Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, better known as the teacher of Alexander the Great.

Aristotle was born in 384BC. For twenty years he studied at Athens at the Academy of Plato, on whose death in 347 he left, and some time later became tutor to Alexander the Great. On Alexander’s succession to the throne of Macedonia in 336, Aristotle returned to Athens and established his school and research institute, the Lyceum. After Alexander’s death he was driven out of Athens and fled to Chalcis in Euboea where he died in 322. His writings profoundly affected the whole course of ancient and medieval philosophy.

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The Nicomachean Ethics

by Aristotle

Aristotle's writings have been extraordinarily influential since ancient times. This treatise is named after his son and is a collection of his lecture notes--imagining attending his Lyceum and listening to him teach 2,300 years ago! Of course, it's packed with culture-changing Big Ideas. Some of my favorites we cover include the ultimate end: eudaimonic happiness (vs. "happiness" as most of us think about it!), how to achieve that eudaimonia (hint: "virtuous activity of the soul" aka areté), how to win the Olympic Games (hint: you can't just show up; you need to ACT!), the doctrine of the mean (and the vice of deficiency + excess) and the virtue of magnanimity: meet YOUR great soul.

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Virtuous Activity of the Soul
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Aristotle on How to Be Happy

In our last +1, we talked about Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and the fact that his word for “happiness” was VERY different than our word. Eudaimonia, as we discussed, literally m...

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Aristotle’s “Happiness”
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Isn’t Quite What You Think

Aristotle was born in Greece on the border of Macedonia in 384 BC. His father was the court physician to the Macedonian king. At the age of seventeen, he went to Athens where he studied with Plato in his Academy for TWENTY years until Plato’s ...

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How to Win the Olympic Games
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Hint: Compete

I can’t resist. One more +1 on Aristotle. So… The Olympic Games started in Olympia (not too far outside of Athens) in 776 BC. A few centuries later, Aristotle told us that you can’t just SHOW UP at the Olympics and look like a great athlete, you have to actually COMPETE. Her...

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We Are What We Repeatedly Do
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Excellence, then, Is Not an ACT but a Habit

Today we have the final installment in our What Would Aristotle Do? +1 series. We’ve gotta talk about habits. You know that E P I C Aristotle quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”? Well, hate to break the news,...

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Are You Pusillanimous?
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Much Better to be Magnanimous

A couple +1s ago I promised to chat about Aristotle’s thoughts on magnanimity. It’s one of the “Other Moral Virtues” he talks about after he covers the Big 2: Courage and Self-Control. Magnanimity might just be my favorite word. Do you know what it literally mea...

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vs. The Vices of Excess and Deficiency

Continuing our “What does Aristotle have to say about Optimizing?” theme, let’s chat a little more about HOW Aristotle tells us we can achieve a eudaimonic sense of happiness via “virtuous activity of the soul.” In short, Aristotle tells us that virtuous activity will always ...

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Conquering Perfectionism & Optimal Living

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Encourage
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To Inspire with Hope, Courage and Confidence

Not too long ago, we talked about the shiny new Optimize Virtue Meditation we’re working on as part of our Optimize Coach program. I’ve been thinking a lot about the virtues in general and the

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Making the Case for Elevating Its Status

In our last +1, I made the case for why the virtue of encouragement should be elevated to its proper status in the pantheon of how to best express our love for people in our lives. I’d like to continue asserting my case. (Yes, I dropped out of Law School before a semester was over—go...

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Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, better known as the teacher of Alexander the Great.

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Virtuous Activity of the Soul
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Aristotle’s “Happiness”
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How to Win the Olympic Games
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We Are What We Repeatedly Do
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Are You Pusillanimous?
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Aristotle’s Doctrine of the (Virtuous) Mean
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Encourage
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Encourage - Part 2
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