Within Book 1, chapter 7 of The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores the concepts of happiness and human good. He explains how happiness is attained, and by the end of the passage reveals how a person can become good.
Initially, Aristotle claims that every human action is done for some greater goal. These final goals are referred to as “…the good achievable by action” (1097a 23). Those who practise painting for example, do so for the goal of becoming a great painter and the goal of obtaining good though this action. Yet through painting they will also attain happiness. Happiness becomes the greater goal, rather than becoming a good painter, through the action of painting. The final end, the final good, to all human actions is happiness. Aristotle argues that we do not choose actions such as honour and virtue for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of the happiness that they grant us (1097b 5). Now Aristotle also claims that happiness is the most desirable and worthwhile goal to pursue. He also places constraints on happiness, by stating that happiness is final and self-sufficient. (1097b 20). In this case, self-sufficiency is described as “lacking in nothing” (1097b 16), thereby explaining why happiness is so desirable. The finality of happiness simply reiterates the fact that happiness is the
…show more content…
Yet this is seen as a platitude by Aristotle because some people are referred to as good people when they perform their humanly function well (1097b 22-25). For example the function of a painter is to paint well, and that makes a good painter. The function of man is reason. (1098a 4) Therefore a good person will be one who follows reason by exhibiting virtue. (1098 16-17). This adds to the definition of happiness, so that the best of human life is when a person acts with reason and virtue, and as a consequence, that person attains
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that the human good is the soul’s activity that expresses virtue. Aristotle concludes this from an invalid argument. On the one hand I do agree that the activity expressing virtue is a requirement for the human good. But on the other hand, I insist that the human good is a state and not an action. By modifying this argument, I believe we can reach a new conclusion that will help us better understand what Aristotle meant by these concepts.
Other things also play a role, as Aristotle recognizes: “happiness obviously needs the presence of external goods as well” (I 8 1099a30); and “[good fortunes] are required as complementary to a fully human life” (I 10 1100b5). In the next paragraphs, I will explain what Aristotle means by this. External goods are goods external to oneself, that fall outside what we can completely control. For instance: friends, political power, wealth, high birth or children. On Aristotle’s account, some external goods are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for happiness.
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics begins by exploring ‘the good’. Book I argues that, unlike other goods, “happiness appears to be something complete and self-sufficient, and is, therefore, the end of actions” (10:1097b20-21). In other words, happiness is the ultimate good. But how does one achieve happiness? Aristotle formulates this in the context of work, since for all things, from artists to horses, “the good and the doing it well seem to be in the work” (10:1097b27-28).
Many classical philosophers have given their voice to the nature of human life and what entails its climax. The very nature of human beings has been investigated, broadly, to establish a comprehensive understanding often pegged on morality. Yet, such thoughts have prompted diverse viewpoints with accompanying grounds or reasons. Happiness is an unending topic of discussion in philosophy. This paper explores the similarities and differences in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism to coin a position in whether or not happiness is the ultimate end that human society aspires to acquire.
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.
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.
Aristotle is a philosophy whose main goal is to be happy or to find happiness also how you can be a better human bean. Aristotle 's also states that happiness is not what brings us Pleasure or Honor but contemplation. The way Aristotle 's sees pleasure and honor is wrong is because it only brings happiness for a short period. Not only that but everyone has different values and lifestyles that does not comply with everyone 's views of pleasure and honor the same way. Aristotle makes it clear that happiness should already be instilled in our brain, and that it 's not something people should achieve to fill complete or have happiness as a goal.
In the reading, “Virtue," Aristotle argues that humans ultimately want to live a happy and well-lived life (pp. 310-311), and the main way humans achieve this is through virtue (pp. 311-312), which serves as a mean to the extremes of excess and the extreme of deficiency (pp. 315-317). One of the author’s main reasons to support his view is that human happiness is the highest good for all people, but the definition as to what happiness is varies (pp. 310). Aristotle considers virtue an activity of the soul, as it is the means of obtaining happiness (pp.312). Another main reason Aristotle presents to support his view is that people look at those who live a good, virtuous life and emulate those virtuous acts so they too could live a well-lived
Those statements go back to what people constitute for happiness and how people may use higher ends to achieve the supreme good. Aristotle concludes his thought on that subject by stating “if there is an end for all that we do, this will be achievable by action”, meaning everything someone does is used to accomplish good (Aristotle
So everything that we do, every action and decision that we make is in the assumption that there is something “good” to come of it because that is what we are all working and living for. The purpose and the function of our lives is more that just survival in a physical sense but of having a rational soul which means using our reason excellently. The only way for us to achieve true happiness is for us to develop our
A good life is one that provide all the necessary conditions and opportunities for a person to become fully himself or herself, and one in which the person has the character to do so. For Aristotle happiness is quality of life here and now, not something for the hereafter. It is neither material nor entirely spiritual. Happiness is often translated to eudaimonia. Eudaimonia implies being really alive rather than just existing.
In order to do this, we need to 'know thyself ' and become as learned as we can, knowing the good for all, while also being humble. We are all naturally good people, so we must promote the good in the world. According to Aristotle, however, happiness, his goal for all humans is not that easy to obtain. He claims that "happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with virtue (Aristotle, p.12). On the Aristotelian model of how to obtain happiness, it deals a great deal with the issue of particulars.
Sometimes “people are stimulated to develop their virtues and reduce their vices by circumstantial pressures than by philosophical reflection on the conduct proper to a rational creature who respects his own rationality (Scarre p. 11).” Aristotle calls happiness an activity in Book I, meaning that happiness is not an affecting state but a way of living. Happiness is demonstrated not in who we are but in how we act amongst others. Virtue is a disposition meaning that it is a state of being and not an activity. More precisely, virtue is the behavior we demonstrate to lead to a happy
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.