The Nicomachean Ethics is only intended as a guide for politicians, and they are only concerned to know what is good, not what goodness means...and in any case one can know what things are good without knowing the analysis of 'good' --J.L. Austin, Philosophical Papers, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford, 1979) 22.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Ethics guides action rather than defining abstract goodness.
- In plain terms
- Focus on what is good not what goodness means.
- What can you take from it?
- Use ethics to act, not to define.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can you be good without knowing why?
- Does theory help action?
Another view
Understanding definitions can prevent harmful actions.
More from J. L. Austin
Why should it not be the whole function of a word to denote many things? --Austin, Papers 38.
Permalink to quote #2 In one sense 'there are' both universals and material objects, in another sense there is no such thing as either: statements about each can usually be analysed…
Permalink to quote #3 But surely, speaking carefully, we do not sense 'red' and 'blue' any more than 'resemblance' (or 'qualities' any more than 'relations'): we sense something of …
Permalink to quote #4
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