doctrine of the golden mean, which advocates taking the middle course between excess and deficiency. Reacting against Plato's absolutism, Aristotle insisted that there are no definitive moral standards, and that ethical philosophy must be based on human nature and experience. Treating such topics as moral worth, intellectual virtue, pleasure, friendship and happiness, Aristotle's work asks above all- what is the good life and how can we live it?Aristotle's classic treatise is based on his famous doctrine of the golden mean, which advocates taking the middle course between excess and deficiency. Reacting against Plato's absolutism, Aristotle insisted that there are no definitive moral standards, and that ethical philosophy must be based on human nature and experience. Treating such topics as moral worth, intellectual virtue, pleasure, friendship and happiness, Aristotle's work asks above all- what is the good life and how can we live it?
Aristotle was born in the Macedonian city of Stagira in 384 BC, and died in 322. He studied in Plato's Academy in Athens and later became tutor to Alexander the Great, before establishing his own school in Athens, called the Lyceum. His writings, which were of extraordinary range, profoundly affected the whole course of ancient, medieval and modern philosophy. Many of them have survived, including The Nicomachean Ethics, The Politics and Poetics, among others.Adam Beresford is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He has previously translated Plato's Protagoras and Meno for Penguin Classics.