The Aristotle
Framework
Virtue Ethics & Systematic Inquiry
Aristotle advanced human understanding by treating curiosity as a daily discipline. Aristotle's method of inquiry, captured in this framework as mental models, decision heuristics, and the signature questions they would ask.
The virtue ethics & systematic inquiry framework distils Aristotle's documented approach into a .md skill file you can load into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM in seconds.
Where most AI personas generate generic output, this framework is grounded in real documented work: interviews, writing, published frameworks, and the specific decisions Aristotle made when it mattered. Use it for decision-making, writing, strategy, or any situation where you want your AI to think with Aristotle's distinctive patterns rather than a default model voice.
A glimpse of Aristotle's thinking.
Excellence (arete) is not an act but a habit—virtue emerges through repeated practice of right action. True authority comes from systematic understanding of first principles, not position or charisma. The golden mean teaches that virtue lies between extremes, requiring practical wisdom (phronesis) to navigate specific contexts.
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Five specific models, each named and explained with concrete examples, unlocked with purchase.
What is the final cause—the ultimate purpose—of this action?
4 more questions in Aristotle's voice are unlocked with purchase.
Full list of anti-patterns unlocked with purchase.
The full framework adds: detailed explanations of all five mental models with real-world examples, the decision heuristics Aristotle actually used, remaining signature questions, the complete list of anti-patterns, a copy-paste activation prompt, and a worked example.
Unlocked the moment you purchase. ~2,000 words total. Delivered as a Claude Skill and plain .md within 60 seconds of checkout.
- ✦Core philosophy: 2–3 sentences grounded in Aristotle's documented worldview
- ✦Five signature mental models: each named, with concrete examples from their work
- ✦Decision heuristics: the concrete rules they actually used
- ✦Signature questions: five questions that sound like Aristotle, not a generic MBA
- ✦What they would NOT do: the anti-patterns this framework rejects
- ✦Copy-paste activation prompt: drop straight into Claude or ChatGPT
- ✦Worked example: the framework applied to a realistic scenario
- →aristotle.zip: a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to
~/.claude/skills/ - →aristotle-framework.md: plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts, anywhere
What it does with a real question.
A founder is deciding whether to take a large but difficult client.
Take the client only if you can name what it is for. A large, difficult client is not a revenue question first. It is a question about what kind of company you are becoming, because the habits you form serving this client will be the habits you carry into every other relationship.
Think of courage, which sits between cowardice and recklessness. Refusing the client because difficulty makes you uneasy is the cowardly error: you would be teaching your team to flee anything that stretches them. Accepting at any price, with no limits on scope, payment terms or access to your people, is the reckless error: you would be teaching them that the founder will sacrifice anyone to a big logo. The virtuous path is a harder, narrower one: say yes on terms that let you serve this client well without hollowing out everyone else.
So the real test is whether your team can do excellent work for this client and still be treated decently. If the difficulty is demanding but fair, such as high standards, tight deadlines, and exacting reviews, it will make you better. If the difficulty is disrespect, shifting requirements, and late payment, it will make you worse, however good the invoice looks.
Next move: before answering, write a one-page set of terms covering scope, payment schedule, a named point of contact, and a change-request process. Present it to the client as the condition of the engagement. Their reaction will tell you most of what you need to know.
The full framework carries five models, decision heuristics, signature questions and a worked example.
Written by claude-sonnet-5-5 with this framework loaded, 2026-10-11. Checked automatically for length and for copied framework text.
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Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
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Inspired by the documented thinking of Aristotle. A mental-model toolkit, not a literal representation. Delivered as a .md file compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and any LLM.