4. The Good, the End, and Man's Own Act

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Good and the End #

• The good is what all desire (Aristotle’s first definition)
• The good and the end are essentially the same thing, though their definitions differ
• When something is for the sake of something else, the latter is better and more desirable
• The end is superior to the means: medicine is for health, so health is better than medicine
• All modern philosophers and scientists who deny that anything is an end are implicitly denying the good

The Problem of Infinite Regress and the Supreme End #

• If everything is desired for the sake of something else, nothing would ever be worthwhile
• If A is desired for B, and B for C, and C for D, then A and B are not worthwhile until reaching D, but D is also desired for something else
• One could never begin to desire anything if everything requires desiring something else first
• Therefore, there must be some end that is desired for its own sake, not for the sake of anything else
• This supreme end is the chief and greatest good, desired for its own sake, with everything else desired for the sake of it
• Later inquiry will determine what this good is (happiness/eudaimonia)

Precision and Method in Ethics #

• Ethics, like other sciences, requires precision appropriate to its subject matter
• As Thomas Aquinas argues: it is absurd to allow a geometer to persuade or to demand geometric demonstration from a rhetorician
• Geometry permits exact certitude; rhetoric permits only probable persuasion
• In ethics and other practical matters dealing with changeable, singular things, universal principles can only be applied roughly
• There is genuine uncertainty in practical matters (e.g., what is just in taxation)
• One should seek only the certitude that the underlying matter admits

Who Is Suited to Study Ethics #

• The young are not proper students of political knowledge because they lack experience of life’s actions
• Experience is necessary, but so is the desire to act according to reason
• Being a follower of emotions (πάθη/pathē) renders ethical knowledge useless
• The incontinent man—who knows what is good but cannot help doing otherwise—gains no benefit from ethical knowledge
• Knowledge of ethics is for the sake of action, not merely for knowing
• If one only follows emotions, ethical instruction is worthless; one should not waste time with such knowledge
• For those desiring and acting according to reason, ethical knowledge is very good

The Method: A Thing’s Own Act (ἔργον/ergon) #

Definition of a Thing’s Own Act #

Following Plato’s definition: the act that only that thing can do, or that it does better than other things.

Large Induction from Three Sources #

Tools (Artifacts)

• A knife’s own act is cutting
• A pen’s own act is writing
• A hammer’s own act is hammering
• A screwdriver must fit the screw; the right tool for the right job
• Each tool has its own act, and that act is its end or purpose

Organs (Body Parts)

• The eye’s own act is seeing
• The ear’s own act is hearing
• Teeth in front have their own act: biting
• Teeth in back have their own act: chewing
• The heart’s own act is pumping blood
• Each organ’s own act is its end

Occupations

• A teacher’s own act is teaching; teachers are hired to teach
• A cook’s own act is cooking; cooks are hired to cook
• A pianist’s own act is playing the piano; pianists are hired to play piano
• A plumber’s own act is plumbing
• Each occupation has its own act, which is its end

The Grand Induction #

From these three inductions, one can conclude: every tool has its own act which is its end; every organ has its own act which is its end; every occupation has its own act which is its end. Therefore, in general, any thing that has its own act has an end, and that end is its own act.

Man’s Own Act and End #

• Does man have his own act? The question “What is man for?” is less readily answered than “What is a knife for?” or “What is an eye for?”
• Man’s own act is the act with reason (λόγος/logos)
• Man alone possesses reason, or possesses it in a unique way
• Since a thing’s own act is its end, man’s end must be the act with reason
• This can be established through multiple methods: large induction, proportion, or either-or reasoning

Acting Well as the Perfection of Man’s End #

• A knife’s end is not merely to cut, but to cut well; sharpness is the virtue of a knife
• A pianist’s end is not merely to play piano, but to play well; poor performance means the pianist is not hired
• Therefore, man’s end is not merely to act with reason, but to act with reason well
• Acting well is equivalent to acting by virtue
• A thing’s own act done well is its end or purpose
• Therefore, the act with reason done well is man’s end

Duration of Man’s End #

• Man’s end must be sustained throughout a complete life
• “One swallow does not make a summer” (pun in the Greek on the word for swallow)
• One day or a short time does not make one blessed and happy
• Happiness requires the perfection of virtue over a lifetime

Key Arguments #

The Argument for a Supreme End (via Infinite Regress) #

1. Everything is either desired for its own sake or for the sake of something else
2. If everything were desired for the sake of something else, nothing would be worthwhile
3. One could never begin to desire anything (each object of desire would require desiring something else first)
4. Therefore, there must be some end that is desired for its own sake
5. This is the supreme end or chief good

The Argument for Man’s Own Act (via Large Induction) #

1. Every tool has its own act (cutting, writing, hammering, etc.)
2. Every organ has its own act (seeing, hearing, biting, chewing, etc.)
3. Every occupation has its own act (teaching, cooking, playing piano, etc.)
4. Man is a being with characteristic activities
5. Therefore, man must have his own act
6. Man’s own act is the act with reason (reason being unique to man or uniquely developed in man)
7. Therefore, the act with reason is man’s end

The Argument for Acting Well #

1. A knife’s end is not merely to cut, but to cut well
2. A pianist’s end is not merely to play, but to play well
3. In general, a thing’s own act done well is its end
4. Man’s own act is acting with reason
5. Therefore, man’s end is acting with reason well

Important Definitions #

The Good (τὸ ἀγαθόν/to agathon) #

• What all desire
• That for the sake of which something is or is done
• When something is for the sake of something else, the latter is the good (in relation to the former)

End (τέλος/telos) #

• That for the sake of which something is or is done
• Can be an act (like sitting, for which a chair exists) or a product (like a chair itself)
• The end is better than what is for the sake of the end

