ARISTOTLE AND HAPPINESS
Aristotle describes happiness as the only good thing or ends that individuals desire. According to him, happiness is not just a pleasurable feeling of satisfaction but also one that takes into account rational principles such that emotions and reasons are well balanced. Aristotle says that happiness is the cultivation of virtue and relies on more individualistic attributes than the fundamental social virtues of Confucius. A happy life requires the fulfillment of a range of conditions that include physical and mental well-being. Through Aristotle’s science of happiness, an individual can achieve virtue by maintaining the mean, which balances two excesses (Adams, 1991). Happiness is dependent on ethical behavior where an individual must display virtues of generosity, justice, citizenship, friendship, and courage, hence applicable to all people, places, and times. This essay will analyze Aristotle’s view on happiness concerning ethical behavior and how his thoughts are applicable in real life.
Aristotle defines happiness as a complete and sufficient good for human beings that is desired for itself and satisfies all other desires without any evil intentions making it a stable component. He stipulates that various sorts of life, such as pleasure and comfort, the life of action, and money-making life, constitute a happy life. According to his view on what happiness consists of, he states that the flourishing of things like plants and animals is dependent on their functioning according to their various natures (Barnes, 2004). However, for the human being, the right functioning is based on reasoning and acting according to the reason. This implies that virtue, which consists of moral and intellectual aspects, is a vital element in living a happy life. According to Aristotle’s definition, happiness also consists of attainments of some set of goods to enable the human being to live happily. There are certain goods such as life and health, which Aristotle argues to be vital preconditions to happiness. Other goods like wealth, friends, fame, and honor are viewed as enhancements that promote happiness for a virtuous person (Aristotle, 1992). Therefore, the possession and exercise of virtue is the core element of happiness, and a virtuous person can fully attain happiness.
Happiness is the ultimate purpose of the existence of human beings. Human beings all over the globe seek pleasure, wealth, and a good reputation. These pleasures are good, but they should not occupy the chief good for which humans should aim. According to Aristotle, the ultimate end of any action should be self-sufficient and final. Happiness is seen as the end in itself after fulfilling the various desires in life (Adams, 1991). For instance, when people attain pleasure, money, honor, and health, they obtain happiness because they believe that these goods bring happiness. Happiness is an end that encompasses the totality of one’s life. Aristotle says, ‘for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy” (Barnes, 2004). This implies that it is not something that can be lost in a period like other pleasurable sensations.
The pursuit of happiness, according to Aristotle, is an exercise of virtue. Aristotle says that “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life” (Barnes, 2004). This shows the link between happiness and virtue. To achieve happiness, a person must have an excellent moral character whereby one acts under virtue and strives to possess all virtues. Happiness consists in achieving all the goods which lead to the perfection of human nature. This implies that individuals have to make difficult choices and choose more magnificent goods that result in full lifetime happiness. For example, a student might find it more fun to go partying over the night but knows that it would be better to spend that time studying for the end term exams. To develop a good character, humans should have a strong will to do the right thing even in difficult situations (Aristotle, 1992). Making the right choices and focusing on the future result is necessary for achieving complete happiness. Also, doing the right thing should be combined with intellectual contemplation to live a happy life.
The view that virtue is the way to achieve happiness offers a reason for thinking that ethics has a general character that can be applied to all people, places, and times. This is because of the school of thought advocates for choosing and acting virtuously to attain happiness. Without a good character and striving to have complete virtue, it will be difficult for humans to live a happy and fulfilling life (Aristotle, 1992). The general character is trying to live a happy life is thinking of what is right and acting well. One of the essential virtues in achieving the goal of happiness that should be general across all people is the virtue of friendship. A complete virtuous friendship is based on wishing the best for others regardless of pleasure. According to Aristotle, this trait is so important that it supersedes justice and honor since it combines both pleasure and virtue, thus fulfilling our emotional and intellectual natures (Pritzl, 1983).
Someone can be entirely happy by having a fulfilled, exceptional, and flourishing life even when others consider them wicked. According to Aristotle, all these goods are a means towards obtaining happiness, and if an individual pursues them to be self-sufficient and final, they bring happiness at the end (Pritzl, 1983). A fulfilled, excellent, and flourishing life is a precondition and constitutive element for happiness. An individual with these elements, coupled with virtues, can attain happiness regardless of what others think of them. This implies that for such a person to live happily, they should have greater control of their virtue than material possessions (Aristotle, 1992). However, if the person is being considered wicked for some justifiable causes, such as inappropriate behavior, such an individual cannot live an entirely happy life.
In pursuing a happy life, there should be a balance between the excesses and deficiencies referred to as the golden mean. For instance, courage is the mean for the feeling of fear and excess of cowardice. Moderation does not apply to all things since humans should exercise virtues at all times (Pritzl, 1983). Golden mean and moral virtues differ from one individual to another as some people have a stronger will than others. A demonstration of too much passion may lead to reckless behavior, such as being anti-social. The goodness of a character, according to Aristotle, is based on the condition of the soul which wills and chooses the mean relative to ourselves” (Aristotle, 1992). This implies that individuals should rationally determine what is right or wrong.
As described by Aristotle, happiness is a lifetime manifestation of the human soul in regards to excellence and virtue. The ethical end of happiness comprises of intellectual and moral virtues. Happiness, in accordance with him, incorporates benefits and depends on the entire community. In the expression of happiness, internal and external goods should be considered. Since happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where individuals display different virtues such as courage, generosity, and friendship, there should be a balance between excess and deficiency to attain complete virtue. Our rational capacities guide this balance.
References
Adams, D. (1991). Aquinas on Aristotle on Happiness. Medieval Philosophy & Theology, 1, 98-118.
Barnes, J. (2004). The Nicomachean Ethics. Penguin.
Aristotle, Politics (1992), ed. Trevor Saunders. London: Penguin. ‘Aristotle situates ethics within the discussion of the best constitution’.
Pritzl, K. (1983). Aristotle and Happiness after Death: Nicomachean Ethics 1. 10-11. Classical Philology, 78(2), 101-111.