Aristotle’s thoughts on human nature

The great Aristotle (384-322 BC) presented his thoughts on human nature in his three books “Eudemian Ethics,” “Nicomachean Ethics,” and “Politics.” He wrote or dictated them in the last period of his life after he had started his own school (“the Lyceum”) in Athens. What is Aristotle’s key idea on human nature? He defined humans as “rational animals.” Compared to all other creatures, humans are the only ones that possess the ability to reason and choose their behaviour on ethical grounds. Modern science has proven that some animal species have a limited capacity to think. I’m talking about dolphins, elephants, chimpanzees, ravens, cats, and dogs, for example; they possess the ability to draw simple conclusions but I wouldn’t categorise them as “rational animals” in the Aristotelian sense. As a result of their rationality, humans are uniquely able to give direction to their lives. They can set long-range objectives and pursue them steadily. They can allocate their energies and other resources to achieve their goals as quickly as possible. For humans, argued Aristotle, the overriding goal is to attain happiness. In all his books, Aristotle employed the Greek term “eudaimonia.” It translates not only as “happiness,” but also as “well-being,” “flourishing” or “thriving.” These translations show that Aristotle’s idea of happiness is dynamic. It is not a spiritual status of lethargic contentment but the result of determined action by the concerned person. It is something that you achieve or earn, not an undeserved present. In Aristotelian philosophy, it is up to each person to actively seek his own happiness. The philosopher’s task is to delineate the path and set up guideposts. The sole purpose of ethics is to teach individuals to attain happiness, understood as a radically personal experience. How do you attain happiness according to Aristotle? It is all about acquiring good habits (virtues) and practising them daily. The Aristotelian virtues (self-discipline, benevolence, courage and persistence, amongst others) are tools for achieving a goal. Compared to animals, human nature is highly complex. For the sake of analysis, Aristotle split the human mind (soul) into three areas. He called them rationality, emotions and vegetative in the same way as prior and later philosophers have done. Even Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) employed this tripartite division when he spoke of the conscious, subconscious and the societal constraints, although his explanations differ from those given by Aristotle. The Aristotelian division of the soul in three elements helps us grasp human nature better. When we refer to a certain aspect in someone’s personality, we can connect it to reason, emotions (desires, appetites, tastes) or vegetative drive (survival, growth, nutrition, reproduction). Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-thoughts-on-human-nature/