SOURCE: "The Final Good in Aristotle's Ethics," in Aristotle: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by J. M. E. Moravcsik, Anchor Books, 1967, pp. 297-322.

In the following essay, originally written in 1965, Hardie highlights the ambiguity of Aristotle's doctrine of the final good, noting that Aristotle represents the final good as a dominant end, but that he also seems to suggest its inclusive nature. Hardie concludes that the doctrine of the final good centers on man's power to reflect on his abilities and desires and to choose a satisfactory course in life.

Aristotle maintains that every man has, or should have, a single end …, a target at which he aims. The doctrine is stated in NE I 2. 'If, then, there is some end of the things we do which we desire for its own sake (everything else being desired for the sake of this), and if we do not...