The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis
analytical Essay
2821 words
The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis
Two major schools of thought broadly influenced the development of the moral code of Western Civilization. The Judeo-Christian tradition gave us faith and God through the text of the Bible. The ancient Greeks gave us philosophical inquiry and "the Good" through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle proposes that "the Good" is the highest end of man’s actions. Happiness is "the Good" because it is the only end man pursues with no other end in mind. A man obtains this highest end by living his life in a virtuous manner. In marked contrast, a careful reading of Genesis shows that, in the world of the Hebrews, the highest end of a man’s actions is faith in and communication with God himself. Oneness with God is the highest end because no other god exists. A man obtains this highest end by obeying God’s commands and fulfilling God’s plan for him. On first examination, the differences between these two constructs seem negligible. But when we look closely at the ways in which the men of Genesis obtain their highest ends, we find that their means are less than virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle. To reach God, the ends seem to justify the means, while to reach "the Good", the virtuous path is crucial. Although this inherent difference in the two systems of morality seems to oppose them to one another, the difference between them has actually helped meld them together to form our modern view of happiness. We need both views: that wicked means will corrupt even the best ends, and that good ends can justify any means. In fact, there are stories in each text that describe a man who finds happiness through God, or "the Good," ...
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...e which cannot be taken away; second, according to Genesis, because we have been given happiness by communion with a God who is ever present. Although not everyone considered to be a member of Western society holds these views on happiness, one can see these two roots in our construct of happiness. In our very American constitution, we acknowledge our inalienable right to the "pursuit of happiness." This phrase represents nothing other than the ultimate union of Aristotle and Genesis: we are guaranteed as humans, as a God-given right, the ability to strive for happiness through the Aristotelian process.
NOTES
1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1999).
2. Genesis, trans. Robert Alter (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996).
3. The Holy Bible, King James Version (New York: American Bible Society).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the judeo-christian tradition gave faith and god through the bible, while the ancient greeks gave us philosophical inquiry and "the good."
- Compares aristotle's concept of "the good" and the god of the hebrews as the ultimate goals of human action.
- Analyzes how god and "the good" mirror each other in their claim to uniqueness. god asserts his singularity in one of his ten commandments, namely the first.
- Analyzes aristotle's connection between "the good" and happiness. in genesis, this happiness, or the ultimate end, comes through communion with god.
- Analyzes how genesis portrays a view that focuses more on the ultimate end, rather than the means to reach this end. aristotle would argue that any action towards noble ends must be equally noble, or the end will be tainted.
- Analyzes how aristotle orients achieving happiness towards the means securing the ends. a man cannot be happy without behaving in a virtuous way.
- Argues that in genesis, the highest end, communion with god, is achieved through obedience to god and fulfillment of god's prophecies for one’s life.
- Analyzes how aristotle's methods of achieving "the good" and communion with god found in genesis form the contemporary western idea of the method of happiness.
- Analyzes how aristotle refers to priam, the king of troy, as an illustration of a once happy man who will not likely return to happiness.
- Opines that no supremely happy man can ever become miserable, for he will never do what is hateful and base.
- Analyzes how aristotle reveals the nearly permanent nature of happiness, and promises that "the good," once achieved through the correct means, will stay with the man through a lifetime.
- Analyzes how job's story illustrates the permanence of happiness through communion with god. even when god takes away all of job’s family, friends, possessions, and health, job remains faithful to god
- Explains that they know that their redeemer liveth, and that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth.
- Analyzes how satan points out to god that job was happy without working for it; he challenges god to turn his back on god if all his worldly goods are taken from him. satan is proved wrong, and job puts himself at god's mercy.
- Narrates how job answered the lord and said, "i know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from thee."
- Analyzes how job was able to retain his happiness in his communication with god even through the tests, because god's presence is something permanent.
- Explains that aristotle and genesis' views on happiness give us the most complete view of happiness.
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- Explains that aristotle's nicomachean ethics gives us insight into ancient greece’s moral and ethical thoughts. he argues his theory on what happiness and virtue are.
- Analyzes how aristotle argues that happiness is the only thing that the rational man desires for its own sake, thus making it good and natural.
- Analyzes how aristotle argued that man acquires his virtues through his actions, which are a character statement.
- Opines that aristotle's ethics is a theory of enlightenment for mankind on their journey to achieve happiness and virtue.
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- Analyzes how aristotle's nicomachean ethics is rooted in his ideas about natural philosophy.
- Analyzes how aristotle defines the highest good as that end which we seek for itself and for no other end.
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- Analyzes how aristotle concludes that humans are by nature able to attain these virtues and we actualize our perfection by attaining them.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains aristotle's work, the nicomachean ethics, consists of numerous books pertaining to his ethics of the good life. the first book discloses his belief on moral philosophy and the correlation between virtue and happiness.
- Analyzes how aristotle's definition of happiness has long been disputed. according to him, happiness is the highest good and the ultimate end goal—for it is self-reliant.
- Analyzes how aristotle rejects the idea of universal happiness by explaining how plato does not incorporate the large number of variants.
- Analyzes how aristotle disapproves the common mistake of comparing personal happiness to a pleasurable state of mind.
- Analyzes how aristotle uses the character approach to examine ethics and politics. he proves that a human must use all the unique human faculties to their best end.
- Explains that happiness has long been disputed, and in order to establish a general definition one must discover mankind's function.
- Analyzes how aristotle explains what a competent judge of ethics is. he believes that younger people lack the experience needed to use their reason.
- Explains aristotle's view that every action performed is done to attain an end goal (or good). the ultimate end will be self-fulfilling and have no other end.
- Analyzes how aristotle proves that a man who lives virtuously uses reason to achieve happiness.
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- Explains aristotle's idea of the good life as well as how virtues fit into the equation. they explain the three types of friendships he describes and the reason why.
