Final Blog Post (1-3)
Aristotle on Happiness
Aristotle
tries to discover what is the ‘supreme good for man’, that is, what is the best
way to lead our life and to give it meaning. For Aristotle, a thing is best
understood by looking at its end, purpose, or goal. If one does this for some
time, it soon becomes clear that some goals are subordinate to other goals,
which are themselves subordinate to yet other goals. This could go on and on,
but unless a person has a goal that is an end-in-itself, nothing that that
person does is actually worth doing. What is this goal that is an
end-in-itself? The Supreme Good is happiness. Aristotle believed that in order
to be truly happy, one would require a long life full of experience. That is
why he believed children could not have true happiness, because they were just
beginning their lives and were too young and did not have enough experience and
wisdom to truly understand what happiness was. But what is happiness? For
Aristotle, is by understanding the "distinctive function of a thing that
one can understand its essence. Aristotle believed that humans distinctive
function is their unique ability to reason. Thus the Supreme Good, or
Happiness, is to lead a life that enables us to use and to develop our reason,
and that is in accordance with rational principles."
The Answer should be “No.”
Aristotle
says true happiness comes from gaining insight and growing into your best
possible self. Otherwise all you are having is immediate gratification pleasure
– which is fleeting and does not grow you as a person.
“We
live in deeds, not years; in thoughts not breaths; in feelings, not in figures
on a dial. We should count time by heartthrobs. He most lives who thinks most,
feels the noblest, acts the best.”-Aristotle
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ReplyDeleteYour post is a great reply to the one immediately preceding it. Did you guys coordinate, or was it serendipitous?
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