Aristotle searches his answer to the question, what is happiness? In order to find his answer, he places constraints on what can count as happiness and searches the function of a man He proclaims good must be something final, and self-sufficient. Good is seen different in different activities and art, but it is resent for the sake of which everything is done. Aristotle searches what the good than is in each. In medicine it is health, in strategy victory, in architecture in a house and so on from all the other arts but in every task it describes the end of that task, since the point in all of them is for the sake of the end that everything is done. Thus, if there is something that is the end of all the things done by human action this can be the predictable of, “good.”
Although there are many different ends, we choose only a certain one as a means to something else. It is clear that end chosen is not the only one rather it is chosen for one’s own sake. The one chosen for oneself is more final than the one for the sake of something as it is. The choice that is never chosen from oneself is more final than that which is chosen both as an end in itself and also a means to something else.
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How can a final good be self sufficient Which means something that makes life living by itself, and it is not limited to to just the man itself but also his family. Aristotle address here a man does not live in isolation, he is surrounded by other in order to survive and for citizenship. Therefore, we cannot just come to conclusion and define good by only one’s self. Being able to take care of ones needs makes life desirable, and not lacking in any sort of way. This is where Happiness comes along as it best fits the description as it is not one but many desirable things. Which sums up that happiness is where all conscious acts meet and is something final, self-sufficient and the end of
To begin, one must learn what happiness means to Aristotle. He considers happiness to be simply the name of the good life. This is not to say that the good life produces
Taking this definition into account, it’s obvious numerous people (including myself at times) seek happiness through other means. Many focus on obtaining pleasure, wealth, and/or honour. While widely desirable, they are means to happiness, and thus, are desirable for themselves, desirable for some other good, and other goods are not desirable for their sake. By this evaluation, Aristotle concludes that these aspects could not constitute the Highest Good. Aristotle believes that he who achieves the Highest Good is “not for some chance period but through a complete life” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1001a10). Aristotle’s idea of looking at one’s life at a whole, as opposed to scrutinizing over minor events, may constitute some degree of delayed pleasure and may be
The definition of happiness has long been disputed. According to Aristotle, happiness is the highest good and the ultimate end goal—for it is self-reliant. This idea contradicted other common beliefs and philosophical theories. Aristotle opens his work by describing the various theories, neutrally examines each idea, and discloses how he thinks the theory is wrong and why his idea of happiness is more accurate.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discussed his theory of happiness and attempted to answer the many questions related to what makes people happy. Questions asked were “What is the purpose of human existence?” “What is the end goal we are trying to achieve so that we know how we should conduct ourselves?” With so many people seeking pleasure through a variety of means such a wealth, reputation, personal belongings and friends, they may be missing the mark when it comes to happiness. While these each have a value attached to them, none of them contains what is truly needed to be described as the “good” we should be aiming toward. According to Aristotle, to be an ultimate end, an act must be self-sufficient and final, “that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1097a30-34)
Aristotle argues, however, that to reach this final state of happiness, a person must live in accordance with appropriate virtues, so happiness cannot be found in vulgar and political lives but only in a contemplative life. He explains this idea by isolating humans to their special roles. Just like objects have specific functions (i.e. knives are used to cut things), “for all things that have a function or activity, the good and the “well” is thought to reside in the function, so would it seem to be for man, if he has a function.” Aristotle claims that humans, too, have a specific function: to exercise rational thought, which is a uniquely human quality. Thus, people are only able to achieve their final state of happiness through a habitual practice of areté or virtue, which is a person’s ability to actively contribute to society by using his or her individual capacity for reasoning. Only through this practice of excellence, then, can humans flourish to eudaimonia.
From the beginning of their evolution, human beings have been searching for the meaning of happiness. While many may see this to be an inconsequential question, others have devoted entire lives to the search for happiness. One such person who devoted a great deal of thought to the question of man's happiness was the famous ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. In his book The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discussed the meaning of happiness and what it meant to live a good life. He asserted that the devise which has been invented to create what is good for man is called "politics;" and it "uses the rest of the sciences"¦so that this end must be the good for man." (Aristotle, I, ii) Aristotle also identified four general means by which people live their lives in order to gain happiness, but stated that only one was a means by which a person could actually attain it. According to Aristotle, it was not political power, wealth, or worldly pleasures by which a person could achieve real happiness, it was living a contemplative life.
