Analysis Of Aristotle's Distinction Of Happiness
In ethics, Aristotle states what a defining human trait would be that's only unique to humans. He preaches that people organize themselves according to goals and decisions. “Every action and every pursuit is thought to aim at some good”. These decisions and goals will either be endless (go on to infinity), or they will have some structure. Aristotle asks “do our decisions have a structure and fit into larger purposes or are they aimless”? He later discovered that the chief goal/good is happiness. Even though Aristotle was a student of Plato's, he didn't agree with his theories on morality. Aristotle didn’t believe that people could inherit bad behaviors. He stated that “all people are composed of a combination of vice (bad character traits) and virtue (good character traits)”.
"Virtue, then is the state of character concerned with choice”. Think of a drunk driver hurting an innocent bystander. Typically people would hold the drunk driver responsible for everyone else's injuries. It's common for drunk driving but its super dangerous. This represents that the drunk driver expressed a bad character trait and it is not considered virtuous. The individual cannot be held accountable for the desire to drive, only for acting on the desire. “Since people can't be held accountable for their emotions, virtue is not an emotion”. And everyone can get drunk and want to drive, but it does not mean they will. We can’t be held accountable because we all don’t choose to fulfill these capacities.
Aristotle's morals are some of the time implied to as "excellence morals" since its attention isn't on the ethical weight of obligations or commitments, however on the advancement of character and the variety of ideas. For example, bravery, equity, balance, generosity, and reasonability. "What's more, any individual who knows anything about Aristotle has heard his convention of righteousness just like a "brilliant signify" between the limits of too little and too much". “Boldness, for instance, is a mean in regards to the sentiment of dread, between the inadequacy of carelessness (too little dread) and the overabundance of weakness (an excessive amount of dread). Equity is a mean between getting or giving excessively and getting or giving close to nothing. Kindness is a mean between providing for individuals who don't merit it and not providing for anybody by any means”. Aristotle isn't suggesting that one ought to be moderate no matter what since one ought to constantly practice excellence. One can't reason "I ought to be brutal to my neighbor now since I was excessively pleasant, making it impossible to him previously. The mean is an average between two indecencies and not just a mean between excessively and too little. According to Aristotle, throughout a lifetime, happiness consists in achieving all the goods. These goods include bodily pleasure (sex, drugs, alcohol), wealth, honor and contemplation. The uneducated believed in bodily pleasure well the merchants and middle class believed in wealth.
In addition, aristocrats largely believed in honor and scholars believed in contemplation. The goods lead to enrichment of human life. Just like we make choices every day, some may be more difficult than others. “Often the lesser good promises immediate pleasure and is more tempting, while the greater good is painful and requires some sort of sacrifice”. To illustrate, you might want to go hang out with your friends on a Friday night but know it would be more beneficial for you to study for your final. To develop a good character, you will need the willpower to do the right things, even if it might be harder than not. Supposedly, solely humans may be thought of to be happy as a result of happiness that depends on reasoning. That, some individuals suppose the argument of Aristotle can be faulty. Aristotle teaches that the explanations and therefore the ability to perform actions are what sets humans and animals apart. However children are humans, and they can't reason or perform sure actions till they reach a certain age. Aristotle doesn't think about children to be associated with animals although their reasoning ability is closer to an animal at certain times.
Aristotle cannot say that happiness is merely for humans as they will reason as a result of a toddler can be happy at any age. Though animals lack reasoning, they will be happy. It doesn’t mean they cannot be happy; however, this level of happiness won't be acquainted to America, humans. Additionally, Aristotle’s look for smart is that the highest level of fine. "He assumes that the highest good, whatever it turns out to be, has three characteristics – it is desirable for itself, it is undesirable for the sake of some other good, and all other goods are desirable for its sake”. But by having other goods, people can still contain happiness. Through wealth, honor, and power can someone still have happiness? If these were taken away, the person can lose their happiness. These goods are needed to reach Airstoles higher end of goods. Happiness does rely on other goods.
I agree with Aristotle's distinction of happiness. Happiness is a tough thing to describe and I feel that he has the closest definition of it. I think that while pleasure can bring some happiness, with the end goal being that to get a full life of happiness you must live virtuously. By living a happier life, you need to respect others around you and use reason and knowledge. I believe that in John Stuart Mill’s definition, the happiness that is described is less permanent and more temporary. I think that temporary happiness can be brought on by pleasure, but cannot make you have a lifetime of happiness. I feel that true happiness differs depending on the person and that expectations have a big role in happiness. People who expect too much will never be happy in life. They are never content because they always want more than what is possible. But, there are people who set goals and work hard to achieve their goals. Eventually they experience happiness when they do. I feel like happiness depends on the person just like the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Taking everything into account, as indicated by Aristotle, what is Happiness? It is a definitive end and motivation behind human existence. Happiness is not considered a virtue or a pleasure. It is the practicing of virtue. Happiness can't be accomplished until the end of life. Therefore, it's not a temporary state but goal. Happiness relies upon obtaining an ethical character, where one shows the “excellencies of valor, liberality, equity, companionship, and citizenship in one's life”. These excellencies include obtaining equalization between an overabundance and insufficiency.
