{"id":73,"date":"2021-03-23T13:51:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T13:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/chapter\/4-we-wish-for\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:22:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:22:31","slug":"4-we-wish-for-the-end","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/chapter\/4-we-wish-for-the-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 4: Do we wish for what is good or for what seems good?"},"content":{"raw":"That we wish for the end or goal we're trying to achieve has already been stated. But some people think we wish for the good, while others think we for the apparent good.\r\n\r\nNow those who say that the good is the object of wish have to admit this as a consequence: When someone does not make a good choice, what he wishes for is not a object of a wish at all. For if it were the object of a wish, it would also be good. But in the case we're talking about, the object of the person's wish is bad, since the person made a bad choice instead of a good one.\r\n\r\nIn contrast, those who say the apparent good is the object of a wish must admit that [20]<\/sub> there is no natural object of a wish, but only what seems good to each person. Now different things seem good to different people. In fact, even contrary things appear good to different people, if it so happens.\r\n\r\nIf these results are unsatisfying, are we to say that without qualification and in truth the good is the object of a wish, but for each person the object of wish is the apparent good? Whereas what is really an object of wish is what appears as the object of wish to the good person, while any random thing [25]<\/sub> might appear good to the bad person? After all this is how we think about health in the case of bodies. The sorts of foods and activities that are healthy for people in a good condition are what really healthy, whereas for people who are sick, different foods or activities will be healthy, and the same goes for what is bitter or sweet, hot or heavy, and so on. For the good person discerns each thing correctly, and what is true is what appears to him to be true. [30]<\/sub>\r\n\r\nFor each state of character has its own ideas of what is noble and what is pleasant. And perhaps the good person differs from others most by seeing the truth in each case, since the good person is, as it were, the norm and measure of things.\r\n\r\nIn the case of most people, however, error seems to creep in because of pleasure, which [often] appears to be something good, when it is really not. People, therefore, tend to choose what is pleasant as if it were good, [1113b1]<\/sub> and avoid pain as if it were bad.","rendered":"

That we wish for the end or goal we’re trying to achieve has already been stated. But some people think we wish for the good, while others think we for the apparent good.<\/p>\n

Now those who say that the good is the object of wish have to admit this as a consequence: When someone does not make a good choice, what he wishes for is not a object of a wish at all. For if it were the object of a wish, it would also be good. But in the case we’re talking about, the object of the person’s wish is bad, since the person made a bad choice instead of a good one.<\/p>\n

In contrast, those who say the apparent good is the object of a wish must admit that [20]<\/sub> there is no natural object of a wish, but only what seems good to each person. Now different things seem good to different people. In fact, even contrary things appear good to different people, if it so happens.<\/p>\n

If these results are unsatisfying, are we to say that without qualification and in truth the good is the object of a wish, but for each person the object of wish is the apparent good? Whereas what is really an object of wish is what appears as the object of wish to the good person, while any random thing [25]<\/sub> might appear good to the bad person? After all this is how we think about health in the case of bodies. The sorts of foods and activities that are healthy for people in a good condition are what really healthy, whereas for people who are sick, different foods or activities will be healthy, and the same goes for what is bitter or sweet, hot or heavy, and so on. For the good person discerns each thing correctly, and what is true is what appears to him to be true. [30]<\/sub><\/p>\n

For each state of character has its own ideas of what is noble and what is pleasant. And perhaps the good person differs from others most by seeing the truth in each case, since the good person is, as it were, the norm and measure of things.<\/p>\n

In the case of most people, however, error seems to creep in because of pleasure, which [often] appears to be something good, when it is really not. People, therefore, tend to choose what is pleasant as if it were good, [1113b1]<\/sub> and avoid pain as if it were bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-73","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":66,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":936,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/73\/revisions\/936"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/66"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/73\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}