A Thing’s Own Act (ἔργον/ergon) #

• The characteristic activity of a thing
• The act that only that thing can do, or that it does better than other things
• Unique or supreme among the activities of that thing
• Its own act done well is its end or purpose

Virtue (ἀρετή/arete) - Initial Definition #

• The quality that enables a thing to do its own act well
• Examples: sharpness in a knife, clear vision in an eye, skill in a pianist
• In man: the quality that enables man to act with reason well

The Incontinent Man (ἀκρατής/akratēs) #

• One who knows what is good but cannot help doing otherwise
• To such a man, ethical knowledge is useless
• His problem is not lack of knowledge but lack of virtue

Examples & Illustrations #

Tools and Their Purposes #

• A knife can be used to turn a screw, but it wrecks the knife; turning screws is not the knife’s own act
• A letter opener can be used to cut bread, but not as well as a knife
• Each tool has an optimal use that is its own act
• Hiring someone who does not do the job well is not truly hiring them for their own act
• A ballpoint pen functions well until it stops; once it stops, it ceases to achieve its purpose

Organs and Their Functions #

• Eyes see; ears hear; front teeth bite; back teeth chew
• Glasses enable eyes to see well; myopia or other defects prevent eyes from seeing well
• Each organ’s virtue is its ability to do its own act well

Occupations #

• A teacher hired to teach but who does not teach well is not truly fulfilling his role
• A pianist hired to play well, not merely to play
• A cook is hired for cooking well

Practical Situations #

• Taxation: Whether the rich should pay more taxes, what percentage, or what amount is genuinely uncertain. People differ on what is just; universal principles cannot be applied with precision to this changeable, particular matter.
• Marriage: As a rule, a man should marry a woman younger than himself and of the same faith, but there are exceptions where marriages have turned out very well.
• Age and Circumstances: An automobile that runs around the block and stops has not achieved its purpose; it must run well throughout its lifetime. Similarly, man must achieve his end well throughout his complete life.

Historical and Cultural References #

• Walter Reuther (labor leader) wanted no salary to exceed $10,000; this was somewhat arbitrary
• Bill Cosby was paid $99 million annually; when asked if it was worth it, he answered that they were willing to pay and he was willing to take it
• Ronald Reagan’s autobiography notes that in one era, 97% of his income was taxed, making work barely worthwhile
• Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night: discussion of the proper age difference between spouses

Notable Quotes #

“The good is what all want.” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.1

“You want it because it is good.” — Aristotle, describing the resolution of the dialectic on whether we want the good because we want it or want it because it is good

“Those who do away with the end as a cause are doing away with the good. They don’t realize what they’re doing.” — Aristotle, Physics II.2

“Enough will be said if it is made clear according to the underlying matter.” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.3

“It’s equally absurd to allow the geometer to persuade you and to demand that the rhetorician have a demonstration.” — Thomas Aquinas, commentary on Scripture, referencing the principle that certitude should match the subject matter

“One swallow does not make a summer.” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.7 (with wordplay on the Greek word for swallow)

Questions Addressed #

Is the good desired because we want it, or do we want it because it is good? #

• Answer: We want it because it is good. The goodness of the thing is the cause; our wanting it is the effect.
• Argument: Food is good for us whether we want it or not. Money is useful in society not because we want it, but because we want it because it’s useful.
• Evidence: Through induction from natural goods, we can see a reason why these things are good for us apart from our wanting them.

Must there be a supreme end or ultimate good? #

• Answer: Yes, absolutely necessary.
• Argument: If everything were desired for the sake of something else, nothing would be worthwhile, and one could never begin to desire anything. Infinite regress makes all action meaningless.
• Conclusion: There must be some end desired for its own sake, not for the sake of anything else. This is the chief good.

Who is suitable to study ethics? #

• Answer: Those with experience of life and the desire to act according to reason.
• Argument: The young lack experience of life’s actions. Those who follow emotions rather than reason cannot benefit from ethical knowledge because ethics is for action, not merely knowing. The incontinent man, though he knows what is good, remains useless because he cannot act on that knowledge.
• Application: Ethical knowledge requires both experience and the disposition to act reasonably.

What degree of precision should we seek in ethics? #

• Answer: Only the precision that the matter admits.
• Argument: Different sciences require different certitude. Geometry requires demonstration; rhetoric permits only persuasion. Ethics deals with changeable, particular matters, so universal principles can only be applied roughly.
• Example: Questions like whether the rich should pay higher taxes, what percentage, or what amount cannot be answered with mathematical precision.

Does man have his own act? #

• Answer: Yes. Man’s own act is the act with reason.
• Argument: Tools have their own acts (cutting, writing, etc.); organs have their own acts (seeing, hearing, etc.); occupations have their own acts (teaching, cooking, etc.). Man, as a being with characteristic activities, must have his own act. Man alone has reason, so the act with reason is man’s own act.
• Evidence: When asked “What is a knife for?” or “What is an eye for?” people answer readily. When asked “What is man for?” people hesitate.

Is man’s end merely to act with reason, or to act with reason well? #

• Answer: To act with reason well.
• Argument: A knife’s end is not merely to cut, but to cut well. A pianist’s end is not merely to play, but to play well. Therefore, a thing’s own act done well is its end. Thus, man’s end is not merely to act with reason, but to act with reason well.
• Connection: Acting well is acting by virtue. Virtue is the quality that enables a thing to do its own act well.

How long must man’s end be sustained? #

• Answer: Throughout a complete life.
• Argument: “One swallow does not make a summer.” One day or a short time does not make one blessed and happy.
• Conclusion: Happiness requires the perfection of virtue over a lifetime.