Summary of Aristotle's ethical system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of Aristotle's ethical system - Essay Example Another motivating factor is an honor, but again this emphasizes more on praising others. For this reason, Aristotle concludes that the means of attaining happiness, which is also the main purpose of human existence, is the virtue. In particular, happiness is said to be complete without qualification because it is chosen for itself, and people never choose it for anything else. Virtues, however, are chosen for the sake of happiness. These virtues can be intellectual such as judgment, wisdom and practical wisdom, while others maybe character such as temperance and generosity Virtue involves an individual’s habit and choices. When a person makes the right decisions, they eventually develop a virtuous disposition of habit which allows them to make decisions a lot easier when they encounter the same type of problems. In essence, an individual will no longer have to run through a list of options each and every time they encounter an ethical problem, but will instead apply what they used previously. Another question that arises is how to make the right decisions. According to Aristotle, making the right choices involves the people following virtue: which is a mean between two extremes of excess and defect. This means that when an individual is faced is in a certain situation; they will tend to make a choice that is equidistant from two possible extremes. For instance, when a person is faced with a defect of cowardliness and an excess of rashness, an individual would settle for an average of courage.