ipl-logo

Aristotle Happiness

484 Words2 Pages

According to Aristotle, happiness is the ultimate goal that everyone seeks. “Happiness is of all things the one most desirable, and it is not counted as one good thing among many others” (p. 51). He explains that people have a different interpretation of what happiness really is, he explains that everyone believes to be happy by “living well” and “doing well.” However, Aristotle states in page 58 that “happiness is a certain activity in the soul in conformity with perfect virtue” and only certain people can obtain happiness and this is only if they perform noble actions. “Nobody would call a man just who does not enjoy acting justly, nor generous who does not enjoy generous actions” (p. 54). And if an individual performs noble actions towards others then they can reach happiness, but only if those actions are performed with the “help of instruments, as it were: friends, wealth, and political power” (p.54). Aristotle explains that happiness consists in living in accordance with reason. Aristotle, “first starts by explaining that the “soul consists of two elements, one irrational and one rational” (p.58). Then on page 59 he states that “in morally strong and morally weak men we …show more content…

68). In book VIII, Aristotle explains the importance of friendship and the meaning of a real friend, “those who wish for their friends’ good for their friends’ sake are friends in the truest sense, since their attitude is determined by what their friends are and by incidental considerations” (p. 66). Besides describing different friendships, he also explains that the way we love our friends and our feelings towards our friends is the same love and feelings we have towards ourselves. “when a good man becomes a friend he becomes a good to the person whose friend he is. Thus, each partner both loves his own good and makes an equal return in the good he wishes for his partner and in the pleasure he gives him” (p.

Show More
Related

  • Friendship In 'Of Mice And Men And The Kite Runner'

    994 Words  | 4 Pages

    Aristotle’s perspective on friendship for pleasure is clearly illustrated

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Aristotle And Martin Seligman

    908 Words  | 4 Pages

    At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.

    Read More

  • Definition Essay: What Does Happiness Means To Me

    1399 Words  | 6 Pages

    Happiness can be defined in many different ways depending on who you are talking to. To me, it can be found listening to my favorite music with the volume turned all the way up. Through this experience I am able to immerse myself in something I truly love and be a be a better, lighter version of myself. For some, happiness is living in the moment and experiencing life as it passes, but for others it means living a life of virtue. Though happiness may look different for everyone, it is something that everyone is striving for.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Aristotle And The Pursuit Of Happiness Essay

    268 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the contrary with Aristotle, right off the bat he says that most people will not reach true happiness. When one knows off the top that they will not accomplish something, one of two things will happen. They will either give up or they will push or work even harder. The question then changes for Aristotle from what is happiness, to will enough people challenge themselves enough to reach for the impossible? It is those people that push themselves harder that will reach true happiness.

    Read More

  • Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Argument

    1210 Words  | 5 Pages

    Thus, when human function is done well, it is in accordance with virtue and best human life is achieved. In addition, it can be inferred that since Aristotle’s definition of happiness is to be virtuous, performing rational activity well can lead to happiness. In addition, Aristotle states, “if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete” (1098a18). This means that eventually there will be one virtue that is inclusive of all virtue and that displays an end, and this virtue will be in line with the self-sufficient and inclusive concept of happiness as the chief good. If this inclusive virtue and good is achieved, ultimate happiness will be achieved as well.

    Read More

  • John Locke's Argument Essay: The Pursuit Of Happiness

    753 Words  | 4 Pages

    A study conducted by San Francisco State University was that money does have a factor on one´s happiness. But what the money is being spent on is not material objects, instead it is experiences that are being bought. One of the experiences that the students at the college purchased was a meal out. Now what a meal out gives a person is a feeling of activity in one's life and having social contracted with someone else, which a material possession would not be able to do. What this experience also provides is a memory which one might never forget because they had such a good time.

    Read More

  • Happiness In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

    1087 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.

