In the same way that we might best allocate tasks amongst people according to their differences, the function of humans should be picked out according to what distinguishes humans from all other beings. Humans share something in common with animals and plants alike: they are inclined toward nutrition and growth. And just like animals, humans are directed by appetite and able to perceive objects around them. What sets human beings apart, says Aristotle, is this: our souls possess a rational principle. This equips us to comprehend universal concepts, decide among different courses of action, and discipline our appetites.
There are two parts of the soul—that which grasps a rule or rational principle, and the irrational; let us now draw a similar distinction within the part which grasps a rational principle. And let it be assumed that there are two parts which grasp a rational principle—one by which we contemplate the kind of things whose originative causes are invariable, and one by which we contemplate variable things; for where objects differ in kind the part of the soul answering to each of the two is different in kind, since it is in virtue of a certain likeness and kinship with their objects that they have the knowledge they have. Let one of these parts be called the scientific and the other the calculative; for to deliberate and to calculate are the same thing, but no one deliberates about the invariable. Therefore the calculative is one part of the faculty which grasps a rational principle.26
Since the distinctly human function is found in the use of cognitive capabilities, Aristotle concludes that virtue consists of reason being used with excellence.
Now if the function of man is an activity of soul which follows or implies a rational principle, and if we say ‘a so-and-so’ and ‘a good so-and-so’ have a function which is the same in kind, e.g., a lyre-player and a good lyre-player, and so without qualification in all cases, eminence in respect of goodness being added to the name of the function (for the function of a lyre-player is to play the lyre, and that of a good lyre-player is to do so well): if this is the case, [and we state the function of man to be a certain kind of life, and this to be an activity or actions of the soul implying a rational principle, and the function of a good man to be the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed when it is performed in accordance with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case,] human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete.27
Yet virtue does not, by itself, ensure happiness. In contrast to Stoic philosophers, who maintained that having virtue alone is pretty much enough, Aristotle believes that virtue is rightly accompanied by other goods apart from the mind.
It is impossible, or not easy, to do noble acts without the proper equipment. In many actions we use friends and riches and political power as instruments; and there are some things the lack of which takes the luster from happiness, as good birth, goodly children, beauty; for the man who is very ugly in appearance or ill-born or solitary and childless is not very likely to be happy, and perhaps a man would be still less likely if he had thoroughly bad children or friends or had lost good children or friends by death. As we said, then, happiness seems to need this sort of prosperity in addition; for which reason some identify happiness with good fortune, though others identify it with virtue.28
Having monetary resources is needed before one can even think about undertaking some virtuous actions, among them generosity. Conversely, being short on financial resources ushers in temptation to defraud and steal.
Virtue and pleasure are linked insofar as the ethical individual will feel good by doing the right thing. Aristotle expresses the point well:
Now for most men their pleasures are in conflict with one another because these are not by nature pleasant, but the lovers of what is noble find pleasant the things that are by nature pleasant; and virtuous actions are such, so that these are pleasant for such men as well as in their own nature. Their life, therefore, has no further need of pleasure as a sort of adventitious charm, but has its pleasure in itself.29
In the world of business, virtue in and of itself will not console someone whose 401(k) has been ravaged by the economic downturn, or who has been terminated from his or her employment or driven into bankruptcy. On the other hand, virtuous people will possess sufficient fortitude to ride out turns of misfortune. As Aristotle explains:
Now many events happen by chance, and events differing in importance; small pieces of good fortune or of its opposite clearly do not weigh down the scales of life one way or the other, but a multitude of great events if they turn out well will make life happier (for not only are they themselves such as to add beauty to life, but the way a man deals with them may be noble and good), while if they turn out ill they crush and maim happiness; for they both bring pain with them and hinder many activities. Yet even in these nobility shines through, when a man bears with resignation many great misfortunes, not through insensibility to pain but through nobility and greatness of soul.30
But, as Aristotle notes, “Many changes occur in life, and all manner of chances, and the most prosperous may fall into great misfortunes in old age.”31 So if our hardship is substantial, or sustained, or turns up at a point in life where it's hard to bounce back, a person's fortitude is tested: “For neither will he be moved from his happy state easily or by any ordinary misadventures, but only by many great ones, nor, if he has had many great misadventures, will he recover his happiness in a short time, but if at all, only in a long and complete one in which he has attained many splendid successes.”32 Living the ethical life does not necessarily equate to business success. But Aristotle suggests that due to its durability, virtue lends sustainability to a person's life:
No function of man has so much permanence as virtuous activities (these are thought to be more durable even than knowledge of the sciences), and of these themselves the most valuable are more durable because those who are happy spend their life most readily and most continuously in these; for this seems to be the reason why we do not forget them. The attribute in question, [durability] then, will belong to the happy man, and he will be happy throughout his life; for always, or by preference to everything else, he will be engaged in virtuous action and contemplation, and he will bear the chances of life most nobly and altogether decorously, if he is ‘truly good’ and ‘foursquare beyond reproach.’33
A message that can be gleaned from this—particularly in these times of postfinancial crisis anxiety—is that no matter how bad it seems, it's best to keep to the virtuous route, cling to the hope that the link between good actions and happiness will reappear, bringing an upturn in fortune that will help you spring back.34
Virtues
Cardinal Virtues
The cardinal virtues are courage, justice, temperance, and practical wisdom (phronsis) or prudence.35 What do we mean when we say these characteristics are virtues? A musician might claim that her violin possesses the virtue of keeping in tune. In this way, she is describing her violin in terms of its usefulness to her. (She doesn't have to retune it often.) Keeping in tune is a useful characteristic of a musical instrument that players have an interest in. But in talking about a person having virtue, we don't mean that she is useful. First and foremost, we are pointing out that she possesses dispositions conducive to the pursuit of human well-being, in particular to her own flourishing. To be sure, all of us keep our eyes on one another's character. However, your dominant interest looks toward developing your own character, and the sorts of things that you set out to accomplish in your life and career on the basis of it. You discriminate between your vices and virtues, knowing that your moral habits impact the nature of your private and cherished understanding of who you are. At the same time, not only do your first-rate inclinations draw you closer to achievements, but also they accord you inner harmony and serenity.
Aristotle reckoned
