LESSON PROPER

Module 7 EUDAIMONIA

Happiness as the Ultimate Purpose of Human Existence

One of Aristotle's most influential works is the Nicomachean Ethics, where he

presents a theory of happiness that is still relevant today, over 2,300 years later. The
key question Aristotle seeks to answer in these lectures is "What is the ultimate purpose
of human existence?" What is that end or goal for which we should direct all of our
activities? Everywhere we see people seeking pleasure, wealth, and a good reputation.
But while each of these has some value, none of them can occupy the place of the chief
good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end, an act must be self-
sufficient and final, "that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of
something else", and it must be attainable by man. Aristotle claims that nearly everyone
would agree that happiness is the end which meets all these requirements. It is easy
enough to see that we desire money, pleasure, and honor only because we believe that
these goods will make us happy. It seems that all other goods are a means towards
obtaining happiness, while happiness is always an end in itself.

The Greek word that usually gets translated as "happiness" is eudaimonia, and
like most translations from ancient languages, this can be misleading. The main trouble
is that happiness is often conceived of as a subjective state of mind, as when one says
one is happy when one is enjoying a cool beer on a hot day, or is out "having fun" with
one's friends. For Aristotle, however, happiness is a final end or goal that encompasses
the totality of one's life. It is not something that can be gained or lost in a few hours, like
pleasurable sensations. It is more like the ultimate value of your life as lived up to this
moment, measuring how well you have lived up to your full potential as a human being.
For this reason, one cannot really make any pronouncements about whether one has
lived a happy life until it is over. For the same reason we cannot say that children are
happy, any more than we can say that an acorn is a tree, for the potential for a
flourishing human life has not yet been realized. As Aristotle says, "for as it is not one
swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that
makes a man blessed and happy."
The Hierarchical View of Nature

Aristotle's vision of the hierarchy of beings

In order to explain human happiness, Aristotle draws on a view of nature he

derived from his biological investigations. If we look at nature, we notice that there are
four different kinds of things that exist in the world, each one defined by a different
purpose:

1. Mineral: rocks, metals and other lifeless things. The only goal which these things
seek is to come to a rest. They are "beyond stupid" since they are inanimate objects
with no soul
2. Vegetative: plants and other wildlife. Here we see a new kind of thing emerge,
something which is alive. Because plants seek nourishment and growth, they have
souls and can be even said to be satisfied when they attain these goals
3. Animal: all the creatures we study as belonging to the animal kingdom. Here we see
a higher level of life emerge: animals seek pleasure and reproduction, and we can talk
about a happy or sad dog, for example, to the extent that they are healthy and lead a
pleasant life
4. Human: what is it that makes human beings different from the rest of the animal
kingdom? Aristotle answers: Reason. Only humans are capable of acting according to
principles, and in so doing taking responsibility for their choices. We can blame Johnny
for stealing the candy since he knows it is wrong, but we would not blame an animal
since it doesn't know any better.

It seems that our unique function is to reason: by reasoning things out we attain
our ends, solve our problems, and hence live a life that is qualitatively different in kind
from plants or animals. The good for a human is different from the good for an animal
because we have different capacities or potentialities. We have a rational capacity and
the exercising of this capacity is thus the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For
this reason, pleasure alone cannot constitute human happiness, for pleasure is what
animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is not to
annihilate our physical urges, however, but rather to channel them in ways that are
appropriate to our natures as rational animals.

The Pursuit of Happiness as the Exercise of Virtue

According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a
whole lifetime, all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to
the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to
make choices, some of which may be very difficult. Often the lesser good promises
immediate pleasure and is more tempting, while the greater good is painful and requires
some sort of sacrifice. For example, it may be easier and more enjoyable to spend the
night watching television, but you know that you will be better off if you spend it
researching for your term paper. Developing a good character requires a strong effort of
will to do the right thing, even in difficult situations.

Aristotle would be strongly critical of the culture of "instant gratification" which

seems to predominate in our society today. In order to achieve the life of complete
virtue, we need to make the right choices, and this involves keeping our eye on the
future, on the ultimate result we want for our lives as a whole. We will not achieve
happiness simply by enjoying the pleasures of the moment. Unfortunately, this is
something most people are not able to overcome in themselves. As he laments, "the
mass of mankind are evidently quite slavish in their tastes, preferring a life suitable to
beasts". Later in the Ethics Aristotle draws attention to the concept of akrasia, or
weakness of the will. In many cases the overwhelming prospect of some great pleasure
obscures one's perception of what is truly good. Fortunately, this natural disposition is
curable through training, which for Aristotle meant education and the constant aim to
perfect virtue. As he puts it, a clumsy archer may indeed get better with practice, so
long as he keeps aiming for the target.
There is yet another activity few people engage in which is required to live a truly
happy life, according to Aristotle: intellectual contemplation. Since our nature is to be
rational, the ultimate perfection of our natures is rational reflection. This means having
an intellectual curiosity which perpetuates that natural wonder to know which begins in
childhood but seems to be stamped out soon thereafter. For Aristotle, education should
be about the cultivation of character, and this involves a practical and a theoretical
component. The practical component is the acquisition of a moral character, as
discussed above. The theoretical component is the making of a philosopher. Here there
is no tangible reward, but the critical questioning of things raises our minds above the
realm of nature and closer to the abode of the gods.

In conclusion, according to Aristotle, what is happiness?

 Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence

 Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue. It is the exercise of virtue.
 Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one's life. Hence it is a goal and not a
temporary state.
 Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human
happiness depends on the exercise of his reason.
 Happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where one displays the virtues
of courage, generosity, justice, friendship, and citizenship in one's life. These virtues
involve striking a balance or "mean" between an excess and a deficiency.
 Happiness requires intellectual contemplation, for this is the ultimate realization of
our rational capacities.

Theories of Happiness
A. Hedonistic Theories

Hedonistic theories represent happiness as a ―balance of pleasure over pain.

To avoid terminological confusion, it should be made clear at this point that
‘hedonism‘ as used in philosophy ordinarily refers to something other than hedonism
about psychological happiness. Two other basic types of hedonism exist, namely,
ethical hedonism (a normative theory) and psychological hedonism (a descriptive
theory). Ethical hedonists maintain that one should seek pleasure or that pleasure is the
only thing worth seeking. Psychological hedonists claim that pleasure is the only thing
that humans (and presumably other creatures) ever do seek.
 B. Life-satisfaction Theories

Life-satisfaction and desire-satisfaction theories comprise a second category of

theories of happiness. These two types of theories are very difficult to distinguish from
each other. Desire-satisfaction theories describe happiness as the satisfaction of certain
central desires (rarely do its proponents claim implausibly that happiness is the
satisfaction of all desires) for one‘s life. Life-satisfaction theories describe happiness as
the satisfaction of certain standards or goals for one‘s life. Well, this is really describing
the same process: when we have standards or goals for our lives, we desire their
satisfaction or attainment, and when we have a central desire for our lives, then inherent
in this desire is a goal or a standard towards which we strive. For this reason the two
types of theories are structurally identical, and simply describe this process either from
the perspective of the end-state that is achieved (satisfaction of a standard or standards
for one‘s life), or from the perspective of the desire that is extinguished through the
satisfaction of the standard.

Just as physical pleasure or pain could result in positive or negative affect, it

seems that the satisfaction of these central desires could result in happiness, but the
satisfaction is not itself happiness, even if it always were to result in happiness.