- Analyzes aristotle's view that happiness is the greatest human good and that people recognize that they need it to live a good life.
- Explains that aristotle divides goods into three classes: external goods, goods relating to the soul, and the body. the end goal of happiness is eudaimonia.
- Explains aristotle's distinction between intellectual and moral virtues. intellectual virtue is rational, irrational, and comes out of habit.
- Explains that aristotle's friendships are external goods that are subordinate to virtue. they are based on usefulness, pleasure, and goodness.
- Explains that a virtuous friendship is better because it puts in one's need for pleasure and virtue.
- Summarizes aristotle's view that friendships are external goods that are subservient to virtue. friends are valuable because they belong absolutely to happiness.
- Explains that virtues are not stable and external goods aren't universal, so happiness based on them will be fragile and dependent.
- Explains aristotle's meaning of living virtuously, which is to act the best way that is humanly possible, and avoid excess and defect by seeking the intermediate.
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- Explains that happiness is first finding the common definition, which is a perfect common good. happiness is the main goal in life and if achieved lives will be complete and lacking in nothing, obtaining it would be absolute perfection.
- Explains that aristotle understood happiness as a common goal shared among all humans. eudaimonia translates as the perfect happiness, human excellence and fulfillment.
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- Opines that being prepared to accept the breakdown of their marriage was not acting or living to the best to their abilities. happiness is a matter of how you live your life and how well you can cope through hardships and loss.
- Explains that human flourishing is achieved through moral virtue, development of good habits of action in order for them to be a good person.
- Explains that intellectual virtues involve the use of reason in order for someone to act and live well.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes aristotle's views of virtue and happiness based on his nichomachean ethics.
- Explains that the choice worthiness of many virtuous actions seems to depend on their perceived potential to serve further ends.
- Explains that aristotle's "nicomachean ethics" divides actions into three categories: voluntary acts, non-voluntary actions, and bad actions done by choice.
- Explains that if an action is choice worthy, one can describe it in a way that builds in its instrumental profile.
- Explains that virtue doesn't come about naturally; it requires habitual action of repeatedly doing the right thing with the correct intentions.
- Explains that choice involves making a decision and deciding on multiple options to be able to make the right choice.
- Explains that virtuous actions must involve reason. reason is the distinct human function that separates us from each other.
- Analyzes hume's belief that morality is not derived from experience, but resides in passions, or "sentiment," and not in reason.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how aristotle and augustine represented their views on the nature of happiness and their means for achieving that happiness in this life.
- Explains aristotle's nicomachean ethics, which indicates a well-defined direction in order to achieve our true nature to which we seek happiness.
- Compares augustine's approach to happiness with that of aristotle. both philosophers have opposing views on the nature of happiness, how it is achieved, and the major obstacles to obtaining overall happiness.
- Opines that augustine's approach to happiness is more attainable than aristotle’s.
- Opines that our supreme good is something beyond the basic necessities linked to living a happy life, so we must live right to obtain that unmixed good.
- Concludes that aristotle and augustine have distinct views on what it means to be human, what a good human life looks like, and how it is achieved.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how aristotle distinguishes between pain and happiness in nicomachean ethics, highlighting the endless war between the two extremes.
- Analyzes how aristotle alleges that all actions aim for good, thus proposing that human activity is to be of some good. the nature of good is assumed by convention, not nature, and are administered by politics.
- Analyzes how aristotle accepts that the chief good is happiness, but disagrees with the definition of happiness. men divide the good into three prominent types of life: pleasure, political and contemplative.
- Explains that aristotle proposes that this universal good be thoroughly understood before continuing. all actions are to be built upon another in order to achieve this good.
- Explains that good is found in the function of man, since life is a shared trait with animals. the human good exists only when the soul is conformed to excellence.
- Analyzes how aristotle distinguishes between intellectual and moral excellence. he recognizes that man is naturally premoral for moral habits do not naturally exist.
- Explains that excellence is sewed with actions and passions, yet the method one performs these actions is significant since voluntary actions use knowledge (intentional), involuntary actions are through force or compulsion.
- Analyzes how aristotle ponders choice, deliberation, and wishing as examples of not only virtue, but vice.
- Analyzes how aristotle scrutinizes character virtues, beginning with courage. courage is not fearless, but fear of evils and bravery in the face of fear for the right and noble.
- Concludes that aristotle deems self-indulgence as the more voluntarily chosen vice than cowardice, since intemperance seeks pleasure, while the latter avoids pain, which can derange a person’s choice.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how plato and augustine offer unusual conceptions of what one must acquire to live a truly happy life.
- Analyzes how plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice.
- Analyzes how augustine emphasizes knowing happiness in eternal things rather than in what is grounded in phsycial senses, or the corporeal.
- Explains that both philosophers examine a truer happiness, one that solely relies upon something independent of other people and things. plato places wisdom, something beyond the senses, at the top of his metaphysical hierarchy.
- Analyzes how augustine emphasizes human imperfection, which brings one closer to god. plato's concept of a perfect, well-ordered soul is logical, but it lacks the aspect of humility and the human nature
- Argues that since happiness is attainable, everyone should therefore be living it.
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In this essay, the author
- Compares the constitution vs. early philosophers. epicurus and aristotle agree with our forefather's idea of the rights of life, liberty, and especially the pursuit of happiness.
- Analyzes how jefferson's statement about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness agrees with epicurus. aristotle believed in the senses and felt happiness was the most choiceworthy of all goods.
- Analyzes how machiavelli felt that prudence was a major factor in government. he knew governments would never remain perfect.
- Analyzes how jefferson, epicurus, and aristotle both believed that the pursuit of happiness is an absolute must. machiavelli believes that in order to have a good government, one must have foresight and judgment.
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