Aristotle 's Value Of Happiness

The three different ways of life according to Aristotle are the life of enjoyment/pleasure, the political life, and the contemplative life. The life of enjoyment/pleasure is a life that is purely devoted to pleasure, good, and happiness; when one lives as if they are a slave to sensual pleasure. Aristotle refers to the life of enjoyment as “completely slavish by choosing a life that belongs fatted cattle (Book I pg. 4)”, meaning this way of life does not correspond or consist of the rational nature in which each individual hold. Political life is a life that honor is used to convince one that their life is good and correlates to our rational nature. However, this life, like the life of enjoyment, is dependent on other people. Aristotle states, “for it seems to be in the ones who give honor rather than in the one who is honored. (Book I pg. 4)” In this way of life honor is a virtue, but it is a virtue that anyone can possess but be unfortunate or not good. Since both the life of enjoyment and the political life depend on someone else, Aristotle concludes the contemplative life is the highest or best way of life. This is because contemplative life on the basis means a life of true happiness and can possibly dodge difficulties. With the contemplative life, one is more than capable of engaging or

There is also a type who feels less joy than he should at the things of the body and, therefore, does not abide by the dictates of reason. . . . For a morally weak person does not abide by the dictates of reason, because he feels more joy than he should in bodily things, but the man under discussion feels less joy than he should. (NE22)[2]

Aristotle’s work, The Nicomachean Ethics, consists of numerous books pertaining to Aristotle’s Ethics—the ethics of the good life. The first book discloses Aristotle’s belief on moral philosophy and the correlation between virtue and happiness.

Having stated, all the views of other philosophers, Aristotle tries to attack against those who say that pleasure is wholly negative. In his opinion, there are many types of pleasures and some come from doing good deeds while others come from base sources, e.g. the pleasure of helping a handicapped person wouldn’t be considered bad. According to Aristotle, humans are above the animals and plants because humans have the power to reason, therefore they can live actively in accordance with the virtues. One cannot get the pleasure of the just man without being just (1173b, 29-31). Again, they are depended upon the situation and the agent, e.g. a person with a sick mind would find disgraceful pleasures pleasant and a normal person would find them unpleasant. What is good for one person and bad for another. One might enjoy drinking too much liquor and the diabetic person eating sugary things. These are just temporary pleasures, but have a negative effect on the body. There are many things we should do, even if they don’t bring any pleasure, e.g. seeing and remembering. Therefore pleasure is not good nor it’s

Aristotle describes the importance of pleasure in relation to the human life; that is, pleasure is important and needed for a life to be virtuous. Though he describes pleasure in two ways, first he makes it a significant aspect of one’s life. “For pleasure is a state of soul, and to each man that which he is said to be a lover of is pleasant… the lovers of what is noble find pleasant the things that are by nature pleasant; and virtuous actions are such, so that these are pleasant for such men as well as in their own nature” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1.8 1099a7-15). Having pleasure, a feeling of satisfaction, joy, and even ecstasy, is a state of the soul. It is something to be drawn towards and feeling that one should strive to gain. Those who practice a noble life and are virtuous will naturally come to find

Happiness is all around the world, it is a very genuine and important thing, and everyone wants to be happy. Being happy is what makes life worth living, and it makes life a lot better in every way possible. What makes people happy though? Are bodily and external goods necessary to happiness? I would say no because by which they can make you happy, they are not necessary for human happiness. It’s not what things you buy, the pain, the suffering, or enjoyment your body might get. Human happiness comes from somewhere else within the human. Comparing and contrasting Aristotle’s and the Stoics’ view of human happiness will help give a better clear and logical understanding on what really happiness is and why I believe that bodily

In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues the distinct connections between pain, pleasure, our ethics, and our moral habits. He makes the point that moral excellence habitually deals with both pain and pleasure (Aristotle, 37). Pleasure leads to a person committing base actions while pain prevents noble deeds from being done (37). Either one of these feelings comes with every action (37) because an action cannot be considered neutral. Actions are done for the benefit of one or the benefit of many. Actions that benefit one cause temporary pleasure for the one person; those that benefit many bring pleasure to all affected, especially the person who completes the action. Pleasure and pain are dangerous sensations that have the ability to cause

Aristotle was a particularly influential Grecian philosopher and student of Plato who lived from 384BC- 322BC (ADD CITATION). Within Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle outlines the thoughts of the general population along with his regards and rationales in explaining many philosophical premises. But to concentrate on how Aristotle feels about the role of pleasure in morality, Aristotle introduces the idea that “most people think happiness involves pleasure.” He goes on to interpret the roles of different pleasures and their virtues and vices, giving examples such as as bodily pleasures and soul pleasures.

