---
title: "Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Virtue & Eudaimonia"
description: "Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics defines virtue as a mean between excess and deficiency, with eudaimonia as the goal. A core GS4 text on character-based ethics."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/aristotle-nicomachean-ethics"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is a tenth-century-BCE treatise on virtue ethics arguing that human flourishing (eudaimonia) is achieved through habituated moral virtue guided by practical wisdom.
- What is the doctrine of the golden mean in the Nicomachean Ethics?
- How does eudaimonia differ from the ordinary idea of happiness?
- How does Aristotle's virtue ethics differ from Kantian deontology and utilitarianism?
- Why is the Nicomachean Ethics relevant to civil services and public administration?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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