Ergonomics with Aristotle: "The distinctive work of humans, based on our nature, is thus to reason—that is, to think."

"In ancient Greek, 'ergon' means 'work' and 'nomos' means 'law' or 'practice.' Ergonomics, then, is concerned with the 'laws of work.' It takes work for living beings to remain in existence as the kind of beings they are. ...

"Aristotle looks to a living being’s nature to figure out what is good for it. ... the distinctive work of being human ... each person’s most fundamental task is the work of being human. ... What we have in addition to all [the capacities shared by plants and animals] is a rational faculty. The distinctive work of humans, based on our nature, is thus to reason—that is, to think. ...

"Just as a harpist’s work is to play the harp and an excellent harpist’s work is to play that instrument well ... the work of being human—a good or morally excellent human—is to use your rational faculty well. ...

"The reward of such work is a life of 'eudaimonia,' which can roughly be translated as flourishing, happiness, or 'wellness of spirit.'"

~ Carrie-Ann Biondi summarising Aristotle in her post 'Aristotle Put Ergonomics on the Map'