In "The Nicomachean Ethics", Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happine
ss. He argues that happiness consists in 'activity of the soul in accordance wit
h virtue', for example with moral virtues, such as courage, generosity and justi
ce, and intellectual virtues, such as knowledge, wisdom and insight. The Ethics
also discusses the nature of practical reasoning, the value and the objects of p
leasure, the different forms of friendship, and the relationship between individ
ual virtue, society and the State. Aristotle's work has had a profound and lasti
ng influence on all subsequent Western thought about ethical matters.
