Good Morning Everyone!

Happy Monday. For all my readers in central/eastern U.S., I hope you were all safe from the heavy snowfall and had a cozy weekend in.

Over the past two weeks we’ve covered Existentialism and Stoicism. Both schools of thought give a moral framework of what we ought to do or not do. This week, we’re going to dive further into that side of things; talking about ethics more directly.

Today we’re going to ease into it. Our main course will feature Aristotle, the titan of ethics. We’re going to apply it to ourselves with a thought exercise called the Telos Check. Wrapping up with our Book Nook, we’re going to open up Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.

Have a seat. Thought Breakfast is served!

Ethics doesn’t begin with rules. It begins with a question: What is the highest good humans aim for?

Aristotle says that all actions point toward some end (telos). Even if you don’t identify and name your telos, you will inherit one unconsciously. So most people never choose their aim, they simply absorb it.

Aristotle’s answer is eudaimonia. A Greek word that roughly translates to “human flourishing,” eudaimonia signifies a state of living a life of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment, rather than just feeling pleasure.

It’s not just happiness as a feeling that we work toward. It’s flourishing as a whole life lived well. Pleasure, then, is a byproduct of living a good life, but not the ultimate goal. Wealth, status, and comfort fail because they’re unstable and depend on externals.

This is where Aristotle’s idea of virtue comes in. Virtue isn’t a personality trait; it’s a trained discipline. You don’t wake up one day and decide to become virtuous, but you become virtuous by repeating virtuous actions. Aristotle tells us that character forms slowly, through habit.

Following this line of thought, Aristotle doesn’t ask whether you’re “following the rules” or not. He asks what kind of person you’re becoming through the actions you repeat daily. Keep in mind that ethics is all about who you are, not just what you do. A good life, then, is coherent, where actions align with the aim.

Ask yourself:

No fixing, just notice. Aristotle starts with an awareness.

“Every art and every inquiry, and likewise every action and pursuit,
is thought to aim at some good;
and for this reason the good has rightly been declared
to be that at which all things aim.”
— Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.1-2

It’s pretty simple.

Life already has a direction. “Some good” is what our lives point toward from beginning to end. The study of ethics just clarifies that direction for us. Most of us try to go through life wondering if we’re “doing good,” when there’s a fog shielding our view of the end of the path. Ethics clears that fog and clarifies that direction. With open eyes toward the aim, each step along the way becomes more sure.

Munch on that for today. Play around with the idea of aims and virtues, and try to see how they apply in your own life. Come on back tomorrow for another steaming hot plate of Thought Breakfast!

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Remember to stay mindful, smell the flowers, and take it easy.

Chef Ricky - Thought Breakfast