Definition Of Happiness In Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle

As generally defined in today’s society, happiness would be described as an emotion that brings about feelings of pleasure and joy. However, Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, had a different take on happiness and how one achieves it. Aristotle believed happiness is an “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue and excellence” and goes further in his teachings with how he describes this happiness. Therefore, happiness is a difficult concept to explain because how Aristotle defined happiness may differ from how one may define happiness in current society.
In Aristotle’s teachings, Nicomachean Ethics, he explains his opinion on happiness. He believes there is such a thing as the human good and when one reaches this good they have reached
He argues this way of life is superior to the other two ways of life which include a life of pleasure or a political life. A life of pleasure would be what an animal lives, in his opinion and is strictly centered around sensual happiness. Thus one can not achieve Aristotle’s perception of happiness through a life of pleasure because they are not challenging themselves in any way. For example, a life of pleasure for a human could be someone who enjoys staying at home and relaxing and watching movies. This person may feel content with this way of living their life, however, Aristotle argues although they feel content, they will never be truly happy. Due to the fact they are not bettering themselves or the world in any way, thus, they are making no useful contributions and are not discovering what their highest potentials could be. Furthermore, Aristotle argues a political life can not help one achieve true happiness because this way of life is centered off of honor. Thus one may have achieved a high potential for themselves and be performing acts that could be seen in accordance with moral virtue. However, they are performing these actions based off of desiring honor and praise in return. Therefore, this could not truly be happiness because it is an activity that is not in accordance with excellence because they do not have intellectual virtues entwined in their actions. As a result, they are not able to aim for a mean where they are both performing actions that help them reach this high potential while at the same time understanding why these actions are just. Therefore, Aristotle argues that one reaches their happiness and the highest level of life and excellence when living a life of contemplation. Living this type of life makes it so one is always intellectual and questioning. Therefore, they are constantly challenging themselves and never settling for