Personal Philosophy
Jennifer Gosha Daniels
Post University
Personal Philosophy
A personal philosophy is unique, tailored to each individual’s lifestyle, outlook on life, and belief system. It’s a person’s motto that they follow in life, such as love conquering all in the world. A personal philosophy can be simple like being kind to others, while another’s may be complicated. No two people’s philosophies will be the same, because no two look at the world surrounding them, in the same way. My personal thoughts on happiness, ethics, and cosmology are closely related to Aristotle’s beliefs. While reading his theories, I realized that my personal philosophy lies close to his. I never gave much thought to the idea of my own personal …show more content…
I try to make it my goal to have a smile on my face constantly, especially around others. Aristotle was quoted as saying “happiness depends on ourselves” (The Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). He believed that happiness was one of the central purposes of a human’s life, and believed all should make it their goal. According to the website The Pursuit of Happiness, Aristotle said that in order to achieve happiness, you must be well balanced, physically and mentally (2015). One of his most popular works of writing is called Nicomachean Ethics and in it, Aristotle writes about a theory of happiness. A quote from that book follows: “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” (The Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). Aristotle didn’t think of happiness, like we do. Happiness was not just an emotion that could come and go. It was the ultimate part of your life, how well you’ve lived your life. Aristotle was quoted as saying “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 Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). He felt that men were capable of reasoning, therefore simple pleasures shouldn’t be what they strived for, in happiness. He believed that in order to be truly happy, you had to gain all the goods; wealth, friend, family, and knowledge. Aristotle’s definition of happiness is as follows, courtesy of The Pursuit of Happiness, “the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity
Jennifer Gosha Daniels
Post University
Personal Philosophy
A personal philosophy is unique, tailored to each individual’s lifestyle, outlook on life, and belief system. It’s a person’s motto that they follow in life, such as love conquering all in the world. A personal philosophy can be simple like being kind to others, while another’s may be complicated. No two people’s philosophies will be the same, because no two look at the world surrounding them, in the same way. My personal thoughts on happiness, ethics, and cosmology are closely related to Aristotle’s beliefs. While reading his theories, I realized that my personal philosophy lies close to his. I never gave much thought to the idea of my own personal …show more content…
I try to make it my goal to have a smile on my face constantly, especially around others. Aristotle was quoted as saying “happiness depends on ourselves” (The Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). He believed that happiness was one of the central purposes of a human’s life, and believed all should make it their goal. According to the website The Pursuit of Happiness, Aristotle said that in order to achieve happiness, you must be well balanced, physically and mentally (2015). One of his most popular works of writing is called Nicomachean Ethics and in it, Aristotle writes about a theory of happiness. A quote from that book follows: “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” (The Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). Aristotle didn’t think of happiness, like we do. Happiness was not just an emotion that could come and go. It was the ultimate part of your life, how well you’ve lived your life. Aristotle was quoted as saying “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 Pursuit of Happiness, 2015). He felt that men were capable of reasoning, therefore simple pleasures shouldn’t be what they strived for, in happiness. He believed that in order to be truly happy, you had to gain all the goods; wealth, friend, family, and knowledge. Aristotle’s definition of happiness is as follows, courtesy of The Pursuit of Happiness, “the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity