ALINSASAGUIN, Jasnine A.

ABM 12-B

Abstract

This study will be about the learning I had after taking up Philosophy. I have

learned about that each philosophers have their own sayings or theories towards

certain things in life. In philosophy, it must be important to relate your self or your

own experiences in each philosophy sayings or theories in order to make a

phenomenological paper or a thesis paper to further prove your point or statement.

Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and

existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. In this study, the

Theory of Happiness by Aristotle will be analyzed and assessed. Employing

Aristotle’s Theory about happiness, it showed that the happiness we have depends

on us which is ourselves.
I. Introduction

"Happiness depends on ourselves." More than anybody else, Aristotle enshrines

happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. As a result he

devotes more space to the topic of happiness than any thinker prior to the modern era.

Living during the same period as Mencius, but on the other side of the world, he

draws some similar conclusions. That is, happiness depends on the cultivation of

virtue, though his virtues are somewhat more individualistic than the essentially

social virtues of the Confucians. Yet as we shall see, Aristotle was convinced that a

genuinely happy life required the fulfillment of a broad range of conditions,

including physical as well as mental well-being. In this way he introduced the idea of

a science of happiness in the classical sense, in terms of a new field of knowledge.

Essentially, Aristotle argues that virtue is achieved by maintaining the Mean, which

is the balance between two excesses. Aristotle’s doctrine of the Mean is reminiscent of

Buddha’s Middle Path, but there are intriguing differences. For Aristotle the mean

was a method of achieving virtue, but for Buddha the Middle Path referred to a

peaceful way of life which negotiated the extremes of harsh asceticism and sensual

pleasure seeking. The Middle Path was a minimal requirement for the meditative life,

and not the source of virtue in itself.

In his Nicomachean Ethics, the philosopher Aristotle tries to discover what is ‘the

supreme good for man’, that is, what is the best way to lead our life and give it

meaning. For Aristotle, a thing is best understood by looking at its end, purpose, or

goal. For example, the purpose of a knife is to cut, and it is by seeing this that one

best understands what a knife is; the goal of medicine is good health, and it is by

seeing this that one best understands what medicine is.

Now, if one does this for some time, it soon becomes apparent that some goals are

subordinate to other goals, which are themselves subordinate to yet other goals. For

example, a medical student’s goal may be to qualify as a doctor, but this goal is

subordinate to his goal to heal the sick, which is itself subordinate to his goal to

make a living by doing something useful. This could go on and on, but unless the

medical student has a goal that is an end-in-itself, nothing that he does is actually

worth doing. What, asks Aristotle, is this goal that is an end-in-itself? This ‘supreme

good’, says Aristotle, is happiness.

And of this nature happiness is mostly thought to be, for this we choose

always for its own sake, and never with a view to anything further: whereas

honour, pleasure, intellect, in fact every excellence we choose for their own

sakes, it is true, but we choose them also with a view to happiness, conceiving

that through their instrumentality we shall be happy: but no man chooses

happiness with a view to them, nor in fact with a view to any other thing

whatsoever.

But what is happiness? For Aristotle, it is by understanding the distinctive function

of a thing that one can understand its essence. Thus, one cannot understand what it

is to be a gardener unless one can understand that the distinctive function of a

gardener is ‘to tend to a garden with a certain degree of skill’. Whereas human

beings need nourishment like plants and have sentience like animals, their

distinctive function, says Aristotle, is their unique capacity to reason. Thus, our
supreme good, or happiness, is to lead a life that enables us to use and develop our

reason, and that is in accordance with reason. Unlike amusement or pleasure, which

can also be enjoyed by animals, happiness is not a state but an activity. And like

virtue or goodness, it is profound and enduring.

Aristotle acknowledges that our good or bad fortune can play a part in determining

our happiness; for example, he acknowledges that happiness can be affected by such

factors as our material circumstances, our place in society, and even our looks. Yet

he maintains that by living our life to the full according to our essential nature as

rational beings, we are bound to become happy regardless. For this reason,

happiness is more a question of behaviour and of habit—of virtue—than of luck; a

person who cultivates such behaviours and habits is able to bear his misfortunes

with balance and perspective, and thus can never be said to be truly unhappy.
II. Body

Happiness is by understanding the distinctive function of a thing that one can

understand its essence which was once said by Aristotle. For him, happiness is not a

state but it is an activity. Aristotle also acknowledges that our good or bad fortune

can play a part in determining our own happiness.

To explain the statement of Aristotle which is “Happiness is by understanding

the distinctive function of a thing that one can understand its essence,” it means that

one cannot understand what it is to be gardener for example unless one can

understand that the distinctive function of a gardener is to “to tend to a garden with

a certain degree of skill.” Another statement from him in which he acknowledges

that our good or bad fortune can play a part in determining our own happiness

explains that happiness is more a question of behaviour and of habit—of

virtue—than of luck; a person who cultivates such behaviours and habits is able to

bear his misfortunes with balance and perspective, and thus can never be said to be

truly unhappy. I truly believe in his sayings about happiness because I can also

relate my experiences to those sayings. I see many people around me everyday most

especially the security guards in school. In order for me to have my own happiness, I

must understand that they guard the school and students by checking the vehicles

entering the school and checking each and every people entering the campus.
They’re not there just to display themselves but they play an important role in the

society in which their job makes me happy. Another experience of mine is that

sometimes, I cannot avoid to follow a certain behaviour or habit even though I knew

that it is not a good thing to do and so some bad lucks would follow after then.

Maybe that bad luck is already a consequence to me which can lead me to my

unhappiness.

