...ARISTOTLE'S EUDAIMONIA Eudaimonia stands for happiness in Greek. Aristotle argues that the highest good for human beings is happiness. He insists that every action performed by humans is to pursue happiness. Aristotle also argues that human action is always aimed at some end or good. This "good" may not be viewed as a good action or any good by others, but for the doer of the action ("good"), the activity will be perceived as good and that it will bring a favorable outcome. Aristotle also said that all of our actions resulting in ends or goods form a hierarchy. This hierarchy, incorporates a ladder of things, and this ladder would categorize things according to their importance. And the most important thing would be on top of the ladder, thus being the ultimate end. This ultimate end is what all the actions aim to reach at or achieve. [This end must be self-sufficient, it must be attainable and it must be what we want]1. Therefore, because happiness includes all these, then it must be the highest good. An example of this ladder could be a person working hard to lose weight or trying to stay in shape. The bottom step of the ladder is the person working out in a gym, but why is the person working out? To lose weight or maintain their shape. Why does the person want to lose weight or maintain their shape? To look good physically and to be healthy. Why does the person want to look good or be healthy? To be attractive and to lead a stress-less and a comfortable life. And why does...
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...question of what one is to do. Knowledge in this area can be described as one who does or follows the norm. • Practical intelligence is the ability that individuals use to find the best fit between themselves and the demands of their surroundings. Knowledge in this area can be described as one who assesses their resources and/or surroundings to make the best immediate decision for who to proceed. 3. Why does Aristotle say that ethics is not an exact science? • Aristotle says that every theory needs to be as exact as its subject matter. In the realm of conduct though, there are no exact rules. Consequently, a theory of conduct cannot have any exact rules either. 4. Is happiness or eudaimonia a feeling in Aristotle’s ethics? What does it consist in? • Yes, happiness or eudaimonia is a feeling in Aristotle’s ethics. However Aristotle believed that happiness is a matter of evaluating or assessing a whole...
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...so important to so many people? And if it is not tradable then how do we achieve it, do we cause our own happiness. So what is happiness “The quality or state of being happy. Is the dictionary definition but then what does being happy mean? Happiness is arguably the strongest and most powerful feeling we can experience but, how do people understand happiness? Philosophers have an understanding of happiness and have boiled it down to two reasons hedonia and eudaimonia. Hedonia means happiness is the polar opposite of suffering; the presence of happiness indicates the absence of pain. Because of this, hedonists believe that the purpose of life is to maximize happiness, which minimizes misery. Eudemonia defines happiness as the pursuit of becoming a better person. Eudaimonists do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging in activities that make them spiritually richer people. The main distinction between these two is that hedonia uses the idea that happiness is achieved by external things whereas eudaimonia believes that happiness comes from within us. Let’s take a closer look at the first idea. Hedonia which states that happiness is achieved by external things, such as things we want or already own. A flash car, a three story house or having lots of money, after all what person does not experience positive emotions at the thought of winning the lottery. One example which proves this theory is a survey carried out between people in poverty and millionaires. Each...
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...The Nicomachaen Ethics The Nicomachean Ethics are philosophical analysis of the nature of the good life for a human. Aristotle starts off his work by stating that there exists an ultimate good in which ultimately all human actions aim for. The characteristics of the ultimate good are that they are complete, final, self-sufficient, and continuous. The good which all humans aim for is happiness in Greek, “eudaimonia,” which can also be translated as living well, and is not a state of being but rather a type of activity. “Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.”(Ch. 1) To discover the nature of human happiness one must determine what the function of a human being is. The function must be specific to human beings, which is essential to being a human. A person is mainly his intellect. Although the spirit and desire of people is also important, the rational part of the soul is what can most closely be considered a person’s identity. Human happiness consists of the activity of the soul according to reason. “Far best is he who knows all things himself; Good, he that hearkens when men counsel right; But he who neither knows, nor lays to heart Another's wisdom, is a useless Wight.”(Ch. 4) Every action that is taken must be done deliberately. Knowing what he/she is doing, and doing it because it is ethically correct is the meaning...
