Aristotle's Pursuit Of Happiness

Socrates: Hello, my name is Socrates. I was a classical Greek philosopher who is known as the founder of western philosophy. I was born around 470 BC in the Athens and died about the age of 71 in 399 BC. My main interests are in epistemology and ethics, I was Plato’s teacher and most of my discussions are shown through Plato's dialogues. Moving on, today’s topic is about happiness. What is happiness? What does it mean to be truly happy? How does one achieve happiness? And many more questions about the topic happiness that will be answered today by the philosophers Aristotle and John Stuart Mill. Lets start with Aristotle, please introduce yourself.

Aristotle: Hello, my name is Aristotle and I am here to speak about my perspective on what

is happiness. Before I begin, here's a bit about me. I am a Greek philosopher and scientist that was born in 384 BC in Northern Greece. My writings mainly talk about physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics and there's so much more I talk about. I was a former student of Plato but immersed myself in empirical studies after he died. I died at the age of sixty-two in 322 BC in Greece.

Socrates: So, Aristotle, can you tell us what happiness means ?

Aristotle: As I stated before in my Nicomachean Ethics theory and many other of my work, my definition of happiness is an activity of the soul that is in accordance with virtue. Happiness is the function of man who is able to live a certain kind of life and the way he lives his life implies a rational principle, and the function of a good man is the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed, it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence ! if this is the case, then the soul is in accordance with virtue, making the good man achieve happiness.

Socrates: What is the purpose of happiness ?

Aristotle: Happiness is the central purpose of human life and a goal itself. Happiness is the find end: the totality of one's life. Many think that happiness comes from pleasure, but happiness is not something that is a pleasurable sensation which can be gained or lost within a short period of time, it's the ultimate value of one's life. Everything one achieves in life as a goal, leads up to the only goal in life which is happiness. It measures how well one has lived up to his full potential as a human being.

Socrates: How does one achieve happiness ?

Aristotle: I believe that in order to achieve happiness, one has to have a good moral character. Happiness is achieved throughout one's life time. In order to achieve the complete virtue and live a life of happiness, one must make the right decisions in life, think about his/her future and what they really want to achieve in their life as a whole; their ultimate goal. Happiness is much more complex than being a pleasurable sensation, it involves the complete virtue of life which is more complex then just enjoying a moment for a short period of time. As I stated before, in order to achieve happiness one must act in accordance with virtue and strive to possess all of them.

Socrates: Can you explain why you believe that happiness cannot be a pleasurable sensation?

Aristotle: Certainly.

I believe that happiness this the end goal for every human being. Everything that is worked for and achieved in one's life such as pursuing a good education, wealth, career success, good family and friends and good health altogether makes up happiness, the ultimate end goal. Something that lasts a few moments and gives one pleasure within that time is not happiness, happiness lasts a lifetime not a day or so. Pleasure is different in the sense that, it is not worked for, someone telling one joke will give that person hearing the joke pleasure, but happiness is a long-term goal that ensures that one has succeeded in life and reached his/her potential. I also believe that, this is the very thing that can stop someone from achieving happiness. When one believes that the pleasure they feel on a hot sunny day or when they are having a good time to be happiness, it takes them away from their goals, blinding them from achieving true happiness.Many view happiness with a subjective state of mind but the truth is that happiness is the same for all, it is everyone's end goal. No one can truly achieve happiness until their lives are over and they have succeeded and are satisfied with reaching their goals. Instant gratification comes with long-term pain, to explain this further, pleasure is a short term feeling that differs from happiness and will bring pain along with it. Since happiness cannot be achieved until one has passed over, it is a goal not a temporary

feeling hence the reason why happiness cannot be a pleasurable sensation.

Socrates: What are things that make up happiness, would you say?

Aristotle: Goals, life time goals and fulfilling them makes happiness. Receiving a good education, having a rational life plan, maintaining good relationships such as friendship bonds or family bonds is an important part of happiness as well as the golden virtue which includes all the other virtues such as courage, justice, honesty, etc. Being a good, moral citizen who makes the right decisions is a key way to attain happiness.

Socrates: Thank you Aristotle, for sharing your views on happiness with us. Now let's see what a different philosopher has to say about the same topic, what is happiness ? but before we begin lets get to know a bit about him. Welcome John Stuart Mills.

John: Hi, my name as Socrates mentioned before is John Stuart Mills. I was born on May 20th 1806 and died May 8th 1878. I was an English philosopher, political economist, a feminist and so forth. I was an influential contributor to social theory, political theory and political economy and was known as the most influential English speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century for my work. I am a supporter of utilitarianism and studied that during my time being. Interesting fact about me is, I was a Member of Parliament . I worked in the liberal party and became an important political philosophy figure.

Socrates: So John, what is happiness to you?

John: Happiness to me is please and the absence of pain. Happiness is the sole end of human action. Happiness is partly about the quality of our pleasures. Pleasures and pain are not equally important, some pleasures are higher than pleasures and pains creating what is called human happiness.

Socrates: How can some pleasures be "higher" than others?

John: To make a pleasure more valuable than the others, people have to prefer it more. People have to want that pleasure even if it can bring pain along with it. I believe that as long as one's basic needs are met, the pleasure is already more valuable, some of these pleasures are known as thought, feelings and imagination. Now although, these higher pleasures can also bring pain, boredom, dissatisfaction, the quality of the higher pleasures brings happiness.

Socrates: What makes up happiness? How does one become happy?

John: One's achievement of goals and virtues living should be counted as their happiness.

Happiness is based off of morality and it is a desire that everyone uses as the main goal in life. All the other desires such as wealth, good health, good friends and family, etc. that people have lead up to the one desire which is happiness.

Socrates: Interesting, you also believe that happiness is the foundation of justice correct?

John: Yes I do believe that happiness is the foundation of justice.

Socrates: Why is that ? What makes you believe that happiness is the reason to why justice exists ?

John: Well to answer your question, I stated before that happiness is based off of morality, one's actions to make the right decisions which becomes the foundation of justice. The sentiment of justice is actually based on utility, which is happiness. When one makes decisions based off of their morals and try to do the right thing, justice is created. When making choices that would lead one to happiness, it also leads that person to make peaceful acts. Therefore, happiness is the foundation of justice.

Socrates: Well thank you for sharing your views on the topic of happiness. While I think you and Aristotle did a great job expressing your opinions and it makes a great lessons, I do however believe that one cannot truly know the mean of

happiness.