ncerned with understanding what is the “good life” or eudiamonia of human beings. It is doubtful that Aristotle had in mind the retired statesman with a cigar in one hand and a martini in the other. According to Aristotle material things such as wealth, power and pleasure are not the ultimate “good” for they are short-lived. Wealth, power and pleasure may come and go with the sun whereas the supreme good is believed to be self-sufficient by all means. In addition, Aristotle believes that the ultimate good should be 100% fulfilling. One should never be able to add to it for as the absolute good, it should be able to sustain us in all situations.For Aristotle, this ultimate “good” comes in the form of reason. According to Aristotle, reason and reason alone gives us the ability to be virtuous beings. He believes that the only activity that is sustainable and not a means to something else is that of reason or contemplation. In opposition to the wealth and power of the statesman, the life of reason and thought is self-sufficient and fulfilling in and of itself. Yet, how do we know that reason is the “good” act for humans? One of Aristotle’s main arguments consists of answering this very question. Aristotle presupposes that everything in nature has a function by which makes it unique. He claims that to know if something is inherently good, we must look towards its purpose or function and whether or not the entity is performing its function in the correct manner. For example, a good car will run well or a good axe will chop well. By asking the question, “What is the unique function of humans?” we can only answer that is our ability to reason. The reasoning power of human beings is the one thing that sets us apart from the animals and the plants. This being concluded, Aristotle also believes that we can state that a good human will reason well. As reasoning beings...
