Most ancient Greek thought about the nature of human life was governed by two fundamental assumptions and these are the basis of Aristotle's approach to the study of ethics:
-
That human life is comprehensible only when conceived of as being directed toward some end or good, and that it can be interpreted by a categorization of ends and means. In the sense that human life is thought to contain an ideal element, most Greek moral philosophy, including Aristotle's, is idealistic. Since Aristotle's moral system is concerned with determining ultimate causes and ends it can also be considered teleological.
-
That the end toward which all practical human activity is directed is definable in advance of its realization. This takes moral knowledge out of the realm of abstraction and speculation, and gives it great practical importance as a code for personal life and a guide for the organization and administration of the political state.
