This is a rendition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics for contemporary readers. Brief, understandable pieces with a short practice to integrate the wisdom into your life. No philosophical background necessary.
Aristotle draws an analogy between the knowledge required of healers of the body and healers of the soul.
Doctors take the task of knowing the body very seriously. They must know the whole body well even when they just come to heal the eye.
Being a healer of the body is honorable, but even more so is being a healer of the souls.
Those who are involved in the art of treating the soul must know its parts. Hence the leader must contemplate the soul. But the leader ought to contemplate it for the sake of helping others be healthy and well and only up to the point of usefulness. Beyond that is to toil needlessly is such difficult topics.
It’s not enough to just read. You must clothe these ideas in your concrete reality. The following practice will bring some of this wisdom into your life.
Be serious about living well.
Practice:
Write down 3 people you love and care about
For each one write a virtue or excellence they embody
Write down a plan to support or hold space for each person’s excellence