Philosophy
“Perhaps we shall find the best “Good” if we first find the function of a human being. For just as the good, for a flutist, a sculptor, and every craftsman, and, in general, for whatever has a function, seems to depend on its function, the same seems to be true for a human being What, then, could this be? For living appears to be something common even to plants. A certain life characterized by sense perception would be next, but it too appears to be common to a horse and cow and in fact to every animal. The remaining possibility, then, is some sort of life of action, of the [part of the soul] that has reason.”
The major question Aristotle is trying to address in the passage is the nature of a good life. His aim is to find the source of ultimate happiness for mankind. The question of “the good” has always kept the fancy of philosophers. In his passage, Aristotle wants to solve the mystery of a happy life. What is happiness? How to attain happiness? These are some of the major philosophical question; Aristotle is trying to address here.
The main point of Aristotle is that the function of man is to reason and through reason he can achieve a happy life. Like his great teacher, Plato, Aristotle’s aim is to convince his reader that the only way to achieve happiness or greater good is to understand the true nature of human beings. One can reach the goal of true and lasting happiness by understanding the purpose and function of human beings. Not unlike his predecessor, Plato, Aristotle is of the view that "reason" is the true and distinctive function of human beings and it is the faculty of reason that separates human beings from all the other creation. Where Aristotle disagrees with his master is, for Plato the “Good” is an “otherworldly” thing, it is a thing of the realm of ideas. But, in Aristotle’s opinion the “Good” belongs to the practical world. To put it in the phrase of Francis Bacon, Aristotle brought the Moral ideal, the “Good” down to “right earth”. So, Aristotle’s conclusion is that only a contemplative life is a truly happy life. Only a life that is driven and guided by reason can acquire the “best Good”.
Aristotle put forth a very structural argument in this passage. The main reason and premises of his arguments runs in the following manner: the excellence or the relative “Good” of a work can only be achieved by indulging in that work; all the things of this world have some specific functions to perform so, man also has a distinct function; the Chief Good can only be attained by performing that distinct function of man; reason is the function of man; so, he concludes that only through contemplation the best “Good” and the true happiness can be obtained.
It is important to note the intentions of Aristotle behind writing the Nicomachean Ethics before going into the analysis of the passage under reference. The subject matter of Nicomachean Ethics is, in Aristotle’s words, “philosophy of human affairs” or to put more clearly Political or Social Science. His aim is to explore the true nature of happiness and then find a way to inculcate it in the society. He contends that only a virtuous life is capable of experiencing true happiness. In his opinion virtues cannot be taught in the class rather they can only be cultivated in people through the process of habituation. For this thing to happen, activity of reason, i.e. contemplation is a prerequisite. This passage joins his argument for the significance of reason to the larger theme of the nature of happiness.
In reference to the analysis of the passage, it is noteworthy that, for Aristotle, we can only realize the chief good which is the source of true happiness only by first understanding the function of man. He argues that the good of a work lies in doing the same work well, for as in the case of a flute player, a statuary artist or all those who can perform an activity the excellence or the chief “Good” resides in performing that activity. So, if a harpist can attain excellence by playing the harp, man can achieve excellence and the “Good” by indulging in the activity belonging specifically to him. As an artist reaches goodness through his work of art; man can do the same by doing what is the characteristic activity of man, and this is the golden formula of Aristotle to acquire the best “Good”. So, this train of thought leads to the next fundamental question, is there an activity that is simply “the work” of man? Does "man" have a certain function specific only to him? Aristotle answers this question by urging his reader to do some self-reflection. He contends that if a carpenter and a cobbler have a function and a certain work, is it possible that Nature left man, to put it in his words, “without a work". How then, he argues, man as a complete whole would not have a specific function as every part of man has a function to perform. In his opinion, man must have a function distinct to “the whole”.
The above argument leaves us with the final question that Aristotle addressed here. What is that distinct function of man? What is the work of man? He argues that it can’t be mere life because plants also have life so, mere life cannot be the specific function of man. Then, he adds the characteristics of sensation and perception into the mere life of nourishment and growth. Can this, i.e. a life of sensation be “the function” of man? But he rejects this option as well on the claim that this life of sensation is common to all animals and therefore it can’t be the distinct characteristic of man. What then, makes a man, man? What is that function that belongs only to man and none else? He concludes his argument by saying, there is only one type of life that is specific to man, and it is the life of a rational nature. It is the faculty of reason that separates man from all other beings. So, the life of contemplation and reason is the work of man.
To conclude, Aristotle's objective here is to explore the nature of true happiness that is inextricably linked to the “Chief Good”. His focus is not what ought to be done in life to achieve the “Good”, but what is the actual nature of this “Good” and what is a Good and happy life. He believes that this “Good” is the source of ultimate happiness. Any other view of happiness is based on faulty assumptions. Excellence and happiness can be obtained through the distinct work of man that Nature has assigned to him. That distinct characteristic of man is the ability to reason and contemplate, and this is the "ladder" that would lead him to the “Good” and consequently to the ultimate happiness. Aristotle’s aim in the Nicomachean Ethics is to solve a central theme in Greece’s Moral philosophy what is a happy life and how to cultivate it in the society to maximize the happiness. The argument he put forward in this passage is one of the major one in this regard.
Works Cited
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2011. Print.
