Aristotle: Happiness and Values

 

Name of the Book: Contemporary Moral Problems

Library Reference: N/A
Amazon Link:    

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=

contemporary+moral+problems&x=0&y=0 

Quote:

 

“All humans beings, seek happiness is not pleasure, honour, wealth, but an activity of the soul in accordance with the virtue”

Learning Expectations:

 

1.       To learn the connection between Happiness and Values

2.       To know deeply what is happiness is all about?

3.       To know deeply what Values is all about?

4.       To know who are those who deserves to be happy and why do we have to be happy?

5.       To know if it’s necessary for us to have values.

 

Review:

In this chapter this tackles about both happiness and values in different views but still focus on the view of ariatotle. happiness according to Aristotle means really a lot but what he emphasizes about it is that; all  humans beings, seek happiness is not pleasure, honour, wealth, but an activity of the soul in accordance with the virtue.  And if according to Aristotle happiness was also related to pleasure in a way that or in a way of judging every men's lives that leads to identify the good or happiness with pleasure; which is the reason why  they love the life of enjoyment. Happiness above all else, is held to be for this we choose always for itself and never for the sake of something else but honour pleasure, reason, and every virtue. We choose indeed for them, but we choose them also to the sake of happiness judging that by means of them we shall be happy

      And so meaning happiness on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, or in general, for anything other than itself. Which in addition to, this explains that happiness do have connections or relations to pleasure for the reason that and based from what the article say, that in life of an individual there are lots of pleasure that comes, we sometime or people sometimes choose, sometimes grab it. and so this pleasures can be in forms of things, people, actions and the like And so if this pleasures comes to individuals lives, when they fe4lt it, experienced it, it i true enough that this creates or builds happiness in their hearts or even in their live

     While if were going to analyze the relation of happiness to virtue we can say that some identifies happiness with virtues as some with practical wisdom others with philosophic wisdom, others with these or not without pleasures, Happiness with virtues, or some of one virtue our account is in harmony; for to virtue belongs virtuous activity. But it makes perhaps no small difference whether we place the chief good in possession or in use, instate of mind or activity Therefore virtue is a kind of mean, since, as we have seen it aims at what is intermediate. That's why if happiness is activity in accordance with virtue it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest virtue; and this will be that of the best thing in us. Happiness in activity of the soul in accordance to it' virtue, we must consider the nature of the virtue for perhaps we shall see well than the issue of happiness.

Moral virtues according to Aristotle explains or describes that it comes from the training and habit, and generally is  a mean between the vices of excess and deficiency. From this is also plain that none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exist by nature can form a habit contrary to it's nature.

  For example the stone which by nature moves downward cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times; nor can fire  the habituated to move downward, nor can anything else that by nature behaves in one way be trained to behave in another. Neither by nature then, nor contrary to nature does the virtues a rise in us. Rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit.  Another example would be, Aristotle portrays the virtue of courage as mean between the extreme rashness (an excess) and cowardice (a deficiency). With which through this i understand that courage is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to do things that you are afraid to do as an individual. The virtue of man also will be the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well. And another example would be, both fear and confidence and appetite and anger and pity and in general pleasure and pain may be felt both too much and too little, and in both cases as well; but to feel them at the right time, with reference to the right object, towards the right people, with the right motive and in the right way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this is the characteristic of virtue.

 

Learning’s/Insights:

 

·         Virtues describes that it comes from the training and habit, and generally is  a mean between the vices of excess and deficiency.

·         All humans beings, seek happiness is not pleasure, honour, wealth, but an activity of the soul in accordance with the virtue.  

·         Happiness with virtues, or some of one virtue our account is in harmony; for to virtue belongs virtuous activity.

·         For pleasure is a state of soul; and to each man that which he is said to be a lover of is pleasant.

 

Integrative Questions:

 

1.       What is happiness?

2.       What are values?

3.       How are the two related?

4.       How are the two important?

5.       How do we gain the two?

 

Review Questions:

