"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim"
About this Quote
The subtext is polemical. Against Plato’s otherworldly Forms and against the Sophists’ rhetorical relativism, Aristotle insists on immanent, worldly teleology: meaning is baked into practices. Medicine aims at health; shipbuilding aims at seaworthiness; politics, more controversially, aims at a collective good. That "rightly been declared" nods to common belief while quietly upgrading it into philosophical infrastructure. He doesn’t need to prove that people chase goods; he needs you to notice that chasing goods is the only way actions become intelligible.
Context matters: Athens is a city where public life, education, and civic power are tangled, and where "the good" is a practical question with real stakes. Aristotle’s move sets up his central tension: if everyone aims at some good, why do our aims collide, and why do we so often pick badly? The opening line is less reassurance than a challenge: define the highest good clearly, or you’ll spend your life sprinting efficiently toward the wrong finish line.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle, -350)
Evidence: Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. (Book I, Chapter 1 (Bekker 1094a1–3)). This is the opening sentence of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (Book 1, Chapter 1), traditionally cited by Bekker numbers 1094a1–3. The wording you provided matches the standard English translation by W. D. Ross (commonly reprinted; Ross’ translation is often associated with early 20th-century Oxford/Clarendon editions). The original work itself dates to antiquity (commonly placed around the 4th century BCE; the MIT Classics page labels it “Written 350 B.C.E.”). Other candidates (1) Ethics With Aristotle (Sarah Broadie Professor of Philosophy..., 1991) compilation99.0% ... Every art and every inquiry , and similarly every action and choice is thought to aim at some good ; and for this... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Aristotle. (2026, February 27). Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/every-art-and-every-inquiry-and-similarly-every-29215/
Chicago Style
Aristotle. "Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim." FixQuotes. February 27, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/every-art-and-every-inquiry-and-similarly-every-29215/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim." FixQuotes, 27 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/every-art-and-every-inquiry-and-similarly-every-29215/. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
