Aristotle The Pursuit of Happiness - 1358 Words

Aristotle and Plato both are both well known for their focus on defining the purpose of being human. To them, humans have a particular characteristic that no other living thing possesses. That characteristic is that humans strive to achieve a level of goodness. Although they agree with each other that there is a highest good one must achieve in order to live a fulfilling life, they have different ideas on what that good is. On Aristotle’s search to find the highest good of a human being, he first asked what the ergon, or task, of being human is. His main focus was mostly on what the purpose or goal of human existence should be. Aristotle said that everyone is trying to reach happiness, whether it is by having money, love, or being†¦show more content†¦Not only did he find that humans are the only living organism with a rational soul, he also discovered that we were the only ones to obtain all of the other parts of the soul; â€Å"the nutritive soul which is in control of growth and development, the locomotive soul for motion, and the perceptive soul for perception.† Aristotle found that the good of being human is achieved by using reason well. He said that â€Å"what gives us the potential to live a better life is our ability to guide ourselves by using reason† (Shields). Having defined this concept of reasoning, Aristotle continued on his search for happiness. If we live w ell by using reason, then consistently doing activities that require reason is what makes us happy. According to W.D. Ross, who translated and interpreted Aristotle’s work, Aristotle claimed that everything we do, we do for a reason. For example, we go to school to get an education and we get an education to get a job. We get a job to get money, and so on. So, what Aristotle meant when he said our happiness is determined by how well we have lived to be our best being is that everything we end up doing after an achievement lets us reach a new level of happiness. Therefore, the highest good, the highest happiness, is the activity that we reach at the end of our lives. It is the â€Å"lifelong activities that activate theShow MoreRelatedThe Pursuit Of Happiness By Aristotle1156 Words   |  5 Pages The pursuit of happiness is the reason for our existence (Aristotle, 2004) The Greek word that usually gets translated as happiness is eudaimonia, and like most translations from ancient languages, there is a loss of deeper meaning in translation. According to Aristotle happiness (eudaimonia) is the central purpose of human life and a goal in itself (Aristotle, 2004) (Creed, Wardman 1963). Because of this ideology, Aristotle devoted much of his time discussing and explaining this philosophy (HughesRead MoreThe Pursuit Of Happiness By Aristotle2455 Words   |  10 PagesThe Pursuit of Happiness Some say that part of the human condition is the pursuit of happiness, but what is happiness? Is it having the best house and cars on the block? Is it he who has the most friends? To some, happiness is the highest level of success. In four pieces of work that we will be comparing, the protagonists are at odds with life. They are looking for something more that will help them find happiness. Happiness is not determined by what is happening around you, but rather what is happeningRead More The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis2829 Words   |  12 PagesThe Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Two major schools of thought broadly influenced the development of the moral code of Western Civilization. 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