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...thoughts of three philosophers’ whose remarks on happiness have been most influential for centuries after their time. They are Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Although I do not have the perfect understanding of happiness and believe no one does, I believe that each of their approaches to happiness hold a common theme that must be inconsistent with true happiness. They base happiness ultimately on self fulfillment. One of the earliest to ask the question ‘what is happiness?’ was Aristotle, who, in a manner typical of philosophers, before providing an answer insisted on making a distinction between two different questions. His first question was what was meant by the word ‘happiness’—or rather, its ancient Greek equivalent eudaimonia. His second question was where happiness was to be found, that is to say, what is it that makes us truly happy? Reasonably enough he thought that it was futile to try to answer the second question without having given thought to the first. The definition that he offers is that happiness is the supreme good that supplies the purpose, and measures the value, of all human activity and striving. “[E]verything else that any of us do” he wrote ”we do for its sake” (Nicomechean Ethics 27). This seems a very sweeping statement: surely it is implausible to suggest that every human action is explicitly aimed at some single...
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...The History of Happiness and Contemporary Happiness Studies Darrin M. McMahon New Directions in the Study of Happiness Notre Dame University, Oct. 22-24, 2006 Well, first of all let me say what an honor it is to be here, speaking to such an illustrious gathering of scholars, and to thank the organizers at Notre Dame for having invited me and indeed for having invited all of us. It occurs to me that we in the academic world like to talk about the importance of interdisciplinary discussions, about the need for cross-fertilization, and the like, but in my experience that is too often, regrettably, more talk than reality. So chapeau, as the French say, to Notre Dame for hosting this event around a subject that so clearly demands multiple perspectives. I’ve noted that this first panel modestly poses the question “What is happiness?,” and modestly let me say that I am singularly unfit to answer it, in large part because of my training as a historian, which makes me, I fear, unduly attentive to the way in which words and concepts change their meanings over time. To be perfectly frank, I’m partial to Immanuel Kant’s observation that “the concept of happiness is such an indeterminate one that even though everyone wishes to attain happiness, yet he can never say definitely and consistently what it is what he really wishes and wills.” But clearly that is not really going to be good enough here tonight. So how to answer the question “what is happiness.” I might point...
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...Kaycee Feb 11, 2013 Definition Paper Happiness There is much talk about happiness in life. Movies, lectures, books, and seminars have been written explaining what it is to be ‘happy’ and ‘how you get there.’ As stated in the United States Constitution we are given “unalienable rights among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Happiness is something we as humans are entitled to and guaranteed as a right. Something so fundamental should be easy to come by, yet everywhere you turn there are signs and tips on how to be ‘A Happier person.’ Happiness, by definition is a state of being, not a destination. It is an essence that many people work so hard to define, capture and achieve, all the while jeopardizing the true state of being happy. For some, happiness is the sunshine on their face as they curl up in their favorite chair on the beach sipping a cold drink. For others it is a baby’s smile, or their first paycheck. As people go through their different stages of life they have different definitions of happiness and different means of being happy and achieving happiness. Happy is a state of mind and a temporary place, not an end goal or destination as many people feel happiness is. So many times people feel like if they could only lose those last 10 pounds, or get promoted, or watch their team win the Superbowl then is when they will be happy. Once happiness is achieved, then what? Do people move on to the next ‘happiness’ or are they just satisfied...
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...Section A – Focus on Happiness 1) In the article, ‘The Question of Happiness”, the writer Tal Ben-Shahar writes about his first experiences with happiness. It all starts when he wins the Israeli national squash championship at sixteen years old. He has been practicing for years and believes that winning the title will make him happy and fulfil the emptiness he feels inside. Ben-Shahar wins the championship and feels happier that he ever thought was possible. But it only lasts for so long. Shortly after winning the championship the emptiness comes back and that makes him question what happiness is really about. He realizes that he has to rethink his perception of happiness and what makes us happy. He becomes obsessed, starts pursuing the true meaning of it and starts studying philosophers like Aristotle and Confucius. He discovers that emotions are fleeting, and while they are enjoyable and significant, he does not believe that they are the measure of happiness. 2) Everybody has different perceptions of what happiness is. Some believe that it is buying a new car while others think that helping other people is the key. In the three texts we get three different opinions on the matter. The first text is ‘The Question of Happiness’ by Tal Ben-Shahar. He has published a book called ‘Happier’, which is where the text is from and has been a teacher at Harvard University. Ben-Shahar has been wondering about happiness since he was sixteen years old. It all started when winning...
