Week 3-4

Question 0

Hierarchy of Goods

Answer 0

The Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle

• Every desire we have is organized in a hierarchy; they all connect with the overall good we seek, which Aristotle says is happiness.
• Every good we ever seek is based off of our main, overall destination, “happiness”; for instance, if my main goal was to be healthy, then the goods beneath that in the hierarchy would be to take my medicine or to eat vegetables more often.
• These goals are formed to reach the overall good, not the other way around

Question 1

Happiness

Answer 1

The Nichomachean Ethics - Aristotle

• in the hierarchy of goods, it is the highest standing of all goods for all of us according to Aristotle
• It is not just a mental state or an emotion, it is a destination

Question 2

Subordinate Good/End

Answer 2

The Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle

In the heirarchy of goods, the subordinate goods are those that lie beneath the overall, main good we seek; these goods are the pathway to reaching the overall good

These subordinate goods are desired due to the main goal at hand; for instance, if I desire to be healthy, then a subordinate good would be to eat more vegetables or to take vitamins. The desire to be healthy would not stem from me wanting to take vitamins, according to the hierarchy.

Question 3

Goods

Answer 3

The Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle

• The desires we all have and aim for
• According to Aristotle, we have a hierarchy of goods in our life; our main good, which he says is Happiness for all human beings, is the cause for us to work for the goods below this one in the heirarchy because these subordinate goods lead to the main one.