Introduction
People live for various reasons. It depends upon their perception of the reason of their being. Reasons for living are numerous. It is a matter of identifying the ones that will ultimately push people to go on living that counts. People need motivation in order to go about their daily activities. They draw strength form these motivators and thus it can be said that motivations contributes to the capacity of human beings to perform tasks. There are various kinds of motivations available for human use.
For example, parents can be motivated by the desire to provide for their children, which drives them to work hard. Students can be motivated to study more by high grades and accompanying rewards from their respective schools or parents.
Motivations provide the extra push in order to reach goals. In turn, the achievement of goals allows them to experience a certain degree of satisfaction, which creates room for the feeling of happiness. With this analogy, it can be stated that the end goal of most objectives is to become happy with the results achieved.
One example of this is the common notion that workers stay with a specific company if they are happy with either their job or being with the people they work with. This means that human beings have the yearning to pursue happiness their entire life. It is a fact that many changes occur and therefore, conditions and standards for happiness also changes. This may be the reason why people pursue but not necessarily obtain happiness in their lifetime.
It is a fact that humans experience pleasures and joys in their lifetime. However, it is also the case that they experience troubles that brings about grief and pain. Nevertheless, the presence of grief and pains do not necessarily translate to a bad life. This means that happiness is not solely based on the presence of pleasures or joys, nor is happiness blemished by the presence of pain and grief.
One of the earliest philosophers that dealt with the question of happiness is Aristotle. He explored the issue of happiness in order to determine the nature of the experience and its effects on the way people live their lives. He stated a number of concepts relating to the term happiness that mat shock readers. Nevertheless, his shocking pronouncements added to the understanding of the term happiness.
With this, it is the objective of this paper to investigate the theories of Aristotle regarding happiness in the hopes of uncovering for one’s self the essence of happiness in daily living. The following sections of the paper will be presenting the arguments of Aristotle. His views on happiness will be the launching point of the discussion on how happiness is exemplified in daily living.
Aristotle on Happiness
Earlier, it was stated that human beings pursue happiness. This means that the mere fact that it I being pursued suggests that happiness is attainable (Lear 60). However, it is a matter of determining if the happiness being pursued by every individual is the same or is it the case that the definition of happiness varies from person to person.
In order to resolve this dilemma, this paper will be using the definitions and concepts of Aristotle. After which, concrete examples drawn form daily life will be presented to establish the commonalities of happiness definition.
According to Aristotle (1953), happiness is not a state of mind. If it were, it would mean that a sleeping person could be happy. As such, if happiness were a state of mind, it would only constitute to false experiences of happiness. Often, the concept of happiness is viewed as empty.
This is the case since it is associated to contentment specified by the individual, instead of specific good or ideal. It is a fact that most people are still not aware of what constitute happiness. It is the case that people are lulled into believing that happiness exists and that it means something. In addition, happiness is mostly associated with emotion.
Because of this, Aristotle came about with a definition of the concept of happiness. Included in his works is the statement that children cannot be happy. This may seem as a shock to many since it has been a long-standing notion that children are the happiest of all. Aristotle mentioned that a boy who is thought to be happy is merely being congratulated by the hopes that people have for him. In addition, a young boy cannot be deemed happy because of his age.
Aristotle defends his statement by saying that true happiness requires a complete life. Obviously, a young boy could not have lived a complete life yet. He is still beginning to experience life. Many changes will still occur and as such it cannot be stated that he has been able to experiences the joys as well as the pains of a complete life. Only when a person was able to experience a complete life can he or she determine if he or she has been truly happy.
To illustrate the point of living a complete life before ruling if a person has indeed been happy or not, Aristotle resorts to recounting the story of Croesus and Solon. In the story, the happiness or the lack of the characters became evident in the latter part of the story. However, the statement of Aristotle that one must be able to live a complete life before pronouncing that his or her life had been happy can mean that one must wait for the end of life before truly realizing the happiness of one’s life.
On the contrary, Aristotle believes that a person need not to wait for life to be over in order for other to determine if his or her has been happy of otherwise. It can be the case that an old person can look back on an almost completed life and evaluate whether or not his or her life had been happy. This outlook on happiness can be seen in a simple football game.
For example, a man went to a football and saw a friend. The man can ask his friend if the game is good. Depending on how the game has been played, his friend can answer that it is a good game if the game is played well (Adler).
However, as the game goes into the second half and the way the game is being played changes, the man’s friend can answer that the game is not going well. This illustrates that the goodness of a situation is not constant. Thus, determining a happy life can change as long as the person and the conditions affecting his or her life changes as well.
Aside for a complete life as a requirement of happiness, Aristotle also added that men agree in saying that happiness is the ultimate good or the supreme good (Aristotle 195). This means that happiness is a state of well being with no more room for anything else to be desired. This is the case since there are other good in a person’s life. For example, wealth and health are also considered as goods. In addition, happiness is considered as the supreme good since other goods leaves room for desire.
It can be the case that a wealthy man does not have a healthy body. It can also be the case that man with a healthy body does not have sufficient wealth. There are other goods that a man can posses yet still lack others. In the case of happiness, a man can be called happy if he does not want anything more. For example, a man can have a healthy but he still views that all other goods he posses is sufficient. At this point, that person can be called happy.
A person wants to be healthy because he or she wants to be fit for work so that he or she can acquire wealth, knowledge and/or friends. When asked, why is wealth, knowledge or friends acquisition is important, the answer can boil down to happiness.
However, when a person is asked why he or she wants to be happy, the answer can be as simple as because he or she wants to be happy, end of story. This means that happiness is the root of all the wants of people. As such, a person can be considered happy if he or she no longer wants anything else.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it may seem that the definition of happiness depends upon the view of the person. This means that the definition of happiness is as varied as the kinds of people that populate the earth. This can be stated because sufficiency of good is relative depending on the needs of people.
However, Aristotle contested that there is only one true conception of happiness. In addition, he stated that when happiness is truly conceived it becomes true or the same for all people.
In the end, following Aristotle’s view of happiness can lead to the notion that happiness becomes true to all on the basis that it is the root of all. Therefore, a person can truly say that he or she is happy when all the goods the one can desire has already been accumulated.
Contentment can very well be the key to attaining happiness. This is the case since a content person will no longer seek any goods and thus it leaves no more room for desire, which is a requirement of happiness.
Reference
Adler, Mortimer. Aristotle’s Ethics: The Theory of Happiness. 1963. 17 Apr. 2006. radicalacademy.com/adleraristotleethics1.htm.
Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. London: Penguin Books, 1953.
Lear, Jonathan. Happiness, Death, and the Remainder of Life. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2000.
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