1.               Happiness according to Aristotle means really a lot but what he emphasizes about it is that; all  humans beings, seek happiness is not pleasure, honour, wealth, but an activity of the soul in accordance with the virtue.   And if according to Aristotle happiness was also related to pleasure in a way that or in a way of judging every men's lives that leads to identify the good or happiness with pleasure; which is the reason why  they love the life of enjoyment. Happiness above all else, is held to be for this we choose always for itself and never for the sake of something else but honour pleasure, reason, and every virtue. We choose indeed for them, but we choose them also to the sake of happiness judging that by means of them we shall be happy. And so meaning happiness on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, or in general, for anything other than itself. Which in addition to, this explains that happiness do have connections or relations to pleasure for the reason that and based from what the article say, that in life of an individual there are lots of pleasure that comes, we sometime or people sometimes choose, sometimes grab it. and so this pleasures can be in forms of things, people, actions and the like And so if this pleasures comes to individuals lives, when they fe4lt it, experienced it, it I true enough that this creates or builds happiness in their hearts or even in their lives.  While if were going to analyze the relation of happiness to virtue we can say that some identifies happiness with virtues as some with practical wisdom others with philosophic wisdom, others with these or not without pleasures, Happiness with virtues, or some of one virtue our account is in harmony; for to virtue belongs virtuous activity. But it makes perhaps no small difference whether we place the chief good in possession or in use, instate of mind or activity.  Therefore virtue is a kind of mean, since, as we have seen it aims at what is intermediate. That's why if happiness is activity in accordance with virtue it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest virtue; and this will be that of the best thing in us. Happiness in activity of the soul in accordance to it' virtue, we must consider the nature of the virtue for perhaps we shall see well than the issue of happiness.

 

2.               Moral virtues according to Aristotle explain or describes that it comes from the training and habit, and generally is a mean between the vices of excess and deficiency. From this is also plain that none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature. For example the stone which by nature moves downward cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times; nor can fire  the habituated to move downward, nor can anything else that by nature behaves in one way be trained to behave in another. Neither by nature then, nor contrary to nature does the virtues a rise in us. Rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit.

 Another example would be, Aristotle portrays the virtue of courage as mean between the extreme rashness(an excess) and cowardice(a deficiency). With which through this i understand that courage is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to do things that you are afraid to do as an individual. The virtue of man also will be the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well. And another example would be, both fear and confidence and appetite and anger and pity and in general pleasure and pain may be felt both too much and too little, and in both cases as well; but to feel them at the right time, with reference to the right object, towards the right people, with the right motive and in the right way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this is the characteristic of virtue.

 

 3.               In my own opinion, it is possible  for everyone in our society or in the society to be happy as Aristotle explained it. Because i do agree that people or individual do all have chances and choices as to how they will be able to be happy with their own lives. Yes, for me it is possible for everyone in the society to be happy in all the ways they want to achieve it. Because i do believe and i do agree that all people or all individual in the society do seek happiness that is why happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance to it's perfect virtues, we must consider the nature of the virtue for perhaps we shall see better the nature of happiness and it is true enough that if there is any gift of God to men it is reasonable that happiness should be god-given and most surely god-given of all human things in as much as it's  the best. And so with this we can also say that it is really possible for everyone i the society to be happy because when god give a gift he make sure that it is fair for everyone. But we cannot deny the fact that happiness doesn’t come to us simultaneously, but this come unexpectedly.

 

 

Discussion Questions:

1.               For pleasure is a state of soul; and to each man that which he is said to be a lover of is pleasant. And so if anything is wrong with a life of pleasure we can say that it is true enough that for most men their pleasures are in conflict with one another because these are not by nature pleasant but thee lovers of what is noble find pleasant things that are by nature pleasant; ad virtuous actions are such, so that these are pleasant for such men as well as in their nature. Their life therefore, has no further need of pleasure as a sort of adventitious charm, but has it's pleasure in itself. And so we can say that if pleasure is wrong in life an individual does not rejoice in noble actions is not even good, meaning people does not feel or even experience any happiness with their lives because some things are wrong and something re in complete for them to feel full and complete pleasures with their lives. That's why in order for an individual to feel and achieve satisfaction, pleasure and happiness in everything in life should  be good, noble and complete; happiness then is the best, noblest and most pleasant thing in the world.

 

 2.                Aristotle claims that philosophers will be happier than anyone else maybe because they are those people who are educated in a subject then they are consider as a good judge of the subject or in this subject. And so we can say that they have this higher understanding about different matters specialty about  happiness, pleasure virtue and the like.; in view of the fact that all knowledge and every pursuit aims at some good, what it is that we say political science aims at and what is the highest of all goods achievable by actions.  But we cannot deny the fact that in some way it is not true that the philosophers will be happier than anyone else, that's why I do not agree on it, why? maybe because what it is in my mind right now and even before that anyone, everyone can achieve the highest level of happiness in our lives depending on how we see it from ourselves and no matter what kind of person who we are, because even though we are not philosophers I do believe that all of us do have the chance and a choice to feel this happiness or to be happier than anyone else in a most fair way that we can get it or we can have it. And because people do have different appreciation and consideration into the views as to how they will see happiness in different levels, which means that in some people they saw happiness in  an average manner but others do not. But it doesn't necessarily mean that I do not understand the point or the view of Aristotle, of course I do understand him as his claim that philosophers will be happier than anyone else because I know he has his own intelligent reason as to why he said this things or he claims this things. Maybe he said this for the reason that as philosophers he fined them as the happier than anyone else based on the professions that they have in life.