The Only Self-Help Book Worth Reading | Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- The self-help and self-improvement community have skyrocketed in popularity over recent years. Yet almost everything they tend to say was already recommended, and in some ways improved upon, by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. So get ready to have a look at the only self-help book worth reading: The Nicomachean Ethics.
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00:00 Ancient Greek Self-Improvement
01:35 A Matter of Habit
06:06 Intellectual Virtues
10:51 Ego, Community, and Happiness
14:40 Taking the High Road
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hi there i to signed up for the email list but i received no emails . i signed up like couple weeks ago .
@@ganapathiumaselvan8318 Ah yeah, sorry, I only send out an email about once per month at the moment - I am hoping to increase in frequency soon
Have you ever spoken with Alex O'connor? I would like you two to have a conversation. I think it would be very productive.
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 well its okay , i was worried that it was some technical error. so i ended up signing up for it multiple times. lol
Love your videos, especially on literature. As a psychotherapist, (which I guess makes me part of the self-help community?) I'm afraid Aristotle and the existential approach has limited use when sitting in front of someone with serious childhood trauma, or indeed with adult, or current trauma . A patient can often be psychologically and emotionally wracked with shame and self-loathing, physically wracked with anxiety or depression, behaviorally wracked by addictions and compulsions, existentially devoid of meaning, and relationally isolated from others, themselves and the world of family, work and community. The way back from all of these consequences of trauma to connection with themselves and others is slow and difficult. It is built on the foundation of a loving relationship with the therapist and others, and with a slow process of embodied connection with themselves and the world. It is not primarily an intellectual exercise- indeed intellectualism can be a great barrier to recovering a more authentic selfing process. It entails entering fearful spaces of shame, terror and confusion. I like to call it having an" identectomy" i.e. moving from a conditioned selfing to a more authentic process of in-the-moment, creative, selfing. (I use the term "selfing" as I feel our sense of self at its best is a fluid, creative, process.) But, thank you for a thought-provoking video. And keep singing!
Fun fact: Nichomachus was the name of Aristotle's son! BUT also the name of his father! The book is probably written as a guide for his son!
Ah yes, I remember falling down the rabbit-hole of where the name came from. It seems like half the people Aristotle knew seemed to be called Nicomachus
@@unsolicitedadvice9198IIRC it was his Son and his students that wrote it but it was Aristotle's Teachings for sure
Trust me, being nice to people never ends well. Machiavelli had it right. People will do far more from fear than ever they will for love.
@@cliveadams7629 That's why you need a reason that transcends humanity itself, because humans will always disappoint you. If you have a reason that is higher than ourselves then you will be able to take the disappointment that comes with coexisting with our fellow humans much better than you will without one. I think Ultimate Meaning can only be found in God. Without God( the Christian God in particular) I find life to be quite a Sisyphean pursuit.
@@PhelomenalEnigma but my dear, I am never disappointed by humanity. People are reliably unreliable and if you believe in your god you must accept this is because, being the image of that god, the deity you worship is fatally flawed.
It is that very unreliability which transcends all. Imagine the endless torment of bending your knee to this narcissistic demon for the rest of eternity. It makes rolling a rock up a mountain appear positively pleasant.
"Eudaimonia doesn’t mean a life of cupcakes and rainbows. It means the sweet pleasure of sinking into bed at the end of an absolutely exhausting day. It’s the satisfaction of knowing you’ve accomplished a lot, and that you’ve pushed yourself to be the very best person you could be." ~ UA-cam video, "Crash Course Philosophy #38" 🙌
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The idea of eudaimonia has greatly influenced my personal life the past few years. Perhaps it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's truly felt like a fulfilling journey. ❤
Ah I like that image! I like to think of it as a kind of "healthy self-admiration"
Edp should've read this earlier
After buying a large plot of land and sinking countless hours toiling, improving, growing, managing... While also keeping my full time job, I agree.
@@Catimixto HELPP
Temperance and balance are key though. Don't get over exhausted and don't feel guilty for taking time to rest.
You've sparked my interest in philosophy again, I truly appreciate the passion you deliver these topics with.
Ah thank you for watching them! I am glad you've found them helpful
@@unsolicitedadvice9198I wrote you an email, dunno if you still do tutoring?
I do! I'll check them later today
A natural teacher at so young an age...chapeau....You cut through the thick fogs for us leading us to better understanding. The added captioned text is definitely a great help too.
