Aristotle and Happiness
Genevia Holmes
Intro to Philosophy
Assignment 5
Professor Kelly
1. According to the text a full functioning completely happy person will be mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, professionally, creatively, and socially healthy & well rounded individual. Happiness involves being really alive and not just existing. Aristotle believes that a person should work hard doing what they love, they also shouldn’t devote their lives to acquiring riches since riches don’t provide happiness. One should also reject fame and public success to become happy as self sufficiency is believed to provide happiness. Happiness is a process starting from infancy. A happy life is a life where spiritual, physical and social needs are met under reason and moderation. I think Aristotle recipe of happiness involves a person making a conscience decision to do the right thing in all aspects of their life. I think the happiness he refers to is obtained by living a healthy life, being in tune with our psyche, having a career that we enjoy, having friends and family to love, and having enough riches to support ourselves without gloating about them.
2. I think that Aristippus is wrong on his philosophy that “pleasure is always good-regardless of its source.” I think that its ok to indulge in pleasure but some pleasurable things are not good for you. Take a sex addict for instance, if a person is constantly seeking pleasure through sexual activities then somewhere down the line that person will catch a disease or even die from a disease cause by the pleasure the person was trying to obtain. Another example would be a drug addict, they seek pleasure in the high they get from using drugs, too much of this pleasure will either make you very sick or worse case you can die from it. To me there is always a consequence in seeking pleasure and the consequence is not always good. I think that this world would be a lot better today if the source for our pleasures were all good
Intro to Philosophy
Assignment 5
Professor Kelly
1. According to the text a full functioning completely happy person will be mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, professionally, creatively, and socially healthy & well rounded individual. Happiness involves being really alive and not just existing. Aristotle believes that a person should work hard doing what they love, they also shouldn’t devote their lives to acquiring riches since riches don’t provide happiness. One should also reject fame and public success to become happy as self sufficiency is believed to provide happiness. Happiness is a process starting from infancy. A happy life is a life where spiritual, physical and social needs are met under reason and moderation. I think Aristotle recipe of happiness involves a person making a conscience decision to do the right thing in all aspects of their life. I think the happiness he refers to is obtained by living a healthy life, being in tune with our psyche, having a career that we enjoy, having friends and family to love, and having enough riches to support ourselves without gloating about them.
2. I think that Aristippus is wrong on his philosophy that “pleasure is always good-regardless of its source.” I think that its ok to indulge in pleasure but some pleasurable things are not good for you. Take a sex addict for instance, if a person is constantly seeking pleasure through sexual activities then somewhere down the line that person will catch a disease or even die from a disease cause by the pleasure the person was trying to obtain. Another example would be a drug addict, they seek pleasure in the high they get from using drugs, too much of this pleasure will either make you very sick or worse case you can die from it. To me there is always a consequence in seeking pleasure and the consequence is not always good. I think that this world would be a lot better today if the source for our pleasures were all good