We must be responsible of our own happiness. We are the ones who make

our own happiness. Understanding other people for who they are can lead us to

our happiness. Thus, our supreme good, or happiness, is to lead a life that

enables us to use and develop our reason, and that is in accordance with reason.
III. Conclusion

Most of the people view happiness as a state but for Aristotle, it is an activity. An

activity in which we must understand one person with his distinctive skills that

contributes in the society and our own happiness. An activity wherein we must be

responsible of our actions that can lead us to unhappiness sometimes. Happiness

could lead us to a life which enables us to use and develop our reason. Happiness is

what completes us human beings without happiness, we would live a life that is full

of sadness and sufferings. A life that is not intended for each and every human

beings because human beings are intended to live their life fully and happily.

Aristotle explained this whole concept of happiness, in short that we must all be

responsible of our happiness because it is us who make or build our own happiness

and no one can take it away from us. For Aristotle, happiness is a part that we need

to have in our life. True happiness can therefore be attained only through the

cultivation of the virtues that make a human life complete.

IV. Generalization

Founder of Lyceum, the first scientific institute in Athens, Aristotle delivered a series
of lectures termed Nicomachean Ethics to present his theory of happiness (Pursuit of
Happiness, 2018). Aristotle asked, “what is the ultimate purpose of human existence?”. He
thought that a worthwhile goal should be to pursue “that which is always desirable in
itself and never for the sake of something else” (Pursuit of Happiness, 2018). However,
Aristotle disagreed with the Cyrenaic view that the only intrinsic good is pleasure
(Waterman, 1993).

In developing his theory of ‘happiness’, Aristotle drew upon his knowledge about
nature. He contended that what separates man from animal is rational capacity –
arguing that a human’s unique function is to reason. He went on to say that pleasure
alone cannot result in happiness because animals are driven by the pursuit of
pleasure and according to Aristotle man has greater capacities than animals (Pursuit
of Happiness, 2018). Instead, he put forward the term ‘eudaimonia’.

To explain simply, eudaimonia is defined as ‘activity expressing virtue’ or what

Aristotle conceived as happiness. Aristotle’s theory of happiness was as follows:

‘the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity implies a
rational principle, and the function of a good man is the good and noble
performance of these, and if any action is well performed it is performed in
accord with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, then happiness turns
out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue’(Aristotle, 2004).
A key component of Aristotle’s theory of happiness is the factor of virtue. He
contended that in aiming for happiness, the most important factor is to have
‘complete virtue’ or – in other words – good moral character (Pursuit of Happiness,
2008).
Aristotle identified friendship as being one of the most important virtues in
achieving the goal of eudaimonia (Pursuit of Happiness, 2008). In fact, he valued
friendship very highly, and described a ‘virtuous’ friendship as the most enjoyable,
combining both pleasure and virtue. Aristotle went on to put forward his belief that
happiness involves, through the course of an entire life, choosing the ‘greater good’
not necessarily that which brings immediate, short term pleasure (Pursuit of
Happiness, 2008). Thus, according to Aristotle, happiness can only be achieved at the
life-end: it is a goal, not a temporary state of being (Pursuit of Happiness, 2008).
Aristotle believed that happiness is not short-lived:

‘for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one
day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy’ (Aristotle, 2004).
Happiness (eudaimonia), to Aristotle, meant attaining the ‘daimon’ or perfect self
(Waterman, 1990). Reaching the ‘ultimate perfection of our natures’, as Aristotle
meant by happiness, includes rational reflection (Pursuit of Happiness, 2008). He
argued that education was the embodiment of character refinement (Pursuit of
Happiness, 2008). Striving for the daimon (perfect self) gives life meaning and
direction (Waterman, 1990). Having a meaningful, purposeful life is valuable. Efforts
that the individual puts in to strive for the daimon are termed ‘personally expressive’
(Waterman, 1990). Personal expressiveness involves intense involvement in an
activity, a sense of fulfillment when engaged in an activity, and having a sense of
acting in accordance with one’s purpose (Waterman, 1990). It refers to putting in
effort, feeling challenged and competent, having clear goals and concentrating
(Waterman, 1993).

According to Aristotle, eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment are separate and

distinguishable (Waterman, 1993). However, in a study of university students,
personal expressiveness (which is, after all a component of eudaimonia) was found
to be positively correlated with hedonic enjoyment (Waterman, 1993). Thus,
Aristotle identified the best possible life goal and the achievement of the highest
level of meeting one’s needs, self-realization many, many years before Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs.

Aristotle’s work Nicomachean Ethics contributed a great deal to the understanding of

what happiness is. To summarise from Pursuit of Happiness (2018), according to
Aristotle, the purpose and ultimate goal in life is to achieve eudaimonia
(‘happiness’). He believed that eudaimonia was not simply virtue, nor pleasure, but
rather it was the exercise of virtue.

According to Aristotle, eudaimonia is a lifelong goal and depends on rational

reflection. To achieve a balance between excess and deficiency (‘temperance’) one
displays virtues – for example, generosity, justice, friendship, and citizenship.
Eudaimonia requires intellectual contemplation, in order to meet our rational
capacities.

To answer Aristotle’s question of “what is the ultimate purpose of human existence” is not
a simple task, but perhaps the best answer is that the ultimate goal for human beings
is to strive for ‘eudaimonia’ (happiness).

References:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201301/aristotle-happines

https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/aristotle/

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+philosophy&oq=what+is+&aqs=chrome.

0.69i59j69i57j0l4.2042j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/philosophy-of-happiness/