I can never understand these kinds of writings but you explain this so well!
I bow my hat to you. I observe your uploads for about a month and as for now you seem to an embodiment of practical usage of literature and philosophy. Aristoteles would would be proud.
I congratulate you for your increase in popularity. Forming an impactful legacy through this form of medium is quit rare.
This is so timely, no joke I have just started reading it and this notification popped. Great video mate :)
Self help books are about getting ahead of ones peers while Aristoteles' work are about contributing, modern living seems more about becoming individualistic man-gods due to losing the need for a community so naturally self help books resonate more.
That's an interesting perspective. It would be nice if we could get some of that community-focused perspective back
absolutely!
Read Jordan Peterson, he's the modern day aristotle with a dash of Plato
@@lorenzomizushal3980lmao no he's a sophist and gatekeeper
@@ElonMuskrat-my8jy how so?
This video is a godsend thank you so much! Can’t wait for more ppl to see your channel :)
Great video yet again. Today’s self help trend tends to forget the other aspects to life and wisdom, much appreciated to remind me that through this video.
Such an important work. Thanks for giving this one the shoutout.
You’re channel is truly one of a kind ❤ thanks for making amazing videos and making philosophy and the works of great thinkers accessible to all 😌
Thank you so much! That’s very kind!
my dude It's been a while since I've watched you and I'm genuinely surprised and extremely happy for your growth Congratz on the 110k subs you deserve all of them and way more
Congrats for the 100k!
Thank you for the report and recommendation. I will read this now ❤
Good to be here early again. I appreciate the constant stream of high quality videos!
Thank you! I really enjoy making them
I started watching this channel a week ago and recently bought this book, So I am very happy to watch this video because it makes me want to read it even more now :) this also made me subscribe!
God bless, brother. Amazing video.
🌹If anyone is interested I recommend The Modern Library Classics "The Basic Works of Aristotle".
This edition has commentary, footnotes and the major works including the one discussed in the video here. You get alot in one volume.
THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT EPISODE !!!
LOVED THIS-- THANK YOU!
This is a very good video !! I remember reading about Aristotle in school.
“Know thyself and you shall know the universe and the Gods” Socrates
I am a big fan of that idea
Socrates didn't say that.
Ah perhaps it’s just apocryphal. I know “know thyself” was supposedly one of the Delphic Maxims
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 Perhaps.. He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.
Lao Tzu
I'm so happy I found your channel 😊 Definitely agree on the self-improvement community not having a strong enough emphasis on community.
I heard once: "There's a huge section in our bookstores dedicated to self-improvement, but there's no section dedicated to helping others." I can't remember where I heard this statement, but it's stuck with me for a while.
I thinks it should all be cohesive, because when you develop yourself into a better person. Other people will want to emulate your character, but good deeds are also important too. 😊
@@rico14 Very good point!
I don’t think the idea is to want people to emulate your character but to rather have them use it as inspire to develop their own in a manner that works best for them.
Helping others has been a cover for so much evil that we have become rightfully leery.
I've been enjoying your broadcast for a few months now and thought I should at least learn your name and so googled Unsolicited Advice and discovered only a podcast by that name . I find you top notch as a presenter just the same.
Almost 100k subscribers, keep up the good work!
Thank you! As of now I am 24 off 100k!
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 💪
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 Nice, congrats! Can you maybe do a bookcase tour in the future?
Thank you for this excellent content ❤
Thank you for watching!
My mom had this book in her bookshelves. She had thousands of books and I used to read this one when I was a child.
Me salvaste la vida hermano.
Gracias por recomendarme este libro
99.9k subs! Almost there, I'm so glad this channel is growing.
Wonder if there is a 100k special
There’ll certainly be a Q&A of some sort, and I’m working on a couple of longer videos that I’m very excited about
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 Sweet!
absolutely well done!
Thank you!
Great content. Subscribed.
Thank you!
Great work
In Ireland a new set (small) of secular schools not-affiliated with any church (rare in Ireland) teaches these ethics among other ethics approaches in the place of religion. There's hope.
Your delivery is fast. Which i like. And no bulshit either. Clear without being glassy.
Excellent video!
Thank you!
My emotion is is upside down. Sometime really specimistic and feel numb, sometime i am motivated which make me think i would do something to make my life better. But i am starting to think my motivation is a not more than seasonal emotion because i only get good mood without taking action.
