Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness Shanta Billingslea Happiness is the main focus in life and should always be held most high according to Aristotle. He spends a great deal of time explaining how to achieve this we will see that, Aristotle was sure a genuinely happy life required a combination of many things. Which included physical and mental health? Bringing about a scientific way to look at happiness in its entirety. First off Aristotle says that virtue is achieved by maintaining the Mean, which is the balance between two excesses. For Aristotle the mean was a method of achieving virtue. The main thing to do is try your best to remain at a middle value. Aristotle is one of many world renowned philosophers He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. We don’t have any written words from Aristotle himself but we know for certain that there are lecture notes from his students in which we can gain insight about his teachings. The main question Aristotle asks is” what are we doing here? What’s our purpose in life? What’s the main thing we should be directing all of our energy into? If you look around in society you see people pursuing things they enjoy for pleasure good will achievement wisdoms and so on. But while each thing mentioned as substance is it the ultimate thing to be achieved Aristotle says ok we enjoy money pleasure and material things but why? Because they make us happy therefore happiness must be the ultimate goal to a successful fulfilled life. The Greek word for “happiness” is eudemonia, but to me this word gets lost in translation for American’s happiness is a state of mind happiness is winning the lotto or finding out you got that promotion at work for A... ... middle of paper ... ... to each person’s individual personality traits and flaws,” Aristotle says that some people are born with weaker wills than other it may actually be a mean to run away in a fight In conclusion, according to Aristotle what is happiness? Happiness is the ultimate purpose of existence, it’s not a pleasure or a virtue is the practice of virtue. To get the full effect of happiness it cannot be experienced until one has passed on. Meaning it’s a goal not a temporary thing, it’s the perfection of human nature and since man is rational happiness depends on the exercise of reason you must first acquire moral character then display these virtues and attempt to do your best to balance between the excess and the deficiency. Lastly look within yourself contemplate on who you are and how you live our life remind yourself you can always do more or less whichever is best for you
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), son of a physician to the Macedonian ruler, was a Greek philosopher who studied virtually everything from logic to the sciences to ethics. He spent two decades under Plato’s tutelage in the Academy in Athens, then tutored abroad for twelve years, during which he taught Alexander the Great. He settled down afterwards in Athens and established his own school, the Lyceum. He stayed there until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. caused an increase of anti-Macedonian sentiment, at which point he left the city and died shortly afterwards due to natural causes. Considered one of the most significant and influential figures of Western philosophy, he produced many written pieces, though most have not survived to this day. Many of those that have, however, are still being studied worldwide.
In conclusion, Aristotle’s elucidation of happiness is based on a ground of ethics because happiness to him is coveted for happiness alone. The life of fame and fortune is not the life for Aristotle. Happiness is synonymous for living well. To live well is to live with virtue. Virtue presents humans with identification for morals, and for Aristotle, we choose to have “right” morals. Aristotle defines humans by nature to be dishonored when making a wrong decision. Thus, if one choses to act upon pleasure, like John Stuart Mill states, for happiness, one may choose the wrong means of doing so. Happiness is a choice made rationally among many pickings to reach this state of mind. Happiness should not be a way to “win” in the end but a way to develop a well-behaved, principled reputation.
Teleology can be defined as the search for the end goal, or ultimate purpose of an action. In order to propose the idea that there is an “end goal” in human life, or a further purpose to life, Aristotle introduces teleology. By understanding an action, the end goal can be determined. Aristotle then brings forth the idea that life would be “fruitless” without fulfillment, and that happiness is therefore the end. Aristotle defines happiness as general well-being, or human flourishing. He arrives at this definition by determining that there must be a result , or further purpose to of actions, otherwise life would be fruitless. Aristotle states that happiness as the a chief good is meaningless, and a better definition is needed for the chief
Aristotle, a student of Plato, is known for his contributions in many fields of philosophy, ethics being one of the most prominent. He produced the first methodical and collected ethical system to be produced by an ancient Greek philosopher, found in his book the Nicomachean Ethics. This, along with the less-read Eudemian Ethics, are his ethical accounts that we have today.
Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness? Happiness is often viewed as a subjective state of mind in which one may say they are happy when they are on vacation with friends, spending time with their family, or having a cold beer on the weekend while basking in the sun. However, Aristotle and the Stoics define happiness much differently. In Aristotle’s
Happiness, for Aristotle, is an End in and of itself. "For (Happiness) we choose always for its own sake, and never with a view to anything further." This conception of Happiness is vital, as Aristotle seeks to establish Happiness as the Highest Human Good. For Aristotle, it seems obvious, as even when choosing honor, pleasure, or intellect, we choose them not only for themselves, but also for the Happiness that is derived from them. As an End, Happiness becomes more than a pleasure-state, but a complete notion of fulfillment, and the Good to which all humans strive.