Aristotle begins his exploration into the most outstanding life by attempting to figure what the highest possible good achievable is for human beings. He comes to the conclusion that most people will agree that happiness is the most sought after good. Happiness is self-sufficient and is the complete end of things pursued. However, they cannot seem to agree how to achieve happiness and what happiness is. In order to figure out what happiness is, Aristotle must evaluate the true function of human beings. This true function, as seen by Aristotle, is the key to achieving happiness. Aristotle describes happiness by saying:
Although, as Aristotle believes, everything we do in our life leads to some good, he makes it clear that some goods are subordinate to others, and that the greatest good is happiness. He believes that the knowledge of this good carries weight for our way of life, and makes us better able, like archers who have a target to aim at, to hit the right mark (Aristotle 2). To possess the ability to achieve this ultimate end; however, we must first have some sort of understanding as to what happiness is. The definition of happiness typically varies from person to person, some think it’s pleasure or something found in someone you love, others believe it lies in wealth and success, but Aristotle defines it as
Aristotle is a dichotomist, which means that he believes that human beings consist of two major elements, the body and the soul. The body is the physical matter that one can see, where the soul is the feelings and desires one has; the things you cannot touch. Aristotle believes that we have three major elements of the soul which are pleasures, desires, and feelings. These elements are where we find our virtues. In book one of The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses that virtue is the highest human good. This being said, there are two qualifications that the highest good must have, “The good must be something final and self-sufficient,” (Aristotle, 10). By final Aristotle means that which is in desirable in itself, and not sought for the sake of something else. By self-sufficient Aristotle means something that does not depend on other’s bestowing it. Aristotle gives us the sense that he believes that politics is about the human good and one cannot begin to practice politics or political science well; unless one has the idea of what the good actually is. In book one; with many arguments to support his theory, he tells the reader that the good is intellectual and moral virtue. One of his arguments is he believes that you need a moderate amount of both health and wealth to be able to fully develop the virtue. He sees these two aspects as a form of equipment because if one is constantly ill or does not have a sufficient amount of money there will be many obstacles in reaching
One of Aristotle’s conclusions in the first book of Nicomachean Ethics is that “human good turns out to be the soul’s activity that expresses virtue”(EN 1.7.1098a17). This conclusion can be explicated with Aristotle’s definitions and reasonings concerning good, activity of soul, and excellence through virtue; all with respect to happiness.
Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western philosophy, and is most notably known for expressing his view of happiness in Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle develops a theory of how to live the good life and reach eudaimonia (happiness). Eudaimonia has been translated into, living a happy and virtuous life. Aristotle’s definition of the good life as the happy life, consist of balancing virtues (arête), the mean, external goods, political science, and voluntary action.
The central notion of Aristotle is eudaimonia or “happiness” which is best translated as a flourishing human life . Happiness is a complete and sufficient
It is believed that the supreme good is happiness, although many people have trouble defining happiness. There are those who believe it has something to do with pleasure, while there are those who believe it has something to do with how well they live or do something. Everything we do has a telos, an end or a purpose. Happiness is construed as the final telos because it is usually conceived as the ultimate goal of all our activities, there is nothing beyond happiness. Aristotle believes that the soul is what ultimately differentiates living things from nonliving things. All living things souls have two parts, the irrational and the rational. The irrational part consists of the vegetative part that is in charge of nutrition and growth, and the appetitive aspect that dominates our impulses. The vegetative part has a very small link to virtue, while the appetitive part “shares in it, in so far as it listens to and obeys it, this is the sense in which we speak of “taking account’ of one’s father or ones friends.” The rational part of the soul is in control of the impulses more; meaning one who is truly rational can better control their impulses. Man has the ability to be rational more than a dog has the ability. Therefore, man has the ability to be rational and virtuous due to the activity of the soul, which promotes and creates happiness. In
Aristotelianism, is happiness as the Quality of a Whole Lifetime. Aristotle claimed that happiness is not a moment-to-moment experience of pleasurable things, but a way of characterizing how one’s life is being or, when it is over, has been conducted. Aristotle defines happiness as the highest, final good. He assures us that life can be good without having everything we thought we wanted; in fact, some of the things we think we want could be hindering us from attaining true happiness.
Aristotle believed that the goal of all human life is to achieve ultimate happiness. Happiness is the final Utopia or the end of “a life worth living.” Human instinct is characterized by achieving personal fulfillment, thus leading to happiness. Aristotle warns against going astray and “preferring a life suitable to beasts” by assuming happiness and pleasure are equal. Living a life preferred by beasts incapacitates a person from achieving the end Utopia. Even though Aristotle does not equate the two, he does stress that minimal pleasure is required to achieve happiness. Someone lacking in vital necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter are not capable of achieving happiness due to their lack of pleasure.