I am tired of this life. I don't want to die, i just want to escape from people i know, and doing my own life and start planning to be what i want to be. But i dont have money for surviving alone.
Please do one about how our image of heaven and the afterlife is basically describing Earth or ''the garden of eden''. And how we have everything we could possible want right now and right here on Earth as Earth is the shining gem in an infinite darkness.
Even though unsolicited, this the best advice out here
From California. The most important book in my library. It guides me daily. .
I really liked this
Yeah thanks for adding subs
Very big help
Thank you for watching them
Wow! You are really wound up about this.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching!
Currently reading Hannah Arendt and after watching this video I believe Nicomachean Ethics is gonna help me to understand better her views in The Human Condition.
Thank you!! Amazing content as always.
Try Simone Weil.
@@sthetatos thanks!
Close to 100k subs. Let's Go!
4 subscribers away!
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 congrats bro
Great video, as always! You're passion on philosophy enchants your spirit to an unscalable extent. Do you consider making a video about the ideologies of Professor Jordan Peterson?
Well said Mister.
There is an old saying that Books and friends should be few but good.
I became a Christian in 1984 and I bought the Penguin Version of Aristotle's Ethics over 30 years ago. And until recently I have read my favourite parts of the book at least once per year for each year of my life since I bought the book. The titles of the book's 10 chapters are easy to remember.
1 The object of life.
2 Moral goodness.
3 Moral responsibility - Two virtues
4 Other moral virtues
5 Justice
6 Intellectual virtues
7 Continence and incontinence. The nature of pleasure
8 The kinds of friendship
9 The grounds of friendship
10 Pleasure and the life of happiness
Jules Payot Gifts. What in my view is the most important idea about motivation. He turns motivation on its head by saying that It is not the attitude that generates habits, but the other way around. Start with a small habit that you can repeat every day with excellence. Soon that habit will create a better attitude which will intern motivate you to a second good habit. For example, force yourself. Two run twenty five minutes every morning. You will hate it the 1st month. You will not hate it so much. The second month and you will love it the third month. By the 4th month, you will find that you are also saving money. We're doing some other good thing for yourself. The habit is what brought the good attitude. In summary, habits, great attitude, not the other way around. And, you are what you repeatedly do.
since I was 17, I've chosen the trinity Aristotle, Plato, Socrates to be my Sacred one. it is nice to come across a fellow practicioner. Thank you
my unsolicited advice to you is to capitalize the 'a' in advice... pls. im only kidding (kinda) i luv the channel you make philosophy digestible whilst still leaving a lot for others to find out for themselves which is what the love of knowledge is really about
I've never heard of the Golden Mean before. One of my philosophies in life is that finding the right balance is the most important thing in most, if not all, aspects of life, so I guess I approve!
Great vid!
Congrats on 100k subs! Hope many more people get to listen to your analyses!
keep it up!
I like how you always gesticulate with only one hand, with the other being still.
There is an old saying that Knowledge is useless except good sense directs it. End quote.
Mencius said : Wisdom is like strength but Sageness is like skill. It is due to your strength that the arrow reaches the target but it is not due to your strength that it hits the mark.
I’ve often stated that ‘ modern day gurus who make stacks of cash, only do so because they have brazenly plagiarized ancient philosophers and the gurus are able to do so because they can’t be sued ‘
Isn’t that the Lao Tseu famous quote??
« If you change your actions
Your habits changes
If you change your habits
Your character will change
If you change your character
Your destiny will change
The Enchiridion of Epictetus is another one worth reading.
Hi bro. I'm a new subs. You're so great at what you does. Where can I buy the books you read?
Never thought I would hear Nichomachean Ethics labeled as a “self-help” book but I’m here for it
Nicomahean Ethics, means "winning the battle", Nike is victory and mahe is battle in Greek. Also the word character, comes from the verb charasso, it means "engraving". So one's character is what has been "engraved" through the environment, information, thoughts, sentiments, habits... Growing in self awareness means that you can start choosing WHAT you are engraving. Eudaimonia, is growing towards free will. EY is a tiny word key in Greek thinking. One of our philosophy teachers in Athens explained it in a very interesting way.
