Aristotle and Happiness
What is the point of life? Happiness? Virtue? Power? All of these? The ancient Greek philosophers would have pushed us gently in the direction of virtue, although they would also have argued that both happiness and power derive from virtue and so the quest for a fulfilled life does not have to be seen in terms of a trade-off between doing good and doing well. This paper examines the perspective that Aristotle brings to bear on the (for Greeks) twinned concepts of happiness and virtue.
Aristotle's contributions to modern philosophy are substantial: He along with Plato was one of the two greatest intellectuals of ancient Greece, a civilization that produced hundreds of important intellectuals. Perhaps more even than Plato, the other most important Greek philosopher, helped to guide the course of Western philosophy (as well as science) as well as in many ways Islamic thought. Through the beginnings of modernism in the 17th century it is little if any exaggeration to say that Western philosophical thought about such important epistemological issues such as virtue were a reflection of Aristotle's original writings. If the Western world has in a number of ways diverted from Aristotle's model of virtue and its links to happiness since then, his original ideas still serve as the underpinnings of much of what we believe. Aristotelian ideas are so fundamentally integrated into our ideas about the good life and the worthy life that we may not even consciously be aware of them One of the most important of all questions for the classical Greek philosophers was how to define virtue: This is true not only of Aristotle but of many of his contemporaries. However, when we read Aristotle, we see this idea is almost a consuming passion of his. While we should not assume that Aristotle was not in fact a man very much concerned with doing the right thing and being a good person, we must also bear in mind that for a philosopher like Aristotle the concept of virtue was a much broader area of concern - as well as action in the world - than the term is for us today. Virtue today tends to be rather narrowly defined and often carries with it the connotation...
Aristotle, happiness and pleasure was moderation and a middle action between two vices. . So, for example, modesty would be a virtue as it comes between two extremes or vices; egotism and low self-esteem. Another example would be working sensibly. The two vices of working would be overworking and laziness. The middle option would be working sensibly. This, according to Aristotle, is the correct choice of action. He said
Both of these are thus translated through Aristotle's health component in his enumeration of elements that could make a person happy. One's health will be affected if the toilets at work are dirty, as well as if the working conditions do not ensure the physical security of the individual. This means that when applying for a job, the individual will look first of all at these elements before deciding whether
Aristotle At the very beginning of Book I Chapter XIII, Aristotle states that "happiness is a certain activity of soul in conformity with perfect virtue" (Ethics 1102a). What he means here, quite simply, is that true happiness can only be defined as the state that is achieved in a perfectly virtuous person; it cannot be defined any other way -- not by pleasure, or bestowed honor, or wealth, or any other
Aristotle also argues that "happiness, above else, is held to be" (Book I, 7). He supports this argument by stating that, for every other virtue, people not only seek to obtain that virtue for its own sake, but also consider whether or not they will be happy in doing so. Thus, Aristotle sees happiness as the greatest because it is the only virtue that is sought simply for its
This, according to Aristotle, may well militate against reason, and Aristotle would therefore find fault with the utilitarian's conclusion. Aristotle also insists on excellence of character and being of great soul (magnanimous), which is the level deserving of highest praise. A person also has to be just (Bostock, 2000). Utilitarianism can come into difficulties in that it may, paradoxically, be harmful when it focuses on the influence of pleasure or
Aristotle & Metaphysics Aristotle calls the science he is seeking 'first philosophy or theology'. The objective of this study is to answer the question of what does first philosophy or theology consist and what is its object. In addition, this study will ask in what ways that it differs from other sciences and in what sense is it first? In the final analysis this study will answer if Aristotle's 'first philosophy
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