Philosophical ideas can help people find happiness outside of religion and psychotherapy. Here is a brief exposition of Aristotle’s ideas on what ultimate happiness (Eudaimonia) is and how to achieve it.
Aristotle puts eudaimonia (ultimate happiness) in a list of various ‘good things’ that we all desire, placing eudaimonia at the top of this list. He explains that some of these ‘good things’ are better than others; that there are ‘goods’ that lead to other ends, such as wealth, which is desired because of what it can do; and there are ‘goods’ that are an end in themselves, such as health, which is sought for its own sake.
Aristotle says for something to be the ultimate good (eudaimonia – it’s a tricky word to translate into english) it must fulfill a number of conditions. Firstly, it must always be desired for it’s own sake and cannot be chosen for the sake of something else, that counts out wealth, fame, power, etc. Secondly, it must be self-sufficient, his words are “that which when isolated makes life desirable and lacking in nothing”. Finally, it must also cause the goodness of all the other goods, like putting money to good ends, health, and happiness.
However, Aristotle is also very practical, and it is how he links his idea of eudaimonia with the function / purpose of any human that really makes his ideas useful to everybody, so follow these next ideas closely.
Aristotle says that everything has a function; a hand is for grasping, an eye is for seeing, and so the whole human being also has a function – what is this function? To quote Aristotle and say that the human function is reason, “since reason more than anything else is man”, really misses the point. Because, what Aristotle meant by ‘reason’ is vastly different to the narrow meaning it has today. He actually struggles to put into words some rather profound ideas saying, “whether it be reason, something divine, or something else in us that is our natural guide taking thought of things noble and divine”. Therefore, ‘reason’ hardly describes what he sees as the function of the human being – that “something else in us” that makes us think “of things noble and divine” – is a far bigger idea. Fortunately, Aristotle provides us far more than this nebulous quote (it is important however to refute this narrow rationalist conception of Aristotelian philosophy).
Aristotle inextricably links his idea of eudaimonia (the ultimate good / happiness) with Arete (the practice of virtue). Aristotle believed that for every virtue there are two vices; for example, the virtue of courage comes between the two vices of rashness and cowardice. Therefore, it takes great intelligence to choose the middle path of virtue. Because of this, Aristotle argued that only moral people were actually intelligent, as it takes a great deal of effort to make a moral decision, moral decisions involve us more deeply as we have to consider our thoughts and our feelings. To Aristotle, people who are immoral or amoral are only cunning, they only use half of their intelligence; they only think, they cannot think and feel at the same time to arrive at a decision.
However, Aristotle doesn’t stop there, for him quiet philosophical thinking is not enough, he also demands we take action. In my opinion, this is where Aristotle provides the perfect eternal self-help manual for humanity.
Aristotle argued that we can grow our virtue through regular exercise, the more we are courageous or self disciplined the stronger these virtues become. Conversely, regular indulgence in vice can make these vices stronger; a regular gossip may eventually grow into a full-blown liar.
This is still great advice for people today, it doesn’t peddle the lie of sudden transformation, it says that we have to work at things, growing our virtues over time. It also allows us to approach problems in our life from different angles; for example, if you want to give up smoking, gambling, overeating, etc, it takes self control. Using Aristotle’s ideas, you would first grow the virtue of self control in other areas of your life, eventually, your self control will become strong enough to quit those habits. You can apply this approach to every area of your life, start by making a list of virtues (patience, humility, courage, self discipline, etc), identify the ones you need to strengthen, then by making small steps you can start growing your virtues.
In explaining how the exercise of virtue leads to ultimate happiness Aristotle is wonderfully precise, he says, “virtue is a state of character concerned with choice”. Because the exercise of virtue demands “taking thought of things noble and divine”, this activity fulfills ones human function; and, Aristotle explains, activity according to the function of any particular thing is the “best and most pleasant for each thing”, and thereby leads to ultimate happiness / eudaimonia. The activity associated with living virtuously fulfills all the conditions of the ultimate good; it is the natural function of the human being, it is self-sufficient and loved for its own sake, and it causes all the other goods to arise. This shows Aristotle’s timeless genius, as he managed to combine philosophical contemplation with action, in such a way that each idea mutually reinforces the other to provide a practical approach to doing good and finding ultimate happiness.
Furthermore, Aristotle also related eudaimonia to politics; he saw a distinct relationship between ethics and the structure of the ‘polis’. Through the exercise of the virtues, Aristotle saw social and political forms arising that would further encourage education, exhibition of the virtues, and a society within which one could pursue the eudaimon life. When Aristotle said that eudaimonia was the chief good for ‘man’ he also meant this in a larger political context, with eudaimonia being possible for whole societies as well as for individuals.
Finally, we should finish with a beautiful quote of Aristotle’s, encapsulating his eternal visionary philosophy. The chief good exists when we “so far as we can, make ourselves immortal, and strain every nerve to live in accordance with the best thing in us”.
For further reading see:
Aristotle, selections from ‘Ethica Nicomachea (Nicomachean Ethics),’ trans W.D. Ross, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, edited by Richard McKeon (New York: Random House, 1941).
MacIntyre, Alasdair, ‘Aristotle’s account of the Virtues,’ in After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, 2nd ed. (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984).
