As described in the video, the clip is about Aristotle’s approach to virtues ethics. According to the video, he is among the greatest philosopher to ever live around 350 B.C.E.  Apart from pursuing philosophy; he was also a writer, astronomer, and biologist. He was a student of the famous philosopher named Plato. Most philosophers focused on two types of ethics during his time: deontological ethics and teleological ethics. Deontological ethics judge ethics based on how people follow the law and the norms of society, while teleological moral weighs ethics based on the action’s end results. Both perspectives had flaws, prompting Aristotle to introduce a third perspective. His perspective was based on the virtue of being human, virtue ethics. To comprehend moral, you have to understand how individuals behave. On the contrary, most of his concepts are constructed on what people’s actions and how their virtues impacted their acts. The video also illustrates a books written by Aristotle on ethics (Nicomachean Ethics.). In all his work, he uses logic to dictate the potential effects of ethics. In short, the video describes Aristotle’s approach to moral ethics.

Summary of Aristotle’s Approach to Moral Philosophy

As mentioned above, Aristotle was a philosopher who significantly contributed to moral philosophy. His approach emphasizes on virtues suggesting an ethical culture concerning happiness. According to him, an excellent soul act is connected to moral virtue and the virtue of moral wisdom. Just like Plato and Socrates, Aristotle takes virtues to be the mid-point of a well-lived life. He refers the moral virtues as complicated, logical and emotional. Despite conquering with Plato, he does not agree with his idea that one must acquire through training in sciences, philosophy, and mathematics for one to be virtuous. According to him, for people to live well, they must appreciate the good that comes with friends, virtues, honor and pleasure (Richard, and Thorsrud par.36). Aristotle argues that, “moral virtue is a relative mean between extremes of excess and deficiency, and in general, the moral life is one of moderation in all things except virtues.” On the contrary, moral virtues are acquired by putting together knowledge, habits, and personal discipline (Russ p. 144). Moreover, they cannot be acquired abstractly since it needs moral acts in social surroundings. Actions that are virtuous need conscious choices and moral purpose or inspiration. Most importantly, politics and ethics are in some way related in that politics as science creates a community where people can live a better life and develop their purpose.

Application of golden mean in Nicomachean Ethics

The Golden mean is an ancient idea explained in different traditions. According to Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics, “it is the desirable center between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency.” In his applications, each moral value is a mean or lies between extremes of pleasure or action (Tan, and Lim par. 12). The total mean varies from the mean since it is correlate to the individual. He illustrates using artwork. Which needs an individual not to overdo but to underdo and that an individual must achieve the right course. Thus, virtues are good behaviors or dispositions to do the right act developed through specific virtuous activities. However, the mean does not yield excess and deficiency as an individual cannot have much courage. As depicted, a sound judgment needs an individual to get means between extremes and to achieve that, they must be acquainted with essential knowledge and specific experience.