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...My idea of a happy lifeWhen I begin to think of my idea of a happylife, I think first of all of money -- plenty of money for everything all the time. Money tobuy a beautiful house for my parents or mybrothers and sisters with every convenience and luxury, money to buy a fine motor car, all the clothes we could everwant and as many possessions like transistors, bicycles and modern appliances, as the heart could desire. money too, for foreign travel and for a first class education. Then, I think, I could be happy. But, is this really the answer ? It is true that the possession of money contributes to comfort and easy living, but money in itself cannot create happiness.Let us look at some of the world's richest people. Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth's heiress, for example, was divorced several times and lived a most unhappy life. There are many other rich people, whose misery is much greater than that of those living with only enough money for the barest necessities of life.The essentials, therefore, of a happy life do not lie in money. Indeed, very many of themare things that money can never purchase. Good health is one of them and the one that we value least, until we are in danger of losing it. It is true that brave people who suffer from ill-health do surmount it and often find great happiness, but this needs great courage and all of them would admit that they would be happier with a healthy body and leading a normal life.Like most of my fellowmen, I am a gregarious animal and...
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...Success or Happiness We always think that money can buy happiness and if we have money we are living the good life. Even Aristotle would agree that money can’t buy happiness. But what if you are poor and struggling and trying to reach success because you need to support your family. Can that success buy happiness? Because when you are struggling and trying to make ends meet it can be frustrating. We can definitely look at the movie Pursuit of Happyness and try to think what would Aristotle think of the story and would he agree on the main character, Chris’s, definition of happiness. In the movie Pursuit of Happyness there is a guy name Chris Gardner who is trying his best to support his family by selling portable bone density scanners. And for Chris to be able to pay rent and daycare fees, he has to at least sell 2 scanners each month. Throughout the movie he has a hard time selling them and it gets to the point where he can’t pay his bills. In result of him not being able to pay his bills, his wife ends up leaving and he also gets evicted from his home and the only person he has left is his son Christopher (Pursuit of Happyness). So his only option to not live on the streets and to give his son a good life is to find a good paying job. When I was watching the movie, one scene that stood out was the scene when Chris was walking through the Financial District in San Francisco after a long day of trying to sell his scanners. But as he is walking he sees a man in a suit and...
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...Many people believe that happiness can be bought, or that money helps create happiness. Happiness is defined in different ways. Some may say that living free is a form of happiness. Others may say that family brings happiness to one’s soul. We can say that most people would like to feel some form of happiness. Happiness can determine how your life will succeed or not. Happiness can be maladaptive and adaptive in an evolutionary perspective. My happiness will help me and my future, survive in this modern world. My happiness is determined by my career. I have obtain a position as a police cadet that has brought me my happiness. My happiness is to defend those who can’t and to offer any help possible. My daily routine is different and exciting. The adrenalin rush I get from deterring crime or giving advice to people in need makes me happy. The reason why my career makes me very happy and is essential to my survival of this world is because it can determine my survival and reproduction. Bjorn Grinde in “Darwinism Happiness”, he say that many people think that being healthy means to be happy or that having a disease means that you are not happy. He says that many people are lonely, bored and lacking in life. He says that living for people has become a daily routine without purpose. People are not content on how there life has come out to be. (2002) This is a form of maladaptive behavior because people that are lacking in life and lonely do not have a successful reproduction rate...
