9 Quotes from Aristotle that Will Change the Way You Think
Aristotle is arguably the greatest philosopher to ever live. He revolutionized our thinking of the law, physics, and ethics. I would say no other man has had a greater impact on Western thought. And to never read his works would be an unforgivable injustice.
I have listed some of the most thought-provoking quotes Aristotle graced us with before he passed some time in the 300s BC. This, by no means, is a comprehensive list, so feel free to add more in the comments!
1. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives — choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
In other words, you are in control of your fate. No matter how much you want to play the victim, you must realize that success is not luck but earned. I like to think about this metaphorically.
If you are an archer and align your arrow to the target, you will hit the board (we are assuming you know what you are doing). So, if you shoot an arrow toward Target A, you will not land on Target B (which is at the opposite end of the field). You land where you aim. In that same vein, you choose your destiny by aiming toward it and working to get there.
2. “Friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror, they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to them, and it is this mirroring that helps them improve themselves as persons.”
There is a saying that goes, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” And Aristotle just explained why. Friendship is about allowing people to judge you so as to offer ways to improve. We are humans. We love to project our issues onto everyone else. So, whatever we most notice in our friends is what we most love/hate about ourselves. Once you recognize those projections, you can take the first steps toward improving yourself.
Do not be afraid to look in the mirror of your friendships and ask yourself what you see in them that is also present in you. Then process the information and use it to grow.
3. “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”
If you are ‘old,’ this still applies. We are habitual creatures (even you spontaneous bunch who pretend you aren’t). Old habits die hard. That is why it is essential to form good habits while you can.
It would help if you had time to adjust to your new standards (e.g., waking up at 6 am every day or working out for 1 hour four times per week). To do that, you need to give yourself room to kill off a bad habit while replacing it with a new one. Atomic Habits by James Clear, which you have undoubtedly heard of by now, is a great place to start.
Aristotle’s point is that you do not want to be so entrenched in your old habits that you are incapable of creating better ones. Your brain is only malleable for so long. Take advantage of it!
4. “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.”
It is easy to condemn the world and those in it. It may be even easier to declare victory over those people you criticize. Their flaws are never-ending. So, it is a simple task to claim the moral high ground and defeat them in that regard.
But having the courage to look within yourself and control your wants is not common. Firstly, you must know the difference between your wants and needs. Given how much fun we have lying to ourselves, this is no walk in the park. Then you must have the discipline to refrain from things not necessary for your survival/success/etc. Now that is damn near impossible.
Our brains love making up excuses for why we should avoid discomfort. And it takes an extraordinary person to fight those survival instincts in favor of self-discipline and integrity.
You will have a much easier time controlling others than controlling yourself. So, Aristotle wisely suggests that any person who can control his mind is far more honorable than a man who can conquer the minds of others.
5. “Man is a goal-seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.”
We see this every day. You need meaning in your life to be motivated enough to act. A man without goals is a man without purpose.
If you do not have something you are working toward, then there is no point working at all. If you do not have a reason or the motivation to work, you will be left in solitude while everyone else chases their dreams.
During that solitude, you will most likely become embittered because you will see the world moving forward as usual while you struggle to get out of bed in the morning (if you even make it that far).
Your goals do not need to be saving the world, but they do need to include some path upward. Whether it is a moral, physical, or intellectual path is up to you. But if you intend to live a good and meaningful life, find an aim to align yourself with it. Mind you, this aim can change as you mature.
6. “No notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases, it strikes the eye.”
Human beings have a high tolerance for evil. Especially when presented incrementally. All the proof you need is the Holocaust.
It started small with the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service of April 7, 1933, which excluded Jews from civil service. There were no formal protests or global outcries of injustice. The law was well below humanity’s pain tolerance for evil.
But then the circumstances worsened until approximately 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Now that “strikes the eye,” as Aristotle would say.
We would do well to call out the beginning stages of evil. We would do even better if we had no tolerance at all.
Aristotle leaves us with a warning message: be careful of what you tolerate because it just might strike you in ways you least expect.
7. “The difference between a learned man and an ignorant one is the same as that between a living man and a corpse.”
Can you be truly alive if you do not understand the world around you? Well, that depends on how you define alive. You can exist, but that does not mean you are “living.” Knowledge is power. But knowledge is also life.
You cannot get anywhere if you shove your head into the sand and pretend everything going on is “totally perfect.” Ignorance may be bliss. But that bliss is just another name for imprisonment.
You cannot be alive if you are imprisoned. And you cannot be free if you are unaware of the world around you.
You must arm yourself with the power of knowledge to live a life worth living.
8. “Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to and therefore does not partake of society is either a beast or a god.”
This is my favorite quote from the man himself. It may even be my favorite philosophical quote of all time.
You can read this metaphorically or literally, and both make perfect sense. For example, suppose someone thinks they are self-sufficient enough to not need society. In that case, they are either an animal incapable of social interaction or a gift from the heavens that is too great for us mere mortals.
And for that person in question, both descriptions would be accurate. While they viewed themselves as an almighty god, others would see them as uncivilized ogres.
Now, if you read it literally, Aristotle’s words do not lose their meaning. Only a naturally antisocial creature (e.g., bears or leopards) can survive in the wild alone. Since they are not hardwired to rely on others, these creatures will not only survive but thrive in such an environment.
Similarly, if a god came down from heaven, he would not need “community” to survive. For all we know, he created us so he would, by definition, not need us. It would be the other way around.
Moral of the story: you cannot go through life alone because you were not built to do so. You need a community, a friend group, a family to flourish in this lifetime. So, have the courage to show people who you are despite the possibility of rejection because there is someone out there meant to be in your life. And it is your job to find them.
9. “No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world.”
What’s the point of making it to the top if you have nobody to share it with? According to Aristotle, there would be no point.
As we saw in the previous quote, man is a social creature. He needs a community in which he is accountable and willingly partakes. Humans find meaning in relationships with other humans.
Maybe it is the tribal gene in us, or maybe it is something else. Nonetheless, humans require bonds with others to have a purposeful existence.
No amount of money will make you happy if you do not have anyone to share the experience with.
Loneliness is a far colder hell than success is a cozy heaven.
So do not sacrifice your relationships (to the point of no repair) to achieve success. This does not mean you should not make sacrifices to excel toward your goals. This only means that you must be aware of when your dreams have taken over your life and left no room for your relationships.
Final Thoughts
All these quotes point back to one central idea: you must know yourself to live well.
Aristotle championed courage as the ultimate virtue and believed you should too. So be courageous enough to know yourself and fix the parts of you that are not perfect (which is almost every part).
Be self-aware enough to know your flaws and limitations, then push past them.
A life not aiming toward some level of improvement is a meaningless life. And only you can choose which life you are destined to live.
