Aristotle’s Concept of Happiness

The portrayed agreements and disagreements between Plato and Aristotle had an incredible influence on Western thought in general and an indelible impact on all following periods of Western philosophy with Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics being a prime example. The dominant theme is a discussion of a method that man can live the good life, not only through contemplating what good living is but actually creating the best life possible. I will use the ideas presented in sections 1 and 2 of this work to show that Aristotle perceived the concept of happiness as a virtue which can be achieved by the utilization of reason to conduct repeated right actions.

Aristotle submits that “every sort of knowledge and decision pursues some good,” (Reeves, p. 310) and that most people virtually agree that this ‘good’, the end goal of this teleological pursuit, is the concept of happiness. Each of us want a happy life.

What is happiness? The many seem to provide a different answer than the wise. The masses would submit that happiness consist of the obvious pursuits like “pleasure, wealth or honor,” (Reeves, p. 310) which change depending on their individual life situations. These types of superficial pursuits are inferior and slavish and are not complete, as they depend on others and externals for their gratification. The wise know however that the best good is an end pursued in itself, something that is autotelic, not requiring external sources or approvals. It is certainly true that honor, integrity, pleasure and every other virtue we do indeed choose unto themselves, however the good man also chooses them for happiness, hence the concept of happiness encompasses all virtues in addition to itself, so it is the most complete. Happiness understood as eudaimonia, perhaps better thought of as ‘flourishing’ or ‘success,’ is a pursuit of self-sufficiency, which is unconditionally complete and permanent.

So the best good is happiness, but this is too general. We must now define what the best good is. The best good is that which performs its function best, and for a human being, that “function is the soul’s activity that expresses reason.” (Reeves, p. 308) The souls activity which expresses reason is virtue. The best good is human happiness, described as “an activity of the soul expressing complete virtue.” (Reeves, p. 311)

Since it appears that happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul, it is now necessary to define virtue and how to achieve it.

The soul consist of two parts, one rational and one irrational. As virtue “is defined by reference to reason,” (Reeves, p. 316) the rational part of the soul participates in the pursuit of virtue, both virtue of thought and virtue of character. Neither virtue of thought nor virtue of character are innate or instinctual as “none of the virtues rises naturally.” (Reeves, p. 312) The primary purpose is not just to know the good, but to become the good. Knowing what the what the good life is only the beginning, good intentions are insufficient, we must actually achieve happiness by “the frequent doing of just and temperate actions.” (Reeves, p. 315)

Virtues are acquired through habit, obtained through repeatedly practicing virtuous activity, as “a state of character arises from the repetition of similar activities.” (Reeves, p. 313) Aristotle emphasizes the critical importance of starting to practice these activities as early in youth as possible, “we need to have had the appropriate upbringing - right from early youth as Plato says - to make us find enjoyment or pain in the right things; for this is the correct education.” (Reeves, p. 314)

The road to virtue is the path of the middle ground, that median between excess and deficiency. These excesses and deficiencies are defined as vices and it is imperative to realize that this median is defined relative to us, not relative to the object or feeling in question, thus it is a subjective measurement.

The virtuous way to deal with emotions is to aim for this intermediate condition. For example anger, appetite and pity are normal, so the goal is to have these feelings “at the right times, about the right things, towards the right people, for the right end and in the right way” (Reeves, p. 315)….easier said than done. Whether it be objects or feelings, “the intermediate condition is correct and wins praise, which are both proper features of virtue.” (Reeves, p. 315)

Aristotle assumes that “virtue is the sort of state that does the best actions concerned with pleasures and pains and that vice is the contrary pleasures and pains.” (Reeves, p. 314) Virtue is not a feeling or capacity for action , virtue is a state, “the state that makes a human being good and makes him perform his function well.” (Reeves, p. 315)

The fullest development of character and reason and the exercise of our capacities for right action and balance lead to a virtuous state. Once this virtuous state can be maintained consistently through repeated right actions, happiness ensues...as “happiness is an activity of the soul expressing complete virtue.” (Reeves, p. 311) Perhaps instead of simply seeking pleasure, we should try to become better people and constantly do the right thing in order to live a good life.