Freedom and the Art of Balance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom and the Art of Balance - Essay Example The most noticeable one is Nichomachean Ethics. In this Aristotle pointed out the virtue ethics which demarcated the proper functioning of every article of thing. He said that what is fact is truth for e.g. an eye is only a good eye as long as it can see as the proper function of eye is sight. Also, he identified the best activity of the soul as eudaimonia (a sense of happiness that suffuses the good life) and in order to attain the good life one must live a balanced life and avoid anything in excess. This excess could hold different meaning for different people and also for different situations and exists as a golden mean between the two vices- one is an excess while other is a deficiency (Nichomachean Ethics). This is essential to define the quality of a person's habits or character as the man of excellence or the thing of excellence is said to have virtue and this in its highest forms is associated with potential for happiness (Nichomachean Ethics). Book 1 defines the subject matter and emphasizes on the Goal-directed ethics and is often called teleological. In this Aristotle stated that everything has a purpose or end. For instance a good knife has a purpose to cut and therefore must be sharp. In the similar manner every human has also a purpose this might be different than what he has thought, i.e.