Book 1 / Chapter 1
Paragraph 1 - The Aims of Arts and Actions
Explanation - Part By Part
"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim."
Aristotle is saying that everything humans do—whether it's a skill, a profession, an investigation, or simply pursuing something in life—is done with some kind of goal in mind. These goals, he argues, always aim toward something considered "good." For him, the idea of "good" is simply whatever people are striving for or valuing as worthwhile. That's why it's logical to think of "the good" as the ultimate aim or purpose behind all things we do.
"But a certain difference is found among ends; some are activities, others are products apart from the activities that produce them."
Aristotle is pointing out that the goals or "ends" we aim for can take on two different forms. Some goals are about doing the activity itself—the process is the purpose. For example, enjoying music or dancing might be valued simply for the experience of doing them. Other goals, though, are about producing something beyond the activity. In these cases, the activity serves as a means to create a separate product or outcome—like building a house or crafting a piece of art.
In essence, he's distinguishing between two types of ends: those that are activities in themselves and those that lead to some kind of external result.
"Where there are ends apart from the actions, it is the nature of the products to be better than the activities."
Aristotle is pointing out that sometimes the goal (or "end") of an action is separate from the action itself. When this happens, the result or product of the action tends to be viewed as more valuable than the process of doing the action.
For instance, if you're building a chair, the physical chair—the product—is considered more important than the act of woodworking itself. The action (woodworking) is just a means to get to the end goal (the chair). This distinction emphasizes the idea that our actions often derive their value from the outcomes they achieve.
"Now, as there are many actions, arts, and sciences, their ends also are many; the end of the medical art is health, that of shipbuilding a vessel, that of strategy victory, that of economics wealth."
Aristotle is pointing out that every field of activity or discipline—whether it's medicine, shipbuilding, military strategy, or managing finances—has a specific goal it aims to achieve. For example, the goal of medicine is to promote health, the goal of shipbuilding is to produce a functioning ship, the goal of strategy is to achieve victory, and the goal of economics is to generate or manage wealth. These goals, or "ends," give purpose and direction to each respective field.
"But where such arts fall under a single capacity- as bridle-making and the other arts concerned with the equipment of horses fall under the art of riding, and this and every military action under strategy, in the same way other arts fall under yet others- in all of these the ends of the master arts are to be preferred to all the subordinate ends; for it is for the sake of the former that the latter are pursued."
Aristotle is pointing out that some skills or arts are interconnected and serve a larger, overarching purpose. For example, making bridles (the headgear for horses) is part of a larger goal: riding horses. Riding, in turn, might serve an even larger goal, such as military strategy. So, the master art—in this case, strategy—is considered more important than the smaller, specialized arts (like bridle-making or riding), because all these smaller tasks exist for the sake of serving that higher-level goal. Everything is organized hierarchically, with the "master purpose" being what truly gives meaning to the smaller ones.
"It makes no difference whether the activities themselves are the ends of the actions, or something else apart from the activities, as in the case of the sciences just mentioned."
Aristotle is saying here that it doesn't actually matter whether the goal (or "end") we are aiming for is found in the activity itself (like some kind of experience or process we value for its own sake) or separate from the activity (like a product or result we create through what we're doing). His point is that in both cases, every action, art, or pursuit is aiming at some kind of "good"—and this "good" can either be the action itself (if we value doing it for its own sake) or the outcome it produces (if we value a resulting product or result, like health from medicine or a ship from shipbuilding).