Thinking books · Foundations & philosophy · Aristotle, c. 340 BC

Nicomachean Ethics — the big ideas

An argument that character is a set of habits, and that good judgement is itself a skill you practise.

Free — no account needed to read

The big ideas

Virtues sit between two failures rather than at the top of a scale: courage between cowardice and recklessness, generosity between meanness and waste. "More" is not the answer.

Practical wisdom — knowing what this situation calls for — is treated as a distinct capacity from knowing facts or rules. Rules cannot cover every case, so judgement is required and can be trained.

Character is formed by repetition. You become fair by doing fair things, in the same way you become a builder by building. That makes habits a moral question, not just a productivity one.

Practise it — no need to have read it

Pick a quality you have been told to have more of. Write what too little looks like in your life, and what too much looks like. Which do you actually err towards?

A hint: Most people know. Aim past the middle towards the side you under-do.

Where it shows up in real life

• Feedback you keep receiving
• Habit design
• Judging a situation no rule covers

This book is old enough to be freely available in most countries.

Described in our own words with the source named — never quoted, and not a substitute for reading the book.