Aristotle was the first philosopher to attempt a systematic account of practical reasoning, just as he was the first philosopher to systematize theoretical logic. In his practical philosophy, he is above all concerned with the whys and wherefores of human action. He often writes as if he is more concerned with chains of reasoning from ends to means than with the comparative evaluation of ends. Among ultimate ends, in all the Aristotelian ethical treatises, eudaimonia or happiness has a very special role. On one hand, Eudemian Ethics begins with a solemn introduction according to which the...

Aristotle was the first philosopher to attempt a systematic account of practical reasoning, just as he was the first philosopher to systematize theoretical logic. In his practical philosophy, he is above all concerned with the whys and wherefores of human action. He often writes as if he is more concerned with chains of reasoning from ends to means than with the comparative evaluation of ends. Among ultimate ends, in all the Aristotelian ethical treatises, eudaimonia or happiness has a very special role. On one hand, Eudemian Ethics begins with a solemn introduction according to which the subject of the work is happiness. On the other hand, Nicomachean Ethics begins by taking the subject matter of ethics to be the supreme good, and goes on to consider happiness as the most popular answer to the question ‘What is the supreme good?’.