ARISTOTLE ON THE FINE DEATH

Abstract

Aristotle’s notion of the fine death ( καλὸς θάνατος ) confronts us with a serious difficulty: to what extent is a fine death, which involves dying courageously on the battlefield, consistent with his theory of εὐδαιμονία ? This article responds to the challenge by bringing in two parts of Aristotle’s ethics. It argues (a) that the theory of ‘mixed actions’ in Nicomachean Ethics 3.1 offers us a good model for understanding the choice that the courageous soldier is confronted with; and (b) that the fine death is compatible with εὐδαιμονία on the basis of the discussion of εὐδαιμονία and misfortune in Nicomachean Ethics 1.10.