And so is misquoting famous people on the Internet…
This quote is often misattributed to Aristotle. The quote is actually from writer Will Durant in his book The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World’s Greatest Philosophers (1926).
The misattribution is due to people taking Durant’s summation of Aristotle’s ideas as being the words of Aristotle himself. Durant’s words indeed reflect Nichomachean ethics. Aristotle taught that the greatest good for humans and the highest aim of all practical thinking is eudaimonia, a Greek word translated as well-being or happiness.
For Aristotle, living a happy life is living your best life: a life of excellence. Aristotelian Ethics focuses on what makes virtuous character possible, which is a necessary condition for happiness. Good life habits are a prerequisite for good character, though habits alone do not make one’s character good, for real character involves conscious choice.
I appreciate Aristotle’s practical approach to philosophy, following in the tradition of Socrates and Plato, who approached philosophy from both a practical as well as a theoretical point of view. Ethics as a branch of study was first advocated by Plato, and became associated particularly with Aristotle, who was the first philosopher to write ethical treatises.
Conscious, deliberate choice to do what is right along with good life habits is the path to excellence. I can’t help but agree with Aristotle on this one.
Dead-Logic 