Aristotle quotes on virtue, knowledge, and happiness

Post by acephal » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 5:44 PM UTC

RGS1811 wrote: post #24

Actually reading Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics is worth it. Not because he's right about everything (he has some pretty messed up and weird views), but because it's challenging and good to think on, and chances are you'll take something away for yourself that you wouldn't have gotten from some webpage that took one-liners out of context, some of which aren't even by Aristotle.

Post by RGS1811 » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 6:03 PM UTC

kashyapc wrote: post #30

FWIW, I got a lot more about virtue ethics from reading Plato's works, the Stoics, and Cicero. Aristotle is somewhat dry and tedious to read. Go for him if you're into formal logic and related technical systems. But if you're truly interested in virtue ethics and have some reading discipline, try Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. On Marcus Aurelius: he's often recommended mindlessly (especially in tech circles)…

Post by Razengan » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

Post by andsoitis » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 6:55 PM UTC

RGS1811 wrote: post #24

Actually reading Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics is worth it. Not because he's right about everything (he has some pretty messed up and weird views), but because it's challenging and good to think on, and chances are you'll take something away for yourself that you wouldn't have gotten from some webpage that took one-liners out of context, some of which aren't even by Aristotle.

Post by andsoitis » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 6:59 PM UTC

great_wubwub wrote: post #14

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle never said this. It's Will Durant. https://medium.com/the-mission/my-favourite-quote-of-all-tim... https://old.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/s2n3s/source... This invalidates the post for me, it takes it from academic research to fanboy posting.