What does it truly mean to be happy? Is it having a ton of money, a successful job, or is it enjoying what you are passionate about? The term happiness is different for every individual and is catered to their wants and desires. Some people find happiness in different sports that they play, while others may see peace and quiet as happiness. In Aristotle’s book Nicomachean Ethics, he breaks down happiness into finding the middle ground of all the virtues in your life. Although people see happiness as all or nothing, but in fact it deals with balancing out all the virtues.
No matter what makes every person happy, all of it comes from things that are morally right in the eyes of that particular person. Aristotle states that since “happiness is a certain activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue,”(Aristotle 23). In stating this, Aristotle wants us to understand that happiness comes into play when a person does something that brings joy to them. With stating that it is a “certain activity of the soul” (Aristotle 23), Aristotle is showing us how it depends on a person’s character what he finds happiness in. In an example of a christian, they may find pleasure and happiness through helping someone who is need. This sense of happiness is what is viewed as morally right by society and the individual which they will praise the person for. On the other hand a person that steals money from someone finds their happiness in not having to work to get what they want. Even though society sees this as immoral, the person sees nothing wrong with it. This shows how people do everything to benefit themselves, and to make themselves happy. With finding happiness in two distinct ways, it is all up to the individual what makes them happy. For them to be truly happy, their morals must not get in the way of it. In concern with the thief, if he thinks there's nothing wrong with stealing then there is nothing in place to keep him from achieving his sense of happiness.
In stating that happiness is what is right for the individual, one can ask the question: when is a person truly happy. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that can only be accomplished after you are dead, because that is where you find true happiness. In Christianity, people are told that they will not reach full happiness until they are in heaven. In heaven, they will not have a care in the world, and once they stare at the site of God they will be overwhelmed with his love that they will be thrown into happiness. Although Aristotle was not specifically talking about christianity, he does allude to death being the ultimate peace, where individuals can be truly happy.
Even though happiness is different for every individual, there are a few aspects of it that are similar. Everything that someone does, is done to achieve happiness for themselves. Humans want more than anything to make themselves happy, and it is done by making themselves feel good through the certain events that they take part in.
In searching for happiness Aristotle warns us in making sure that everything in our life is balanced. He wants us to keep everything in our life in the middle, because going to one extreme or the other can causes problems for individuals. In having too much a bad thing individuals can jeopardize their happiness due to them going after the wrong things during their lifetime. With doing so, it could completely jeopardize their happiness after they are gone and moved on to a different after life. The same thing can be said with good things as well. With having to much of a good thing, individuals will never be able to understand the importance of happiness. If everything is perfect all the time, then they will never fell how amazing true happiness is.
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