12. The Premium to the Nicomachean Ethics and the Human End

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Structure of the Premium #

• The premium (Greek: πρόλογος, prologos) is a short introduction meaning “paving the way”
• It differs from a formal introduction (introductio) by being shorter and more focused
• The premium has three parts:
  1. What we are aiming at (the σκοπός, skopos or target; Latin: intensio libri)
  2. How we should proceed (manner of instruction)
  3. Who is or is not a suitable hearer (the audience for ethical teaching)
• The premium concludes with an epilogue where Aristotle recounts these three things in reverse order
• Thomas Aquinas divides the premium into these three parts in his commentary

The Inductive Argument for the Human End #

• Every art and every science aims at some good (inductive argument from examples)
  • Medicine aims at health
  • Carpentry aims at buildings
  • Shipbuilding aims at ships
  • Military art aims at victory
  • Household art aims at wealth (though Aristotle later corrects this)
• There is an order among goods
  • Some goods are ends (the product or activity itself)
  • Some goods are means (pursued for the sake of something else)
  • Medicine is pursued for the sake of health; therefore health is better than medicine
• Some arts command other arts
  • When one good is subordinated to another, the art aiming at the higher good commands the art aiming at the lower
  • Example: The pharmacist’s art comes under the physician’s art (medicine is for the sake of health)
  • Example: The art of making rifles comes under the military art (rifles are for the sake of military victory)
• There must be a chief good
  • If everything were chosen for the sake of something else, desire would be “empty and foolish” (infinitus regressus)
  • There must be something desired for its own sake, not for something further
  • This chief good is the human end (τέλος, telos) or happiness (εὐδαιμονία, eudaimonia)

The Political Art as Chief Art #

• The political art (ἡ πολιτική, he politike) directs all other arts and sciences
• It determines:
  • Which sciences are needed in cities
  • What each person shall learn
  • How far each shall pursue different arts
• The political art commands military, medical, household, and rhetorical arts
• Because the political art commands all others, it must aim at the good to which all other goods are subordinated
• Examples of political direction:
  • States license and regulate medical practice
  • States control who may and may not practice certain professions
  • States may conscript citizens to military service
  • College degrees are granted “in virtue of the authority invested… by the state”
  • States establish laws about marriage, family, and household practice
• Therefore, the good of the political art is the good of man (the human end)

Two Types of Ends #

• Some ends are acts (the activity itself is the end)
  • Example: Seeing a beautiful painting; the end is the seeing, not a product
  • Example: Hearing beautiful music; the end is the hearing itself
• Some ends are products (something is made beyond the activity)
  • Example: Making a chair; the end is the chair, not the making
  • Example: Making spaghetti; the end is the spaghetti itself
• In both cases, the end is better than the means: the painting is better than looking at it; the chair is better than making it

Why Knowledge of the Human End Is Important #

• Aristotle uses the metaphor of aiming at a target
• If one does not know the target, one cannot aim at it
• If one does not aim at it, one will not hit it
• Therefore, knowing the human end is essential for living well
• This knowledge “greatly influences life” and helps us “hit more upon what is right”

Key Arguments #

The Argument from the Infinity of Desire #

• Premise 1: If all things are chosen for the sake of something else, then desire would need to continue infinitely backward
• Premise 2: Infinite regress in desire is impossible (it would be “empty and foolish”)
• Premise 3: One cannot desire A unless one first desires what A is for the sake of
• Conclusion: There must be something desired for its own sake, not for anything further
• This something is the human end or chief good

The Argument from Subordination of Arts #

• Premise 1: When one good is subordinated to another (A is for the sake of B), the art aiming at B commands the art aiming at A
• Premise 2: The political art commands all other arts (by determining who practices them, how far they go, etc.)
• Conclusion: The good of the political art (the human good) is the end to which all other goods are subordinated

The Argument for Which Good Is Chief #

• Premise 1: The end is always better than what is for the sake of the end
• Premise 2: If B is the end of A, then B is more desirable than A
• Premise 3: If the end is not subordinated to anything further, then that end is the best
• Conclusion: The human end, being desired for its own sake and not for anything further, is the best good

Important Definitions #

The Human End (τέλος, telos) #

• The ultimate purpose or goal of human life
• Desired for its own sake, not for the sake of something further
• All other goods are subordinated to this end
• Commonly called happiness (εὐδαιμονία, eudaimonia), though Aristotle notes this is often said “not knowing exactly what happiness is”

The Political Art (ἡ πολιτική, he politike) #

• The art of governing the city and directing all other arts toward the common good
• It is the chief art because it commands all others
• It determines which sciences are needed, what should be learned, and how far each should be pursued

The Chief Art (ἀρχιτεκτονική, architektonike) #

• An art whose good is not subordinated to any other art’s good
• Commands other arts whose goods are means to the chief art’s good
• The political art is chief among all practical arts

The Premium (πρόλογος, prologos) #

• The introductory section of a philosophical work
• Shorter and more focused than a full introduction
• Paves the way for what follows by establishing the topic, method, and intended audience

Examples & Illustrations #

The Pharmacist and Physician #

• The pharmacist’s art aims at making medicine
• The physician’s art aims at health
• Medicine is for the sake of health
• Therefore, the pharmacist’s art comes under the physician’s art
• The physician commands the pharmacist through prescription
• The pharmacist need not know why the medicine is prescribed, only how to make it

