In this paper I argue that Happiness is not something that can be achieved by just acquiring things, but something that human beings have within and cannot be taken away. Happiness is something permanent within our souls, not which require an activity to achieve. As Aristotle so logically put in Nicomachean Ethics, “whereas we surmise the good, (Happiness) to be something of one’s own that cannot easily be taken away.” To be clear, you may need some external goods to be happy but it does not define what happiness is to a person. Now let’s begin with discussing what true happiness is and what it derive from. Happiness as I previous stated is something within the soul. It’s defined by who you are as a person and your identity. To explain
…show more content…
As explained by Aristotle, “ Honor, pleasure, intellect, and every virtue we do indeed choose for themselves, (since we would choose each of them even if they had no good effects, but we choose them also for the sake of happiness, on the assumption that through then we shall live a life of happiness…” We choose to be honorable, we choose love, we choose to be educated but our true happiness is defined by who we are as a person and not things we achieve or actions leading up to those achievements. To sum this up, true happiness involves a good state of mind, good spirit, good moral character and a desire to live life to its fullest extent. As a people, we have a notion of what we expect in life and it is that expectation that define happiness. The expectation and not the actions that contribute to getting those things that support happiness. Now I’m sure that some may question me at this point wondering, what I mean that these thing contribute to happiness. Well, as Aristotle put it, “… We must therefore examine what has been said in the light of the facts of our life, and if it agrees with the facts, then we should accept it, while if it conflicts, we must assume it to be no more than theory.” In lament terms, if we look at our own lives and examine if it’s the material things we receive that makes us truly happy then this isn’t factual. If we do so and
As explained by Aristotle, “ Honor, pleasure, intellect, and every virtue we do indeed choose for themselves, (since we would choose each of them even if they had no good effects, but we choose them also for the sake of happiness, on the assumption that through then we shall live a life of happiness…” We choose to be honorable, we choose love, we choose to be educated but our true happiness is defined by who we are as a person and not things we achieve or actions leading up to those achievements. To sum this up, true happiness involves a good state of mind, good spirit, good moral character and a desire to live life to its fullest extent. As a people, we have a notion of what we expect in life and it is that expectation that define happiness. The expectation and not the actions that contribute to getting those things that support happiness. Now I’m sure that some may question me at this point wondering, what I mean that these thing contribute to happiness. Well, as Aristotle put it, “… We must therefore examine what has been said in the light of the facts of our life, and if it agrees with the facts, then we should accept it, while if it conflicts, we must assume it to be no more than theory.” In lament terms, if we look at our own lives and examine if it’s the material things we receive that makes us truly happy then this isn’t factual. If we do so and