Nicomachean Ethics

The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best-known work on ethics. Aristotle argues that the highest human good is happiness (eudaimonia), and that happiness consists in excellent activity of the soul. He discusses the virtues — courage, temperance, justice, practical wisdom — and how they can be cultivated through habit. The Ethics also examines friendship, pleasure, and the nature of the contemplative life. One of the most influential philosophical works ever written, it remains essential reading for anyone interested in how to live well.