Aristotle feels we have a rational capacity and the exercising of this capacity is the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For this reason, pleasure alone cannot establish human happiness, for pleasure is what animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is to express our desires in ways that are appropriate to our natures as rational animals. Aristotle states that the most important factor in the effort to achieve happiness is to have a good moral character, what he calls complete virtue. In order to achieve the life of complete virtue, we need to make the right choices, and this involves keeping our eye on the future, on the ultimate result we want for our lives as a whole. We will not achieve happiness simply by enjoying the pleasures of the moment. We must live righteous and include behaviors in our life that help us do what is right and avoid what is wrong. It is not enough to think about doing the right thing, or even intend to do the right thing, we have to actually do it. Happiness can occupy the place of the chief good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end, an act must be independent of any outside help in satisfying one’s needs and final, that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else and it must be
Happiness is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. Aristotle's definition of " happiness is happiness is the activity of the soul in accord with perfect virtue. To become a better person, we must practice virtuous acts regularly. After a while, these acts will become a habit and so the virtuous acts. part of our every day life and the person will be leading a virtuous life.
His philosophical theory was very simple and he wanted to teach people how to be happy. He stated “In all our activities there is an end, which we seek for its own sake, and everything else is a means to this end…Happiness is this ultimate end. It is the end we seek in all that we do.” What Aristotle means is that everything we do in our daily activities and actions is all leading up to the end result which is happiness. For example, I work and attend school full time and everything that I do is sub goals leading towards being a successful person which causes me to be happy. Aristotle says happiness is also found in our feelings. A personal example is I love my family and it makes me happy having people to care about and to support them. Sub goals on the way, such as making an A in a class or finishing college and getting a degree are self-awarding pleasures that create happiness. Those are a few examples that make me happy and doing well and succeeding is the key to happiness. For happiness to happen in general, people need to have a reason or virtue in our lives. That everyone has their strong suites about themselves and we need to express and share them with others to help others grow as well. What I understand from Aristotle’s theories of happiness is that our feelings and good actions and being able to control them is what makes us
The pursuit for happiness has been a quest for man throughout the ages. In his ethics, Aristotle argues that happiness is the only thing that the rational man desires for its own sake, thus, making it good and natural. Although he lists three types of life for man, enjoyment, statesman, and contemplative, it is the philosopher whom is happiest of all due to his understanding and appreciation of reason. Aristotle’s version of happiness is not perceived to include wealth, honor, or trivial
The great aristotle once said, “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”.
He stated that “happiness is a life of virtuous activity in accordance with reason”. (Aristotle). The importance of this quote is happiness can neither be gained or lose in a few hours. It is a value of your life measuring up to your full potential as a human being. Aristotle reveals that you should not announce your happiness has been lived until your life has come to an end. It does not just take one day to fulfil happiness it takes time. The secret to achieving most of your happiness is having a good personality. Developing a good personality will require strong effort, you have to wat happiness for all the right reasons. For instance, being addicted to drugs. This is top issue in the world today that is often mistaken as a pain reliever and a way of happiness, but once it’s out of the system everything comes back. We cannot try to substitute real happiness for the knock off brand. Happiness comes from within and help from family. Friends, and
According to Aristotle, “Happiness is an exercise of the vital faculties in accordance with perfect virtue (Arête) or excellence.” In achieving happiness
Happiness is a feeling that cannot be broken if strong enough, no matter how much sadness or hate is around you. Happiness can come from the smallest thing, for instance, music makes me happy and can easily change my mood, or when I am doing something I love my mood is easily changed. For others it could be whenever you do something well, or right and get recognition for it. It is the easiest feeling to be spread and given out but often neglected and forgotten about which is something we should all be more aware
According to Aristotle, the good life is the happy life, as he believes happiness is an end in itself. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle develops a theory of the good life, also known as eudaimonia, for humans. Eudaimonia is perhaps best translated as flourishing or living well and doing well. Therefore, when Aristotle addresses the good life as the happy life, he does not mean that the good life is simply one of feeling happy or amused. Rather, the good life for a person is the active life of functioning well in those ways that are essential and unique to humans. Aristotle invites the fact that if we have happiness, we do not need any other things making it an intrinsic value. In contrast, things such as money or power are extrinsic valuables as they are all means to an end. Usually, opinions vary as to the nature and conditions of happiness. Aristotle argues that although ‘pleasurable amusements’ satisfy his formal criteria for the good, since they are chosen for their own sake and are complete in themselves, nonetheless, they do not make up the good life since, “it would be absurd if our end were amusement, and we laboured and suffered all our lives for the sake of amusing ourselves.”