Virtue And Happiness

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Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue and Happiness

Aristotle emphasizes that happiness as the main purpose of human life and it is the main goal in human life itself. He questions what is the main purpose of human existence without happiness and what is the end goal of all our activities we do in our life? He developed and devoted the topic of happiness more than any thinker in philosophy prior. Aristotle believed that a happy life required the fulfillment that includes a good state of physical and mental well-being. Aristotle’s term for happiness is eudaemonia, which translates closer to “well-being” or “flourishing”. Eudaemonia is not a matter of feeling happy, but being happy from just feeling happy.
Aristotle thought that there was a highest good of human action, which is happiness. He identifies the good in all action with the end toward which the action is directed, if there is an end of all things we do, than this will be essential towards good attainable by human action. He says there is a general agreement that happiness is important to the end of human action, but there is disagreement about what happiness is. The most vulgar of men identify happiness with pleasure -Aristotle believed this to be a slavish life, suitable only for beasts. He considered this slavish because it is controlled by basic pleasures and this lifestyle is beastly because a man who gives his life over satisfying his basic appetites has done nothing to distinguish himself from the ‘lower animals’. The reason why men are ranked above the rest of the animals in life is men have the ability to organize his soul and he is able to recognize himself and derive satisfaction from activities other than securing the basic pleasures. If an individual has done noth...

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...etes our emotional and intellectual natures.
The importance of Aristotle’s theory of virtue and happiness is that happiness serves as the ultimate end and purpose of human existence and we have to understand that happiness is not mere pleasure. Also, we have to be able to recognize that it is not virtue, but it is the exercise and practice of virtue. Happiness is a goal and is not just a temporary state and it cannot be achieved nor obtained until the end of one’s life. Happiness is part of human nature and it depends on reason because as humans we are rational beings. Aristotle makes it clear through his interpretation that happiness depends on developing morals and displaying virtues such as courage, generosity, selflessness, friendship, and justice. Ultimately, acquiring happiness is the realization of our power to act and perform rationally.

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