Aristotle says that, “Happiness depends on ourselves.” Aristotle revered happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. He also said that The Supreme Good is Happiness. He made more time for the topic of happiness than any person prior to the modern era. Happiness is not made by the success or pleasures we have nor does the pain we suffer tarnish it. Aristotle helps us understand this with his works on happiness. First, he says that children cannot be happy. It was kind of a shock for me when I read this because being happy is something that parents always want for their children and it is something that a lot of people like to pride themselves in. Like, if their children are happy then they are good parents.

It is interesting to note that throughout the ages, historical evidence has suggested that human beings have been interested, and remains interested in satisfying many needs be they physical or spiritual, and this has result that when these needs are met somehow many of them have fallen into the mistake of staying tied to those things of what they have liked, as these have produced in them some kind of pleasure in their lives.

Before dwelling into Aristotle contemplative life, the link between pleasure and virtue must be made first in order to understand his ideas about contemplative life. The link between pleasure and virtue must be recognized first. “When we consider Aristotle's conception of happiness, it is important that we stress that it involves activity of soul in accordance with virtue, since virtue, on its own, isn't enough to make a life good. We can't act virtuously without being virtuous, but it is possible to be virtuous without acting virtuously” (Jackman 2017 ). As stated above, Aristotle considers virtue to be associated with the soul rather the body. Furthermore, he explained this in details when he talked about the vegetative soul, the appetitive soul and lastly the reasoning soul. “The vegetative soul according to him is not rational but a characteristics of all living creatures. The appetitive soul is also irrational but can reason in a way vegetative can’t. The reasoning soul according to him is not shared with other animals but are moral virtues like courage” (Jackman 2017). As stated above, reasoning (reasoning soul) is the only thing that distinguishes humans from other animals. Therefore reasoning is the function of humans since it involves moral virtues.

... as when one says one is happy when one is enjoying a cool beer on a hot day,

Aristotle came to the conclusion that not only is the life of contemplation the highest life but it is also self-sufficient and believed that to be happy one also must be self sufficient. In Book one Aristotle states “But we must think about this later. For now, we take what is self-sufficient to be that which on its own makes life worthy of choice and lacking in nothing”(Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 39). Aristotle believed that it is easy enough to see that we have a inclination for money,pleasure and honour because we think that these things will make us happy. The translation of happiness in greek is eudaimonia, the different with the happiness and we all know and the greek translation of happiness is that the happiness is conceived of

However, Aristotle posits “the active life” (Aristotle, 1098a7) as something unique to man. At the core of the tenets of Aristotelian philosophy sits the preconditions for human life — action, therein requiring reason and rationality. Both man and animal share an appetitive soul, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain; but only man “possesses reason” (Aristotle, 1098a4), allowing us to make decisions through our ability to rationalise and deliberate upon these instincts, and carrying out an eventual action. Only humans are able to live a life that is “activity of soul and actions accompanied by reason” (Aristotle, 1098a13-14). Aristotle also argues that only humans are capable of acting according to principles, and since we are the only kind of animals with a rational soul governing thought and reason. Hence, we aim for attaining eudaemonia, an goal state (telos) of happiness that extends beyond quotidian pleasure, versus happiness for non-human animals that comprises merely sensual pleasure governed by impulse and instinct. Seeing that man has a greater goal, we have much greater potential to be actualised (into action) as compared to happiness. This clearly displays the elevated man above the common animal, through our distinctive capability for action paired with

In Book VII, Aristotle had many disagreements with socialists and philosophers about pleasure being a negative aspect in human lives. In Book VII, Aristotle states that pleasure may not be a process but an impeded activity of the natural state. This argument is not strong, Aristotle does not fully explain on the natural state. Aristotle also states that what is pleasurable to a human it may be opposite to another human. According to Aristotle, not all pleasures can be chosen, he states that pleasure competes with another sort of pleasure and a greater pleasure is chosen to receive its joy. Aristotle statement is that pleasure may be positive, but sometimes pleasure is not worth choosing if it interferes with daily activities that are excessively superior. Aristotle also examines that some pleasures are bad without qualifications. For an example, you’re hurt by falling down, and by recovering you’re getting pleasure at the same time because the pain is disappearing. This kind of pleasure is not chosen by someone, this pleasure happens by accident. According to his statement, pleasure is a worthy in undesirable conditions.