4 Aristotle’s Function Argument - Harvard University

Christine M. Korsgaard V1 - 04/16/2008 4:15pm Page 129. 4. Aristotle's Function Argument 1. Introduction The purpose of the Nicomachean Ethics is to discover the human good, that at which we ought to aim in life and action. Aristotle tells us that everyone calls this good eudaimonia (happiness, flourishing, well-being), but that people disagree about what it consists in (NE 1059a15ff). In , Aristotle suggests that we might arrive at a clearer conception of happiness if we could first ascertain the ergon ( Function ) of a human being (NE 1097b24). The justification of this line of inquiry is that for all things that have a Function or activity, the good and the well' is thought to reside in the Function '' (NE 1097b26 27). The compact Argument that follows establishes that the human Function is an active life of the element that has a rational principle'' (NE 1098a3 4). The human good therefore is the activity of the rational part of the soul performed well, which is to say, in accordance with virtue (NE 1098a15 17).

ergon (function) of a human being (NE 1.71097b24). The justification of this line of inquiry is that ‘‘for all things that have a function or activity, the good and the ‘well’ is thought to reside in the function’’ (NE 1.71097b26–27). The

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