Virtuous acts require conscious choice and moral purpose or motivation.Moral virtue is acquired by a combination of knowledge, habituation, and self-discipline. No human appetite or desire is bad if it is controlled by reason according to a moral principle. Moral virtue is a relative mean between extremes of excess and deficiency, and in general the moral life is one of moderation in all things except virtue.For this one requires sufficient external goods to ensure health, leisure, and the opportunity for virtuous action. One attains happiness by a virtuous life and the development of reason and the faculty of theoretical wisdom.The highest good and the end toward which all human activity is directed is happiness, which can be defined as continuous contemplation of eternal and universal truth.Main Points of Aristotle's Ethical Philosophy For this alone Aristotle's book is still worth reading. The rules of conduct and explanations of virtue and goodness that he proposes can all help modern man to attain a fuller and more satisying understanding of his responsibilities as a member of society and the purpose of his existence. The human types and problems he discusses are familiar to everyone. People have not changed significantly in the many years since Aristotle first lectured on ethics at the Lyceum in Athens. In addition, the book vividly reflects Aristotle's achievements in other areas of philosophy and is a good example of his analytical method, which must be considered the ultimate basis of all modern scientific research. Among its most outstanding features are Aristotle's insistence that there are no known absolute moral standards and that any ethical theory must be based in part on an understanding of psychology and firmly grounded in the realities of human nature and daily life. Though written more than 2,000 years ago, it offers the modern reader many valuable insights into human needs and conduct. The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's most important study of personal morality and the ends of human life, has for many centuries been a widely-read and influential book. Aristotle's Method and Place in Intellectual History.

Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle