Aristotle Research Paper

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

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle said happiness is the value and reason for every good thing, so happiness is deserving of respect. For Aristotle, happiness involves flourishing or prospering by striving for a purposeful life of excellence. Happiness depends not on a feeling, rather the whole about your moral character, and the ability to exercise proper temperance and suitable ethics over a period by virtue. In Politics, Aristotle explained that humanity does not gain virtue by possession of meaningless material substance, happiness is found with the people who are most refined in their thinking and character. According to Aristotle, bravery, unselfishness, intelligence, love, friendship, lawfulness, family relationships, political participation and citizenship are indispensable character traits for one to prosper and experience happiness.

Happiness? Is happiness the best good? In book 1 chapter 7 Aristotle brings up the topic happiness and is it the best good for humans. He says “But presumably the remark that the best good is happiness is apparently something [generally] agreed, and we still need a clearer statement of what the best good is. Perhaps, then, we shall find this if we first grasp the function of a human being” (1097b22-25 Aristotle). That statement is saying the main function of Humans is to look for happiness. Aristotle thinks happiness is to broad of an assumption and that there are several types of happiness that branch off of happiness its self.

Aristotle defines happiness as an ultimate good, and is pursued by every individual, not because it is a means to an end to another state but rather for its sake. It is this qualification that makes a distinction between happiness and pleasure seeking (LaFollette, 370).

Aristotle makes a number of claims in Book I of Nicomachean Ethics that deal with the idea of Happiness and how to obtain it. His stance can be seen when he makes the claim, “Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for anything other than itself.” Aristotle is stating that the end goal of life is to achieve true happiness. We do not work any further towards something else once we are truly happy. We also see this when he says “Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action.” Aristotle thought that our end goal was happiness. It shows how highly he regarded it. Another idea he brings to light is that happiness cannot be obtained in the short term. Aristotle says, “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 or happy.” Here he argues that just as the birds singing doesn’t make a perfect summer, happiness is not true in a temporary or daily setting, only at the end of our lives can we determine true happiness. Aristotle believes that short term goals can be okay, but we need a rational and virtuous life in order to obtain the real idea of happiness.

Is it pleasure, honor, wealth, knowledge or can it be different? Aristotle explains that happiness is not found by living for pleasure because such a life can be. Also, Aristotle clarifies that the happiness of people can be found by defining the proper function to the soul. This function cannot be one that both plants and animals can also perform, because it must be specific for human beings. Therefore, the function must be a part of the practical or rational part of a human’s life. Practical is implying a determined conduct, which is only possible for rational beings. It follows, then, that happiness consists in the action of the rational part of a human. The ultimate good of humans should naturally flow from performing functions right. And to establish true happiness an action must continue with progressions throughout a lifetime (Rosenstand 2013 p.457-458). Aristotle's argument can be seen as distorted when he proposes only human beings with the full use of reason can be deemed happy since he claims happiness from reasoning. Aristotle argues that reasoning is what sets humans apart from animals along with the ability to carry out actions that only humans can

In brief, the aforementioned quote can be simplified to the following: the entire basis of life is dependent on something that, in itself, is completely satisfying and is pursued for its own sake. This “something,” according to Aristotle, is happiness. Human actions are what separates beings from animals; they are done on purpose, with a specific goal, and use both reason and intelligence. Since every human action aims at some good, every human action should, ideally, result in happiness, which is the highest good. Considering that happiness is in itself arbitrary and

Aristotle, the son of Nicomachus(Aristotle), known as ‘the philosopher, was born in 384 B.C.E, in a small city named Stagira in northern Greece. During his lifetime, he studied variety of subjects and brought knowledge to all aspects (Blackburn). He viewed that as a human, a subject who’s determined goal is to reach virtue and Arête, is connected with nature and its balance (Golden Mean). Aristotle also viewed a good life as political questions. He analyzed that human’s basic shape of desire and aim is formed at the age of six (Hare). The good life, then, was defined by Aristotle as ‘the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.’ According to Aristotle, a good life is maintaining the balance of virtue and vice, and Eudaimonia of the soul in that one would be satisfied with the accomplishments done (Bambic).