Farm Wagon Manufacturing #

• Berquist’s father’s company made farm wagons
• Farm wagons carry heavy loads on rough terrain, so the wagon bends and the steel underneath can snap
• The art of wagon-making commands the art of steel-making
• The father orders the steel-makers to produce steel of a certain size and shape
• Similarly, he orders lumber from those who prepare wood
• The lumber and steel are for the sake of the wagon; therefore, the arts that produce them are subordinated to wagon-making

The Rifleman and the Riflemaker #

• The art of making rifles aims at producing rifles
• The rifle is for the sake of the soldier/military action
• Military art aims at victory, which serves the political good
• Therefore, riflemaking comes under military art, which comes under political art
• Note: German rifles were more precise than Russian rifles in WWII, but froze in Russian conditions; Germans eventually modified their designs to be more like Russian rifles

Restaurant Closure and Political Authority #

• Cities may close restaurants for health violations (e.g., cockroaches)
• Even though cooking is an art with its own standards, the political community has authority over it
• This illustrates how the political art directs all other arts

Looking at a Painting vs. Making a Chair #

• Seeing a beautiful painting: The end is an act (seeing); there is no product beyond the act
• The seeing is better than or equal to the painting itself
• Making a chair: The end is a product (the chair); the act of making is a means
• The chair is better than the act of making it
• Hearing beautiful music: Like seeing, the end is the act of hearing itself
• Making spaghetti: Like the chair, the end is the product (spaghetti), and the cooking is means

The Bartender Example #

• Scenario: John and Thomas were at the bar last night, and no one else
• Truth: “John and Thomas were there”
• Adding to truth (saying what is not, is): “John, Thomas, and Paul were there”
• Subtracting from truth (saying what is, is not): “Only John was there”
• The truth is the mean between these extremes
• This illustrates how truth in discourse is like the mean in moral virtue

Courtroom Oath #

• Oath: “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”
• “The truth” = do not depart from truth by saying that what is, is not
• “The whole truth” = do not subtract from truth by saying that what is, is not
• “Nothing but the truth” = do not add to truth by saying that what is not, is
• Three phrases work together to ensure complete and exclusive truth-telling

Notable Quotes #

“Every art and every science, and likewise every action and choice seems to aim at some good. Whence it has been well said, that the good is what all desire.” - Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.1

“For if everything is chosen for the sake of something else, it would go on without end, so that our desire would be empty and foolish.” - Aristotle, establishing the necessity of an ultimate end

“Would not then the knowledge of this way greatly influence life? And just as archers, having a target, will we not hit more upon what is right?” - Aristotle, on the importance of knowing the human end

“It belongs to the political art… to set in order which sciences are needed in cities, what sort each shall learn up to what point.” - Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.2

“Thus, using the rest of the practical sciences and further ordaining by law what one ought to do and what to stay away from, the end of this science must then embrace those of other sciences, so that this will be the good of man.” - Aristotle, concluding his argument for the political art as chief

Questions Addressed #

Why must there be an ultimate human end? #

• If all goods are pursued for the sake of other goods, desire would be infinite
• Infinite desire is impossible and would be “empty and foolish”
• Therefore, there must be at least one good desired for its own sake

How does Aristotle establish which art is chief? #

• By two methods:
  1. The method of subordination: If one good is for the sake of another, the art aiming at the higher good commands the art aiming at the lower
  2. The method of command: If we observe that one art actually directs and commands others, then its good must be the highest
• Both methods point to the political art as chief

Why does the political art command all other arts? #

• It determines which sciences are needed in the city
• It decides what each person shall learn and how far
• It has legal authority over who may practice professions
• It can conscript citizens into military service
• It establishes laws governing marriage, family, and household
• Therefore, all other arts’ goods are subordinated to the political good

What is the difference between an end and a means? #

• Means: Something pursued for the sake of something else (e.g., medicine for health)
• End: Something pursued for its own sake (e.g., health itself)
• The end is always better than the means because means derive their value from their end

How does the structure of Aristotle’s premium compare to other works? #

• Plato’s Timaeus also has a premium structure with an epilogue
• In Plato’s Timaeus, Socrates praises the excellence of the premium before moving to the main discourse
• Aristotle follows this structural pattern in the Nicomachean Ethics
• Most of Aristotle’s works have a two-part logical structure: premium and main body (tractatus)

Connections to Broader Philosophical Framework #

Relationship to Virtue #

• The ultimate human end (happiness/eudaimonia) will be shown to consist in activity of the soul in accordance with virtue
• This lecture establishes what we are seeking (the human end); subsequent lectures will explain what achieves that end (virtue)
• Understanding the end is necessary before properly understanding the virtues

Relationship to Divine Revelation #

• Berquist notes that Dei Verbum (Vatican II document on Divine Revelation) also has a premium in its Latin text
• The premium is a classical philosophical structure adopted by the Church in articulating doctrine

Relationship to Political Philosophy #

• This lecture shows how ethics and political philosophy are connected
• The human end is discovered by examining the political art, which directs all other arts
• Ethics becomes essentially related to the political community and common good