In this class we continue our study of Aristotle's understanding of the good life in the Nicomachean Ethics, focusing on what virtue is and how we develop a virtuous state of character in selections from Books II, III, VIII, and IX. As part of this focus, we'll examine Aristotle's "particularist" approach to moral philosophy, his "doctrine of the mean," and his views on the role of pleasure, volition, and friendship in a good life.
An excerpt from an interview between Martha Nussbaum and Bryan Magee, filmed for the BBC in 1987
Note at the beginning that Magee contrasts Aristotle’s approach to moral philosophy with a utilitarian approach that focuses on “happiness,” where by this Magee means “pleasure,” which is not how Aristotle thinks of happiness as eudaimonia