Aristotle’s Metaphysics as Basis of His Ethics

Abstract

The paper deals with the problem of correlation of Aristotle’s metaphysics and ethics. I argue that a number of metaphysical notions had affected to Aristotle’s ethics. First, I show that a thesis from the first book of the Nicomachean Ethics about happiness of human being as its peculiar activity becomes justified and reasonable due to consideration of the notion “essence”. The representatives of this point of view became are T. Irwin, E. Halper, D. Achtenberg, M. Sim. This approach which I refer to as “essentialism” describes Aristotle’s ethics appropriately insofar as it is the virtue ethics. However, in EN 1140b16–20 Aristotle said that there are the first principles of action (for which actions are performed) and that we ought to choose and do everything for sake of these first principles. I suppose that this passage reveals an obvious deontological line in Aristotle’s ethics which cannot be represented in “essentialism”. Indeed, while “essentialism” is concentrated on the essence of being (including human being), deontology takes in account first the essence of morality. Therefore, I offer to appeal to the notion “actuality” (energeia) because it can represent both aretological and deontological lines of Aristotle’s ethics. Thus, the metaphysical basis of Aristotle’s ethics can be shown by both “essence” and “actuality”, although the latter is preferable since it is more universal.