Aristotle’s Eudaemonia: Achieving Happiness Through Virtue
Aristotle on Happiness: The Supreme Good
According to Aristotle, happiness (Eudaimonia) is the ultimate goal sought by the individual. Therefore, it cannot be merely a means to an end; rather, it is the supreme good. It holds value in itself and does not depend on external factors. Aristotle examined the most prevalent opinions of his time regarding happiness:
- Some claimed that happiness and the major good are wealth, suggesting the good life is related to business. However, Aristotle argued that money is only a means to other things, not an end in itself, and thus cannot be the greatest good to which humans aspire.
- Others equated happiness with pleasure, believing the good life is one of enjoyment. Yet, Aristotle felt that some pleasures are not inherently good, and some good things are not pleasant.
- Still others identified happiness with honor, fame, and glory. But Aristotle noted that fame depends more on those who bestow it than on the recipient, and true happiness cannot rely on elements external to oneself.
Consequently, for Aristotle, none of these views was satisfactory. He concluded that happiness consists in living a virtuous life. This happiness cannot be a fleeting trend or short-lived state but must encompass one’s entire life. While happiness is not identical to pleasure, material goods, or honor, these external goods are often necessary conditions to facilitate a virtuous life.
Aristotle’s Concept of Virtue or Excellence
For Aristotle, a fulfilling life must be lived with excellence (aretē), or virtue. He asserted that only the virtuous life is truly good and, therefore, happy. He distinguished two parts of the human soul relevant to action:
- The non-rational part, which includes desires and volitions that shape a person’s character and can lead to external behaviors through impulses.
- The rational part, from which thoughts and deliberation arise. This part engages in activities such as rationally weighing different means to achieve an end.
The virtuous life involves controlling the passions and desires that form one’s character, submitting them to the dictates of reason through habit and custom. For Aristotle, experience and wisdom are the essential guides. He advised that younger individuals should learn from the example of the wisest and most experienced, as otherwise, their pursuits could be destructive and fail to lead to happiness.
The Golden Mean and the Role of Prudence
Aristotle taught that decision (prohairesis) guides behavior: “decision is the deliberate desire of things within our reach,” and it can be either good or bad. A good decision is characterized by finding a middle way (the mean) between two extremes – one of deficiency and one of excess. The habit of consistently deciding well, always choosing this intermediate path between extremes, constitutes the virtuous life.
The mean is always relative because it depends on the individual and their specific circumstances. Only experience can teach us precisely where our particular middle ground lies in any given situation. The intellectual virtue associated with practical reason is called prudence (phronēsis). Prudence is not innate but is learned through practical experience and expertise. It helps establish the right course of action and identify the appropriate means to achieve a virtuous end.
Wisdom and the Contemplative Life in Aristotle
For Aristotle, wisdom (sophia) and the pursuit of the mean are essential for forming character. However, he believed the highest form of happiness is achieved through the performance of the highest human activity: the contemplative life. The virtue associated with theoretical reason is wisdom (sophia), defined as the habit of grasping the truth about the universal and necessary aspects of reality.