Having defined this concept of reasoning, Aristotle continued on his search for happiness. If we live well by using reason, then consistently doing activities that require reason is what makes us happy. According to W.D. Ross, who translated and interpreted Aristotle’s work, Aristotle claimed that everything we do, we do for a reason. For example, we go to school to get an education and we get an education to get a job. We get a job to get money, and so on. So, what Aristotle meant when he said our happiness is determined by how well we have lived to be our best being is that everything we end up doing after an achievement lets us reach a new level of happiness. Therefore, the highest good, the highest happiness, is the activity that we reach at the end of our lives. It is the “lifelong activities that activate the

Aristotle’s first book in the Nicomachean Ethics, tackles the pursuit and function of man. Aristotle believes that because of mans rationality and intelligence, there must be one great purpose to all that we do. It cannot be something as basic as the gratification of pleasure since we are superior creatures, and it must be something beyond each sole virtue since there is not a complete end in themselves. Aristotle comes to the conclusion that this final end or “good”, must be happiness and uses the first book in the series to not only state his theory, but to also be a guide so that the reader may live a good life and earn the final and self- fulfilling good on to which all their actions aim.

In Book 10 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that the good life is really the contemplative and philosophical life. Before making these claims, he explains how happiness relates to the good life. Happiness is something that humans look for by themselves. In a way happiness is its own virtue and because of this, happiness has to be the highest ranked virtue. Because it is the best virtue, happiness must belong to the most intelligent beings in our society. The most intelligent beings in our society in essence make all the decisions and contemplate about the world, the galaxy and everything in the universe. This is how he makes his first claim. Happiness is correlated with the good life and the good life must involve the contemplative.

Over 2,300 years has passed since Aristotle wrote Nicomachean Ethics, yet his theory of happiness is still relevant today. In these lectures, Aristotle explores the purpose of human existence. Finding this purpose would later result in discovering how one should act in order to achieve happiness. Aristotle argues that virtues, such as honor, pleasure, and understanding, are only chosen “for the sake of happiness, supposing that through them we shall be happy”(Aristotle, 8). He claims that everyone would agree that all goods, like wealth and pleasure, are means towards obtaining pure happiness. Therefore, happiness is always the end itself. This revelation would in turn help find the function of the human being.

Aristotle thinks happiness is the highest good because, according to Aristotle, happiness is the full development and use of our intellectual capabilities. Happiness is about being pleased and self-sufficient so you don’t have to rely on others. The best way to obtain this is a life of contemplation, something we can engage in constantly. Contemplation is the best and most pleasant activity humans can do because its helps them realize their nature. The wisest man will try to imitate the action of God, the unmoved mover. The people who can contemplate and dedicate themselves to the intellectual hunt, are the only ones who can experience the pinnacle of human happiness.

Many individuals attempt to characterize and consider diverse meanings of what happiness is, and I believe that Plato and Aristotle offer intriguing perspectives of happiness and what it implies for one to live a good life with great things surrounded by himself. Our two Philosophers concur that happiness is an essential factor in one's life and basically the substance of how to carry on with a decent life. For Aristotle, a thing is best understood by looking at its end, purpose, or goal. For example, the purpose of a chair is to sit, and it is by seeing this that one best understands what a chair is. True happiness is when we see an end in itself which is “supreme good”. However, it is very important to identify the true happiness from the false happiness. This confusion might lead us to a life in a bubble with lot of imaginations.

Aristotle, the last of the great Greek philosophers. He roamed Ancient Greece from 384 BC until his death in 323 BC. In this time, he wrote an enormous amount of works, a variety of books from metaphysics to politics and to poetry. His variety is exceptionally impressive. His greatest known works are the Athenian Constitution and Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle’s works of Ethics explore a vast area of topics. He states, “The goal of the Ethics is to determine how best to achieve happiness.” In order to achieve happiness, one must live a virtuous life, in the mind of Aristotle.