Aristotle Happiness Summary

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Recommended: Aristotle's idea on happiness

This paper will analyze Aristotle’s view of Happiness from Book 1 chapters 7-12 and Book 10 chapters 1-8 of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
Aristotle greatly believed in virtues, which he asserted led to happiness. The usage of virtues meant to him the action of achieving moderation and balance. Aristotle spoke on the process of achieving happiness that is not based on an emotional state. The idea is only that if a person lives in a given way that reaches his/her full potential through blooming or flourishing, one can display the best and right version of his/her personality and the best that he/she can be. In the world of Aristotle, it was the action of living in moderation and balance that brought the best and the highest level of pleasure. Chp 7-12
Aristotle was clear not to stress the action itself, but to explain how happiness is achieved in the way of life of a given person. It is this particular differentiated way of life that leads to the greatest and most fulfilling long-term value rather than the element of just a passing and fleeting amusement. Aristotle held that contemplation is the highest activity humans could engage in their lifetime. Contemplation, according to Aristotle, is the prime activity that discovers and refines virtues. When contemplation is carried out continuously, it allows a person to reach his/her full potential. It is the activity of the highest power in us, the intellect. It gives the purest and most continuous pleasure, which is absolutely final and ultimate.
Aristotle asks a fundamental question in his personal lectures regarding what could be the ultimate purpose of human existence in this world. Aristotle asks himself what is that goal or the end for which each person should dir...

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...quinas, endeavoring to persuade someone with too much sensitive emotional appeal with the subject matter might leave them sad than happy. This is because emotions have a way of either making someone happy, sad or completely indifferent about a given subject matter.
However, persuading someone with a detached emotional appeal who was not expecting to hear the persuasion might leave him or her happier than before. These two scenarios depict that Aristippus is right on the former Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and also Aquinas is right on how Aristotle influenced his perspective of happiness. Aristotle, Aristippus and Aquinas’s works continues to be translated by modern intellectuals and other established distinguished scholars. However, up to this day, Ostwald has the most inspiring and closely related without many disparities translations of the Nicomachean Ethics.

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