Aristotle On Happiness And The Purpose Of Life

To quote Aristotle, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle was one of the greatest gifted thinkers the world had to offer. He wrote a book called The Nicomachean Ethics, based on the theory about what eudaimonia (Greek for happiness) is. A book which is still significant for many references centuries later. Aristotle suggests that the core distinction of human-beings from any other living or no-living things is principle. Having principle makes humans responsible for their actions because they know better, while animals pertain emotions they cannot understand their wrong or right doings. The doctrine of Aristotle or the “Aristotelian view” is by far the paramount way of thinking and understanding human life as it is partly vital for clarifying what happiness is. According to Aristotle …show more content…
However, happiness arguably never means that life is complete, nor concluded with all essentials because it will not always be enough. Thankfully, people in a way or intuitively know what the term ‘happiness’ means, which makes it supportive to generalize and discuss. Everyone defines happiness from their point of view, basically the way they experienced it. Some might have crossed paths with happiness while being with someone, during their leisure time or doing recreational activities, with family and friends etc., and others through their jobs, health and wealth too. To consider one as a happy being, one should be able to open self to the satisfactions of desire or choice and the various delightful things the world has to offer, such as art, knowledge and exploration. These pleasures range far beyond the physical aspect to the general interpretation of life, appreciating many things and enlightening one 's perceptions will ultimately lead to identify