Aristotle

Happiness is something that can be defined as a certain type of feeling that triggers an emotion of many kinds. For example, when some people experience happiness you will see an emotion of a big bright smile, or when you see a mother who just gave birth to a newborn baby you see the emotion of happiness in the form of tears and crying. She isn’t crying because she is sad. She is crying because she has been given a beautiful gift that makes her happy, so happy that she is willing to cry about her happiness. And that brings me to the to the philosopher Aristotle a man who wanted to know what is happiness and how do we obtain it as human beings. Aristotle’s happiness was defined by various virtues and contemplations, he believed that happiness was self sufficient when the human being is living a life full of joy and fulfillment. Thus, happiness isn’t measured by money or powerful people but the lives that we live and the experiences that we go through in our lives. Obtaining such human happiness can be acquired through the pleasures that we participate in or through noble and heroic acts. There are many achievements that don’t happen automatically, Aristotle came up with a development of practical exercises that focused on the virtues to acquire such happiness. Aristotle’s philosopher believed that anyone who committed good actions has the ability to find ones extraordinary heights of happiness. Not only did Aristotle think that happiness was self fulfilling but it is what we all want has a human species to obtain the best life for ourselves and human nature. Some people would rather confuse happiness with the wealth of prosperity but it is the flourishing of good fortune that develops the reasoning of good virtues. In Aristotle’s theory he says that any human being that seeks happiness needs virtue, and he defines virtue has an human quality that one would need in order to attain happiness. This is the ultimate attribute that you need in order to live a happy life. So in theory he’s saying that in order to be truly happy any person having virtue will attain genuine happiness. I believe what was happiness for the philosopher Aristotle was that in order to be happy he had to figure out what was happiness to him. And as an brilliant thinker of his time he had to establish what happiness was to other human beings. Aristotle’s writings and teachings led me to believe that he found an profound happiness through moral virtues, Contemplation, and moral wisdom because without these virtues we as a people according to Aristotle couldn’t really be genuinely happy. Therefore happiness doesn’t rely on honor or pleasure, happiness is self sufficient and if you cant seek your own happiness through your self then you couldn’t truly be happy. Being happy is a gift that we all seek in life and in eternal life. it’s the end of all human nature as we preserve it to be. In conclusion, happiness for Aristotle wasn’t measured by how much wealth he had or how popular he was. Happiness was simply the enjoyment of life, and the teachings that he taught to others. Happiness for him was teaching people how to become an better citizen, how you can simply enjoy the pleasures of life, that you don’t have to be rich or famous to enjoy a life well lived. Shelisa Willis January 19,2010 Ethics 105