aristotle, happiness, virtue

1. How to live a
flourishing life?

2. Aristotelian philosophy and the place
of virtue ethics in it
• Aristotle attempts to identify what are the
characteristics of human being that
differentiate it from other species.
• Every species has its own role in the universe.
• It is the fulfilling its role well that defines what
is the ultimate good of that thing or animal.

3. Happiness
• When one does what one is supposed to do,
one feels fulfillment.
• In other words, when one is what one is
supposed to be, one is happy.
• Happiness / satisfaction is considered to be a
good thing.
• In fact happiness is the ONLY really good thing
in the sense that we don’t want it for the sake
of another thing (as a tool) but for its own sake.
• Happiness is an indicator of life lived correctly
i.e. virtuous alignment with nature.

4. The animal called ”human being”
• There are natural criteria for judging whether
the act is leads to happiness (eudaimonia) to
misery
• These criteria are defined by what the human
being (as a species) is.
• By observing, what makes human being happy
(eudaimonia) and what make him suffer, one
can find out what kind of acts are virtuous.