Aristotle's Ethical Concepts
Last Updated: 2021-01-16
One reason people find it difficult to understand Aristotle's thinking about the good life is that translators often miss the mark in rendering his key concepts into English. I've spent a long time pondering how to let the original Greek sense of Aristotle's thinking shine through. Here's what I've come up with so far.
- ἀγαθός (agathos) = beneficial, good [opposed to κακός]
- ἀθλιότης (athliotes) = misery [opposed to εὐδαιμονία]
- αἵρεσις (hairesis) = pursuit, preference
- αἱρετά (haireta) = valuable, preferable (not "choiceworthy")
- αίσχρός (aischros) = wrong, ugly, shameful; thus repulsively wrong [opposed to καλός]
- ἀκολασία (akolasia) = self-indulgence, lack of moderation [opposed to σωφροσύνη]
- ἀκόλαστης (akolastes) = wild, self-indulgent
- ἀκρασία (akrasia) = impulsiveness (not "incontinence") [contrasted with ἐγκράτεια]
- ἀκριβής (akribes) = finished, precise (not "perfect")
- ἀλλότριος (allotrios) = foreign (not "improper") [opposed to οἰκείος]
- ἁμάρτημα (hamartema) = mistake
- ἁμαρτία (hamartia) = missing the mark; error (not "sin")
- ἀνδρεία (andreia) = manliness (not "courage")
- ἀνόητος (anoetos) = thoughtless, lacking in insight
- ἁπλῶς (haplos) = simply, plainly (not "simpliciter")
- ἀπορία (aporia) = impasse, perplexity (not "puzzle")
- ἀρετή (arete) = thriving, excellence (not "virtue") [opposed to μοχθηρία]
- ἀρχή (arche) = source, origin, principle
- ἀσχολία (ascholia) = unease, preoccupation [opposed to σχολή]
- ἀφροσύνη (aphrosune) = foolishness [opposed to σωφροσύνη]
- βίος (bios) = way of life
- βουλεύεσθαι (bouleuesthai) = to take counsel with oneself, to reflect
- βούλησις (boulesis) = wish, resolution (not "conation")
- δεῖ (dei) = should, need to, bound to (not "ought to")
- διαγωγή (diagoge) = lifestyle
- διάνοια (dianoia) = thinking through (not "intellection")
- διωκτά (diokta) = worth seeking
- δύναμις (dunamis) = ability, capacity (not "potentiality")
- ἐγκράτεια (enkrateia) = self-control (not "continence") [contrasted with ἀκρασία]
- ἐθίζειν (ethizein) = enculturate (not "habituate")
- εἶδος (eidos) = way of being, identity (not "species" or "form")
- ἐνέργεια (energeia) = working at a task; activity; activation (of a capacity); doing (not "actuality")
- ἐντελέχεια (entelecheia) = achieving a goal, accomplishing a task, becoming complete; fulfillment (not "actuality")
- ἕξις (hexis) = trait, practice (not "habit")
- ἐπιείκεια (epieikeia) = reasonableness, fairness, humaneness
- ἐπιθυμία (epithumia) = need, craving
- ἐπιστήμη (episteme) = full understanding, knowledge (not "science")
- ἔργον (ergon) = task, work (not "function")
- εὐβουλία (euboulia) = success at reflection; deliberating well
- εὐδαιμονία (eudaimonia) = living well, flourishing (not "happiness")
- εὐπραξία (eupraxia) = success at taking action; conducting oneself well
- ἡδονή (hedone) = joy, enjoyment, pleasure
- ἠθική (ethike) = having to do with character (not "moral")
- ἦθος (ethos) = character
- θεραπεία (therapeia) = cultivation (not "service")
- θεωρία (theoria) = awareness (not "contemplation")
- θυμός (thumos) = want, ardor
- καθ' αὑτὸ (kath' auto) = in itself, central, essential (not "per se") [opposed to κατὰ συμβεβηκός and roughly equivalent to ἁπλῶς (cf. 1151b2-3)]
- κακός (kakos) = harmful, bad (not "evil") [opposed to ἀγαθός]
- καλός (kalon) = right, beautiful, noble; thus admirably appropriate or beautifully right [opposed to αίσχρός]
- κατὰ συμβεβηκός (kata sumbebekos) = by the way, peripheral, incidental (not "per accidens") [opposed to καθ' αὑτὸ]
- κοινωνία (koinonia) = sharing, fellowship
- λογίζομαι (logizomai) = to consider, to reflect (not "to ratiocinate")
- λογιστικόν (logistikon) = reflective (not "calculative")
- μεγαλοψυχία (megalopsuchia) = greatness of soul (not "pride")
- μέσον (meson) = mid-point, balance-point (not "the mean")
- μεσότης (mesotes) = state of balance (not "the mean")
- μοχθηρία (mochtheria) = corruption [opposed to ἀρετή]
- νοῦς (nous) = intelligence, insight (not "intellect")
- οἰκεῖος (oikeos) = native (not "proper") [opposed to ἀλλότριος]
- ὁμόνοια (homonoia) = likemindedness
- ὄρεξις (orexis) = reaching, yearning, desire (not "appetition")
- ὀρθός (orthos) = straight as contrasted with wayward (not "right")
- ὀρθός λόγος (orthos logos) = straight thinking, correct reasoning (not "right reason" or "right rule")
- ὀρθός ὄρεξις (orthos orexis) = straight yearning, correct reaching
- ὅρος (horos) = standard
- οὐσία (ousia) = thinghood, entity, being (not "substance")
- πάθος (pathos) = reaction, experience, feeling (not "passion") [contrasted with πρᾶξις]
- πλεονεξία (pleonexia) = avarice, greed
- ποίησις (poeisis) = making [contrasted with πρᾶξις]
- πόλις (polis) = society (not "city")
- πολιτική (politike) = social, societal (not "political")
- πρᾶξις (praxis) = taking action [contrasted with πάθος and with ποίησις]
- πρέπον (prepon) = fitting, appropriate
- προαίρεσις (prohairesis) = commitment, choice (literally "pre-pursuit")
- σκοπός (skopos) = target
- σοφία (sophia) = sagacity
- σπουδαῖος (spoudaios) = serious, worthy, good [opposed to φαῦλος]
- συμφέρων (sumpheron) = benefit, gain, advantage
- σωφροσύνη (sophrosune) = moderation (not "temperance") [opposed to ἀφροσύνη and to ἀκολασία]
- σχολή (schole) = ease, leisure [opposed to ἀσχολία]
- τελεία (teleia) = complete, final (not "perfect")
- τελειώτατον (teleiotaton) = most complete, most final (not "most perfect")
- τέλος (telos) = goal, purpose, completion (not "perfection")
- τέχνη (techne) = skill, craft (not "art")
- τὸ ὄν (to on) = existence, being
- τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι (to ti en einai) = what it is to be a thing (not "essence")
- φαῦλος (phaulos) = unserious, unworthy, bad [opposed to σπουδαῖος]
- φιλία (philia) = love; personal relationship; partnership [not "friendship"]
- φιλός (philos) = one who is dear; partner [not "friend"]
- φρόνησις (phronesis) = wisdom, know-how (not "prudence")
- χρῆσις (chresis) = use, application
- ψυχή (psuche) = aliveness (not "soul")
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