Aristotle (384BC-322BC) was a Greek philosopher who is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western philosophy and science. One of his most influential works is the Nicomachean Ethics, where he puts forward a theory of happiness that is still pertinent today. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher who has had a considerable influence on contemporary moral and political philosophy. Both Aristotle and John Stuart Mill develop their ethical theories around the search for the highest good. They both agree on happiness being the highest good. These two philosophers see eye to eye on one aspect of happiness. For them, to attain true happiness, men should engage in activities that are distinct to humans.
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In book I of “The Nicomachean Ethics”, Aristotle shows that everything that man does seems to be directed at some good. He says that “all knowledge and all purpose aims at some good,” but he questioned what this final good or end was. He states that humans have many ends, but there is only one final end and this must be the best of all things. Through his research, he established that happiness fits the description of the final end more than anything else in the world. According to Aristotle happiness is something, “final and self-sufficing, and this is the end of all that man does”. In order to gain a more fundamental explanation, he then pursued the question of what is the function of man. He found that man’s function is the “exercise of his vital faculties in obedience to reason”. He says, happiness is an, “excellence or kind of excellence”. According to him, it is virtues that lead to happiness. Everyone agreed that happiness is to “live well”. However, Aristotle develops this into a whole lifestyle, and not just a state of being. His belief was that happiness is, “not a habit or a trained faculty, but it is some exercise of a faculty”. This means that if a person were happy, it would be exceedingly difficult for him or her to become unhappy. Only a big event could shake them from their …show more content…
According to him, happiness is synonymous with virtue. Here virtue is defined as excellence. Aristotle put forth the Doctrine of the Mean. This doctrine argues that virtue is a mean between two extremes, i.e., middle state between a vice of excess and of deficiency. This mean is not undoubtedly the average, but rather changes in relation to each individual. For example, a wrestler would need to eat more food than a regular person so the mean between excess food and deficit food varies for the wrestler and a non-wrestler. According to him, it is very difficult to discover the mean between the two extremes that is best suited for a person. Virtues involve the right amount of feelings and actions/or reactions. For instance, in pleasure and pain, the excess is intemperance, the deficiency is insensibility and the mean is temperance. For Aristotle, bravery is a virtue related to the feeling of fear. The excess of fear is cowardice (when a person fears situations that he or she should not, such as travelling in small vehicles). The deficiency of fear is rashness (when a person does not fear extreme danger, which he or she probably should). For Aristotle, a brave person fears only the most frightening conditions, such as death. Even though the brave person fears such conditions, he or she will stand firm
In book I of “The Nicomachean Ethics”, Aristotle shows that everything that man does seems to be directed at some good. He says that “all knowledge and all purpose aims at some good,” but he questioned what this final good or end was. He states that humans have many ends, but there is only one final end and this must be the best of all things. Through his research, he established that happiness fits the description of the final end more than anything else in the world. According to Aristotle happiness is something, “final and self-sufficing, and this is the end of all that man does”. In order to gain a more fundamental explanation, he then pursued the question of what is the function of man. He found that man’s function is the “exercise of his vital faculties in obedience to reason”. He says, happiness is an, “excellence or kind of excellence”. According to him, it is virtues that lead to happiness. Everyone agreed that happiness is to “live well”. However, Aristotle develops this into a whole lifestyle, and not just a state of being. His belief was that happiness is, “not a habit or a trained faculty, but it is some exercise of a faculty”. This means that if a person were happy, it would be exceedingly difficult for him or her to become unhappy. Only a big event could shake them from their …show more content…
According to him, happiness is synonymous with virtue. Here virtue is defined as excellence. Aristotle put forth the Doctrine of the Mean. This doctrine argues that virtue is a mean between two extremes, i.e., middle state between a vice of excess and of deficiency. This mean is not undoubtedly the average, but rather changes in relation to each individual. For example, a wrestler would need to eat more food than a regular person so the mean between excess food and deficit food varies for the wrestler and a non-wrestler. According to him, it is very difficult to discover the mean between the two extremes that is best suited for a person. Virtues involve the right amount of feelings and actions/or reactions. For instance, in pleasure and pain, the excess is intemperance, the deficiency is insensibility and the mean is temperance. For Aristotle, bravery is a virtue related to the feeling of fear. The excess of fear is cowardice (when a person fears situations that he or she should not, such as travelling in small vehicles). The deficiency of fear is rashness (when a person does not fear extreme danger, which he or she probably should). For Aristotle, a brave person fears only the most frightening conditions, such as death. Even though the brave person fears such conditions, he or she will stand firm