“Happiness, then, is the best, noblest, and most pleasant thing in the world.”

In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle’s guiding question is: what is the best thing for a human being? His answer is happiness, but he means, not something we feel, but rather a specially good kind of life.

Happiness is made up of activities in which we use the best human capacities, both ones that contribute to our flourishing as members of a community, and ones that allow us to engage in god-like contemplation.

Contemporary ethical writings on the role and importance of the moral virtues such as courage and justice have drawn inspiration from this work, which also contains important discussions on responsibility for actions, on the nature of practical reasoning, and on friendship and its role in the best life.

This new edition retains and lightly revises David Ross’s justly admired translation. It also includes a valuable introduction by Lesley Brown of Somerville College, Oxford to this seminal work, and notes designed to elucidate Aristotle’s arguments. To listen to Lesley Brown’s audio guide to the Nicomachean Ethics, simply click on the links below:

introducing aristotle

1. Aristotle is regarded as one of the founders of philosophy. Who was he and how has he gained this reputation? To find out, click here. [4:26]

2. How much did Aristotle write on ethics and how did this book get its name? Click here. [0:53]

3. The society Aristotle lived in was very different from our own. Lesley Brown introduces some of the salient differences  here. [1:18]

4. Athens was a democracy in Aristotle’s day. Was that a system of government that Aristotle favoured? To find out, click here. [0:43]

ethical questions

5. What was the key question in ethics for Aristotle? Lesley Brown explains here what the quest for happiness meant to Aristotle.[5:29]

6. What does Aristotle mean by moral virtue? Click here to learn more about this concept.[2:28]

7. Lesley Brown calls Aristotle’s view of moral education “common sense and practical”. To find out why, click here. [3:01]

aristotle today

8. How does Aristotle’s ethic compare to more modern ethical theories? Lesley Brown discusses this point  here. [2:37]

9. Why read the Nicomachean Ethics? Click here to hear why the work is still read on so many ethics courses today. [1:57]

10. What’s distinctive about this edition of the Nicomachean Ethics? Lesley Brown explains  here. [1:43]

11. What difficulties does Aristotle’s ancient Greek present to modern translators? Lesley Brown discusses some tricky terms here. [1:59]

The complete audio guide can be downloaded here.