ABSTRACT
This chapter sketches a way of defending chastity as a secular virtue, presuming a broadly Aristotelian viewpoint. Famously, Aristotle is known for insisting that the supreme good achievable in action is eudaimonia, typically translated as happiness, which is equivalent to living and acting well. Richard Kraut notes that it is a contested issue whether eudaimonia consists in one good alone or a composite of intrinsically desirable goods or ends. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle says people may grasp what practical wisdom is by considering the sort of people describe as practically wise. Aristotle claims that the possessor of practical wisdom knows what living well consists in, both with respect to oneself and in general. Arguably, nutritious and adequate amounts of food, a safe environment and adequate shelter, an economically prosperous and politically stable community, educational and economic opportunities, and some intimate friends are among the kinds of goods that are good for people in general.