    Read More

  • Aristotle's Ethical Virtue

    160 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “Ethical Virtue,” Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle demonstrates, and elaborates on the virtues of intellect and ethics, in order to fulfill happiness. The difference between the both, is that intellectual virtue grows from teachings and experience throughout time, and ethical virtue come from habits (493). “Thus the kinds of habits we form from early childhood are of no small importance; they matter a great deal - indeed, they make all the difference…” (494). In other words, one must exercise what they acquire, or learn, so by doing just things one becomes just. Furthermore, if one wishes to achieve happiness, they must aim at what is intermediate, meaning that virtue is a mean.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Aristotle And Whiting

    186 Words  | 1 Pages

    Whiting uses some empirical psychological reasons to demonstrate Aristotle’s point of treating friend in a way of “how we in fact are” instead of “how we ought to be.” One is the idea of the “ethical selection”, in which people maintain their positive self-image by doing things that are morally true but not how valuable they are. Whiting mentions when people face a dissonance in their cognition, like when their belief is not consistent with their behavior, they would either change their behavior or opinion to avoid this dissonance. Therefore, there may be inevitable factors which play a role on how we treat our friend and how we think we should treat them, leading to a somewhat self-deception in a way of deceiving ourselves and our friends

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Aristotle And Utilitarianism

    1413 Words  | 6 Pages

    It is critical to recognize Mill’s argument that a degree of contentment can exist in periods of less happiness. However, Aristotle’s view of perceiving wellbeing or goodness as ultimate is more pronounced. Worth emphasizing, Aristotle deeply explores his arguments basing them on functions of a rational man and virtues out of habits. Today, a virtuous citizen is one whose actions are inward, in response to conscience and moral obligations as a member of society. Such a person, not waivered with intensities of pleasures, honor, and wealth but seeks to have a satisfactory level of happiness with friends, co-workers, and family among other

    Read More

  • Aristotle Just And Unjust Analysis

    1082 Words  | 5 Pages

    Aristotle, on the other hand, had a much more positive outlook on the applicability of his political theory. In many ways, his ideal ideology would look much like Plato’s, although with a more guided and empirical approach. Aristotle, like Plato, argued that the state was not only necessary, but essential to the happiness of its people, because the state was the only means by which the city could achieve happiness. According to Aristotle, “the best good is apparently something complete” and likewise, that “happiness more than anything else seems complete without qualification” (Nicomachean Ethics, 205) and “everyone aims at living well and at happiness” (Politics, 315). Furthermore, he argued that “happiness is an activity of the soul expressing

    Read More

  • Utilitarian And Kantian View Of Virtue Ethics

    897 Words  | 4 Pages

    In other word, a goal with lower priority can be a method to achieve a goal with higher priority. In Aristotle’s viewpoint, happiness means the supreme good among other virtues, being the ultimate goal that human-beings pursue. Hence happiness cannot be an optional

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Globalization In The Philippines

    1154 Words  | 5 Pages

    For Aristotle, happiness is the end and purpose of human existence. To pursue happiness is to go for telos. Happiness is neither pleasure nor virtue, but an exercise of virtue. Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one’s life. Hence, it is a goal not a temporary state.

    Read More

  • Aristotle Good Life Analysis

    1839 Words  | 8 Pages

    In this essay, I will be discussing Aristotle’s conception of the “good life” which he outlined in the Nicomachean Ethics. As we will see, the “good life” for man according to Aristotle is one where we perform the particular activity which is distinctly ours and guides us towards eudaimonia – sometimes translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘well-being’. He shows us how the other conflicting depictions of the ‘good life’ are misguided, and how we should aim for a life of reason. First, however, I will discuss briefly what Aristotle meant by the term ‘good’ and then move on to how he arrived at the conclusion on human happiness. Aristotle believes that the ‘good life’ for a particular organism depends on what that organism is and the conditions it requires

    Read More

  • Aristotle: Justice And Happiness

    1108 Words  | 5 Pages

    Philosophers have debated the distinct subjects such as justice and happiness extensively. For instance, Plato discusses the subject of justice by arguing that justice is what allows people to live excellently. In contrast, Aristotle discusses happiness by arguing that acquiring virtues enables people to achieve the ultimate goal of happiness. What is the meaning of the terms justice and happiness? The term happiness could be elucidated as a satisfaction from goals achieved or from one’s status.

    Read More

More about Aristotle Happiness

Open Document