Aristotle's Philosophies: Nicomachean Ethics

In the case of Aristotle’s philosophies founded in Nicomachean Ethics, we uncover the theoretical truths in which he presumes to be the best life man can accustom throughout a lifetime. In this essay we will explore Aristotle’s theories of the golden mean in alignment with morality, rationalization, and habitual practice, which are all necessities in completing our moral virtues, therefore, reaching our end to happiness. We will examine the mean being relative to ourselves, arguing why this concept poorly executes his initial question of: “what is the ultimate purpose of human existence and how can it be met?” Aristotle’s golden mean sets out to guide us towards how we should aim to direct our activities, however, provides too much flexibility,
He sees virtue to be in the mean or “in between” state since that is where we seem to exercise our feeling and actions in the “best state”; here is where we tie back in the idea of the rational mind and in being in accordance with virtue. Aristotle tells us to avoid the thing that may blurry our judgement and steer clear from the things we are most prone to; it is in this place that we would not be able to reach our means. It is “moral in that we are well or ill disposed towards the emotions”, states Aristotle. With our ability to rationalize and avoid these extremes to the best of our abilities is where we are able to reach happiness and live the good
He states “10 pounds of meat be too much and to be too little for a man to eat, A trainer will order him 6 pounds, as this may itself be too much or too little for the person who is to take it; it will be too little for Milo, but too much for a beginner in gymnastics it will be the same with running and wrestling; the right amount will vary with the individual.” (Navia, Kelly page 93) Aristotle explains that unlike the precise middle point found in an arithmetic mean, the absolute golden mean is based on the individual itself. Taking into account the points provided earlier, the idea of flexibility to the golden mean theory brings great confusion to Aristotle’s theory of the good life. If we are allowing for the flexibility of what is defined to be the mean based on an individual's judgement, how do we justify Aristotle’s theory of the good life? and how do we begin to understand what exactly is the right kind of life for us to live to achieve a state of