E stands for Ellipsis (ΕΛΛΕΙΨΙΣ), lack of something
Y stands for Ypervole (ΥΠΕΡΒΟΛΗ) Hyperbole, too much of something. So ΕΥ is achieved through being right in your center of being. The golden ratio. Dialectics...Daimonia, this is where demon comes from. It's the higher self, your pure consciousness, (Socrates was famous for his chats with his demon) of course it was demonized when they started chasing us around, closing the philosophy schools and destroying our temples and cities, but it comes from the verb ΔΑΙΩ DAIO, means providing, dividing, giving the right share to someone. Greetings from Greece 🏛️
Aristotle has been my God since childhood. I followed every word of his wisdom, and he is still my God to this day. I just discovered your video recently. I'm thoroughly enjoying your content. I'm totally impressed!
Even the stuff he says about slavery?
13:05 I've felt that problem a lot before. Like how do I know I'm not just full of myself or just wrong? I mean I can compare and try to look at every aspect I can conceive of but one does not know everything and the easiest way to get different perspectives is to get another person.
This guy is so underrated
I totally agree with this piece, great work✌️
I love how you talk about Siddhartha, the importance of keeping balance between the opposites of abstract and practical knowledge (or whatever, I'm not a native english speaker). Also morality should be taken more seriously, i hope we can get to understand god as a concept some day (and not as something mystical but philosopicaly and as language)
Thanks
To truly understand The Nicomachean Ethics you must read Plato but before that you must read the Pre-Socratics, and if you truly want to understand them you must read the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians.
What the hell, can't i just read and understand Nicomachean ethics ?
Great review as always. I want to ask you which translation do you recommend. I have Joe Sachs translation and I found it notoriously difficult.
Oh man I remember working from the Sachs translation in university. It is brilliant and I’m told it is super faithful to the Greek but it’s also quite dense. The Adam Beresford translation is really readable (or at least, I found it much easier than the Sachs)
Pick the flowers of pleasure along the paths of duty. ---Quaker saying
100k now🎉🎉
splendid
I thought you were going to talk about Seneca's "de brevitate vitae", i studied it in latin class at school, but i read the whole thing (it is really short) myself in private and It's actually good.
Ah that is another cracking one!
It’s funny, too.
Great video! I have a question for you: How do you manage a huge reading list? I have Schopenhauer, Hegel, the complete works of Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Aristotle, Kant, Plato and Descartes lined up. It's very daunting, seeing as I'm only a little ways into Schopenhauer right now.
Exactly. As a Libra in not just Sun but also as Ascendant, Mercury, and Mars, your Bard must have balance. Moderation in all things, including moderation. There are times when it is prudent, dare I say necessary, to be immoderate. Perhaps Teacher, or Artist, would be a better word than Philosopher. A multitude of stratagems is to be expected I think. It might be that the highest idea we have is to pass on what we know to those who have not been here as long. Salsa is fruit salad, but I'm not sure if that is an example of nous or sophia. Individualism is a romantic concept. Before the Romantics, everyone understood that an individual in the wild was doomed. They would die from exposure without society. This is not literally true for many, but a cornerstone of the "Viking" culture so popular today is: The long house shelters many because no one survives the long night alone.
"Happiness itself is sufficient excuse. Beautiful things are right and true; so beautiful actions are those pleasing to the gods. Wise men have an inward sense of what is beautiful, and the highest wisdom is to trust this intuition and be guided by it. The answer to the last appeal of what is right lies within a man's own breast. Trust thyself."
Aristotle
"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”
― Aristotle, Selected Works
To perceive is to suffer.”
― Aristotle
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
― Aristotle
I've just finished watching Fight Club recently , and i noticed how the ideas you've just presented hold some resemblance to the plot of what had happened in the movie .Spoilers alert, The protagonist realized through trial and error (creating Tyler Durden ) that he doesn't want his strongest version nor the weak one but learned moderation where he is in control and his eyes are open . he also learned that he should be considerate to others that he must care about them so he rejected the death of Robert Pulson , treating Marla Singer poorly . He learned to cultivate his mind through rejecting material possessions and managed somehow to earn a living while he is not working but sharpening his mind through learning from his stronger personality (Tyler Durden ) by making Soap and reading about Jack .Finally , he managed to look at Marla in the face with absolute belief in himself and his actions saying "Everything is gonna be alright " .
The confidence of someone without a wrinkle. Praise the youth.
