Trying to Understand Aristotle's Ethical Views

An idea tossed around when discussing professional life is the consideration of the difficult choices made by those in this "professional life". When the thought of making decisions that dive into moral boundaries comes up, the idea of an "ethical" decision, also known as "the right thing to do", arises. Aristotle gives his idea of the process toward which one is able to make an ethical decision in Nichomachean Ethics. Aristotle uses the past traditions of society, the idea of eudaimonia as well as his own ideas on virtues searching for the "end goal" in life to ultimately describe the best way to mold oneself into a position in which they can make an ethical decision. .

To begin to understand Aristotle's ideas, it is important to note that his beliefs were teleological; goal oriented with the idea that everything has an end point that man strives for (Verhaegh). Aristotle's view on ethics seems to revolve around this central idea that all actions have an end goal or purpose, especially when he discusses his thoughts on what he calls "the good". Because "the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim", the connection can be made that because all things have an end or purpose, and the good is what all things aim to, anything "good" has an end (Aristotle 30). He backs this idea further by stating that "if, then, there is some end of the things we do, which we desire for its own sake...and if we do not choose everything for the sake of something else...clearly this must be the good and the chief good" (Aristotle 31).