The
Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to
Aristotle's best-known work on
ethics. The work, which plays a pre-eminent role in defining
Aristotelian ethics, consists of ten books, originally separate scrolls, and is understood to be based on notes from his lectures at the
Lyceum. The title is often assumed to refer to his son,
Nicomachus to whom the work was dedicated or who may have edited it (although his young age make this less likely). Alternatively, the work may have been dedicated to his father, who was also called Nicomachus.