I'm early by chance, so I'll leave a comment now. (Of course, I haven't watched the video yet haha)
But in general, I want to express how valuable this channel is and how glad I am to have discovered you. Especially your video "How to Cope with Pain" has stuck with me and has provided great value for me, as I also suffer from a chronic condition.
So, keep up the great work, and feel free to share more personal insights into your life and how you handle your condition, for example. Particularly, as a psychology student, I'm interested in how a person arrives at their attitudes and philosophies, and I'm sure others share the interest in your person as well.
Ah thank you! That's very kind of you to say. I do plan to make more personal videos in the future. It just takes me a while to work them out. I'm a quick enough reader, but a pretty slow thinker
This is a fantastic channel. The topics are well discussed, and our guide is the best. From California.
Sophia as a woman. Sophia is often called abstract wisdom,“feminine wisdom” and “the wisdom of God”
Sophia, in Greek mythology was the goddess of heaven, and the stars, connected to the different incarnations of sacred female knowledge.
In Gnosticism, Sophia is a feminine figure too. Sophia is said to be the emanation of God's glory, the Holy Spirit, the immaculate mirror and even the wife of God.
In the apocryphal biblical Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) and the Wisdom of Solomon. “the wisdom of God” is personified as a woman.
Is this saying that women particularly have a certain kind of wisdom? Or is it claiming that women are impractical?
I’ve been going down this history rabbit hole for a little while.
Also, I agree a lot of new self-help theory is based on being a selfish, arse without empathy and refusing to self reflect. Basically becoming a villain.
6:20 Years ago I came to the conclusion that I won't ever be happy bc I choose to be intelligent. Bc it seems true that ignorance is bliss. I think it's part of, if you don't know what you're missing/you only know of what is right in front of you then you aren't missing anything and you don't know that things can get better or even be different.
Just don't stop, let it flow. I see Aristotle's reflection in you. Such a heinous human (of course in a great way) you are that the most philosophers should be jealous of you. Btw having jealousy for anyone is not good for eudaimonia, but still it's negligible . 🥂
I really enjoy your videos. But I've always wondered, what's your education backgtound?
Thank you! And I did an Undergrad and a Masters in Philosophy at Cambridge, focusing mainly on formal logic in later years
You are so cool for that
I have always felt Weber to be a pretty under-rated thinker, especially his thoughts on the "magic" of the world, and how knowledge, beaurocracies and cold pragmatic approach seems to, at some level, dehumanise individuals and communities.
This channel is gonna blow up... love this shit!
That tomato meme is great
GOD DAM BOY! HOW YOU GET SO WISE AND SMART AND HUMBLE ! You must like a reincarnation of all these people you talking about. You well read as a muthafucka! Yea I’m an American. We be reading this shit too Man.
probably the greatest self-help classic. But should we limit ourselves to the ideas of a single person? Not so wise. But we could stick to the classics for a variety of ideas too.
Ah, to hear someone other myself use the term quasi-religious... delightful.
How do you feel about Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power? It does seem patched together with the laws not in any specific, chronological order however there are some interesting insights into human behavior and manipulation. Understanding that there are such behaviors and motives used by individuals helps to understand when someone is manipulating yourself or others IMO.
For the past few years i've been saying:
"Knowledge is ONLY power if you have the wisdom to KNOW how to wield it."
Is that close to what phronesis is?
I could argue that most of the continental philosophies are worth reading, they are all mainly targeted at improving the soul or you could say, 'The Highest Form of Self-Improvement'. From Plato, Stoics, Montaigne, Cicero, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, Camus, Spinoza and you name it.
bro literally speaks like most intellectual british people in the 1800. i love it. bro can probably debate that the earth is flat and win
I recommend the sequel by Aquinas. One of the rare occasion that the sequel is better than the first.
What’s it called?
Only help people who deserve it. If you find out a particular person is a taker instead of a giver leave them.
Avoid being" Suffocated by sympathy", I am probably butchering that quote from Beyond Good and Evil.
Also remember to think for yourself whomever reads this, I'm just a stranger on the internet, I don't know your particular life and the people in it.
My advice is just a tool to be used or not, it's up to the person to use it or not a particular piece of advice is just a tool and like any tool some jobs it's not suited for.
14:28 that’s a Japanese sword in the painting.
“fun fact”
How do you make your thumbnails?
"You can't get better without logic"
Mic drop