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...Achieving Inner Contentment may mean different things to some people, for example to some it may mean to have everything that you desire or want like expensive cars, bigger house, or more shoes, when really you do not need them. In the essay titled, “Inner Contentment,” by the Dali Lama and Howard C. Cutler, they seem to be having a conversation about what inner contentment really is and how both of them think that they can achieve it but in two different ways (Lama and Cutler). There are two different methods to achieving inner contentment, but one way is more reasonable and better than the other one. One of the methods is to obtain everything you want and or desire, which is the one that the Dali Lama and Howard C. Cutler say is the unreliable one that can get you into trouble, while the second method is not to have what you want but rather to appreciate what we have. In this essay they explain both, why one is unreasonable and how while the other one is reasonable (Lama and Cutler). The essay starts off with Howard C. Cutler walking down the street to meet with the Dali Lama, but he stops to admire a brand-new Toyota land cruiser, which he says is “the car he has been wanting for a long time” (Lama and Cutler). When he gets to his session with the Dali Lama, he starts by commenting that he feels that western culture is very influenced by ads for the latest and newest things to buy and your desire for them never seems to stop so he asks the Dali Lama to talk a little bit about...
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...Final Essay Both Kant and Aristotle discuss their own interpretations of what morality is and what it looks like. They have very different ways of looking at what it means to act morally and what needs to be done to achieve morality and how happiness factors in to morality however. Aristotle believes that the end goal of morality is happiness. Happiness is the “final end” to all moral actions, it is the thing all humans are striving for even subconsciously. It is the final end because all actions lead to happiness, but happiness can only lead to itself, you build a ship to travel, you travel to trade, you trade to make money, and so on until you reach happiness but there is nothing greater than happiness. Aristotle reasons that since happiness is the final end of all actions it must be the function of the whole, it is our Human Function. Just like the eyes’ function is to see, and the nose’s to smell the whole human body must have a function as well: the achievement of happiness. Since this is the function of humans then to achieve this function must be to use a uniquely human trait. The uniquely human trait the Aristotle arrives at is Reason, therefore the activity of reason, in accordance with virtue, is what leads humans to the final good of happiness. Virtue is something that we must use to achieve happiness. Aristotle defines happiness as both the final end and the highest good, to be morally good is to be happy and vice versa. To gain these things we must have and know...
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...Happiness in Fahrenheit 451 The book Fahrenheit 451 is a dark book. The people that live in the city are very awkward towards each other. This is a result of them not truly being happy. The society is very unsocial and spend most of their time watching their 3 wall tv’s. They rarely talk to each other even if they are married. True happiness is when two or more people show compassion for each other. These people can be married, siblings, cousins, family, and neighbors. In modern society true happiness is when a couple gets married or when a family has a reunion. True happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy. In the book Fahrenheit 451 they are never able to experience true happiness. In Fahrenheit 451 there are only a few characters that are truly happy. Guy is a firefighter that did not experience happiness at the beginning, but by the end he truly is happy. Clarisse is a girl that loves nature and was happy most of her life and was very happy when she meet Guy. Faber was a professor earlier in his life, but when books became illegal he retired, he was happy earlier in his life, but then the world became corrupt and he is not as happy as he used to be. Granger was once like Guy was at the beginning of the book, but then he ran away...
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...The world today revolves around one thing: money. Money makes and defines society, however it is debated wether or not that much influence has a positive or negative effect. Money however, is not the key to a happy and prosperous life. People and experiences influence ones life much more than money ever could. Money creates a sense of importance and a constant comparison to everyone around. Although money can bring forth many glamorous things to someone's life, this does not influence the phycological well being of a person, therefore money is not happiness. Money does not directly buy happiness, it simply distracts one from their true source of happiness. In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, titled “The Drum Major Instinct”, King goes into detail about how when people obtain money, it creates a sense of entitlement and an “I'm better than him” mind set. Money leads to a constant comparison of people to themselves. Even back in the 1950s when the Civil Right movement was stirring in America, people used money as a way to compare themselves to the less fortunate. Money was an object used to wave in another's face to attempt to get a reaction. However many people were so distracted by the fact that they needed money to be happy, that they didn't sit back and enjoy what they had in life. Much of what we know about wealthy people, comes from tabloids, newspapers, magazines, however we never really get a feel of what's going on behind the scenes. Many wealthy people put...
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