Aristotle and happiness

Rachel Winfrey- H01

Thursday, October 4, 2018

                               Aristotle and Happiness

Aristotle was a very important philosopher not only in the past, but also the present. Many of his ideas and concepts are still important today. One of his most important concepts had to do with happiness and the meaning of life. Even those who ultimately disagree with his ideas about happiness might at least partially agree and adopt some of his beliefs because they can be hard to disagree with. 

            Aristotle recognized the importance of happiness to all humans. He believed that everything we do, we do with the hope that it will bring us happiness. In fact, Aristotle believed the purpose of life was to seek happiness. When most hear this, they probably think this means doing whatever you find pleasurable whether that be eating an entire cake by yourself in one sitting or spending all your money on paper dolls, however, this is not what Aristotle meant. Aristotle believed that the only true way to be happy was to practice virtues, the emphasis being practice. You couldn’t just be a good, virtuous person for a week and be happy. This is why he believed kids couldn’t be happy; they hadn’t lived long enough yet. He believed that virtuous deeds had to become a habit. He once said, “Happiness is an activity.” Happiness was, according to Aristotle, something you worked for and something you continued to practice. In his work, Nicomachaen Ethics, after speaking on how virtue led to happiness, Aristotle says, “But we must add ‘in a complete life’. For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.”

            To achieve true happiness, we must practice virtues. However, to do this you must understand what virtues are. Aristotle derived his definition of virtues from something called the Golden Mean. The Golden Mean was a desirable middle between two extremes, typically excess and deficiency. The example that is commonly used to illustrate this point is the virtue of courage. Courage is a good middle between cowardice and running away from a battle versus being rash and running straight towards the battle without a plan. In order to be happy, Aristotle believed you had to pursue these desirable middle-ground qualities. Aristotle once said, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Ultimately, if you adopt this reasoning, whether or not we are happy is dependent upon each of us as individuals. If you were to adopt this view, you would seek to make the most out of your situation and your previous good deeds would improve your current state as well.

Aristotle believed it was up to each and every one of us if we wanted to be happy. It was dependent on our actions and our virtues. As human beings, we tend to rush to extremes but if we want to be happy and moral people, we need to take the middle ground. Aristotle continually emphasizes how important it is that these good deeds and wholesome activities become habits and something we are continually doing. So, in Aristotle’s view, go do the right thing and be happy.

Quiz:

1. What did Aristotle believe was the purpose of life?

2.  How did Aristotle believe someone could be truly happy?

3. What is the Golden Mean?

4. Who did Aristotle believe happiness depended on?

Discussion Questions:

·     Do you believe seeking happiness is the purpose of life? If not, why?

      ·     Do you think that we can all find happiness doing the same thing?

      ·     Do you think the motive behind everything you do is to be happy?

      ·     According to the Golden Mean, virtues can differ from person to person as each of their extremes can be different. How can this still produce moral qualities?

A quote I really liked from Aristotle but couldn't quite fit in:

 “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”