Aristopean Philosophy On Happy Life

What, then, prevents one from calling happy someone who is active in accord with complete virtue and is adequately equipped with external goods, not for any chance tie but in a complete life? (Nicomachean Ethics 1101a15-17)

According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the necessary goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make choices, some of which may be very difficult. Often the immediate pleasure is more tempting, while the greater good is painful and requires some sort of sacrifices. So a happy life involves developing good character with a strong effort of will to do the right thing, even in difficult situations.

Further,

happiness is being content with simple things in life

Epicurus argues that the greatest secret to happiness is to be as independent of external things as possible. Being content with the simple things in life ensures that you will never be disappointed. He goes to the extent of saying that a person following these ideals ‘will leave as a god among men.’

Exercise thyself in these and kindered precepts day and night, both by thyself and with him who is like unto thee; then never, either in waking or in dream wilt thou be disturbed, but wilt live as a god among men. For man loses all semblance of mortality by living in the midst of immortal blessings. (Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 1925, p. 659)

Going by this conception of happiness, there is no doubt that the philosopher, as proposed by Aristotle, is the happiest of all people, for he chooses the stable pleasures of knowledge over the momentary and fleeting pleasures of the body. Interestingly, with the emphasis laid on the percept with one who is like minded, we find parallel with the Aristotelian observation on the indispensible value of friendship as an important factor facilitating one’s