The Good Life. One Semester, One Book: Aristotle‘s Nicomachean Ethics

This seminar focuses on a single book: the Nicomachean Ethics. The Nicomachean Ethics is uniquely suited to this purpose; it was the first work in European history to systematically explore what constitutes a good life, and it remains the best to this day. In it, Aristotle addresses almost every issue that concerns human beings, including happiness and habit, courage and moderation, money and justice, sound judgement and weakness of will, pleasure and friendship, and work and leisure. He does so with an approach that has become rare, avoiding moralising and any ambition to create a system, while maintaining a keen eye for human behaviour.

This line of reasoning requires no prior philosophical training; it draws on life experience. At the same time, it is arguably the most influential text in the history of philosophy; anyone who has read the Nicomachean Ethics gains insight into two millennia of ethical thought.

The text has a particular appeal for readers in the fields of medicine, dentistry, psychology, economics and philosophy: it is about them. Aristotle’s key concept of prudence (phronēsis) is developed in relation to the physician — someone who does not merely apply rules, but makes the right decision in each individual case. His theory of justice contains the first theory of money and exchange.

His analysis of weakness of will is the founding text of all psychology of inner conflict. His two books on friendship are also the most insightful works ever written on human relationships.

The seminar is structured as a reading course: each session covers a manageable section of the text (10–15 pages), which is read carefully. Rather than working through topics, the seminar works its way through the book — the topics emerge.