Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Aristotle -- happiness & moral luck
Aristotle teaches that some of what constitutes happiness comes from
good luck, although much of it comes from hard work, the practice of
virtue and the deliberate improvement of character. What do you think
about happiness? Is Aristotle right? Is it tied to character?
Relatedly, Aristotle says that you can't really be happy if you are too
poor or too disabled, without enough to eat or friends to share your
life with. What do you say about that?
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I think happiness comes from you. If you can not see how things are good and enjoy the happiness that life has to offer than you can not be happy. I think Aristotle is right. Our level of happiness is tied to our character. If someone is also depressed and looking for the bad in everything, then you will end up never knowing the good that is in those things. Everything has bad aspects to it, we can not help that usually, but everything has good aspects to it as well. Look at 9/11. Yes it was a terrible event, but the good that came out of it was the level of security we now have. It brought to light an area our country needed to look at and change. I do no think one can be happy unless they have someone to share it with. Again, 9/11, if the survivors of that did not have someone to go to to grieve and talk to, then what would the point be of their survival? Everyone needs and wants to feel like they belong to some group. That group developes our character and defines who we are. Everything ties together in the end.
ReplyDeleteHow true is that, those looking for the bad in everything will never know the good that is in those things. There is someone who I used to know who was the biggest pessimist when it came to everything in their life. Constantly always focused on the negatives, and any possible negatives to any sort of situation. Finally, I had to remove myself from being around that person, as that negativity eventually wore off on me and that is when I had started to notice my own happiness dwindling down to nothing. You make your life how you want it to be, and one always has a different path that they can take if they aren't happy. It is having enough courage to make the step to walk away from those who are toxic.
DeleteDestiny, you make some very realistic and valid points here! I also believe that Aristotle is right. Character does define a lot about a person. In this case, happiness and character go hand-in-hand. Also, your point about 9/11 is very true. When we face terrible events like this, we tend to find some positives out of it to better our future and prevent our previous mistakes.
DeleteI think happiness comes from your attitude and outlook on your life. Anybody can be happy no matter if they are poor or rich. It has nothing to do with someones income level, once a persons biological needs are met (food, water, shelter) happiness is how you interpret it. There are a lot of rich people who are completely miserable, and there are just as many people, who are equally as poor, that are as happy as one can be. I don't think wealth has anything to do with happiness. Having friends to share happiness with is just a matter of personal preference. Some people like to be alone, some people like to be in the center of attention. Character and how you interpret your own happiness is what true happiness is.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. Some people also might look at others’ lives and question how they are happy and criticize what they see, but underneath it all, everyone has different levels of happiness and satisfaction on what they want out of life. How one defines and achieves their happiness is completely up to them.
DeleteI agree that it comes from your attitude and outlook on your life. I think it is a great point that there are different levels on happiness! One finding happiness within themselves and what they chose is how happiness in their lives will be defined.
DeleteI think happiness comes not only from yourself but those around you as well. If you surround yourself with negativity then soon that is what will consume your life. If you surround your life with happiness and good people, then little negativity will be present. I think that Aristotle is right because if the outcome of our hard work is positive, our character is positive, and things in our life are going good then we are all happy. I think that this is tied to character because if we are positive and happy with our lives then most of our lives will be happy. I think you not only find happiness in yourself but with the others around you and how you are living your life. If you are poor you can always find happiness in yourself, others, and being thankful for everything else you have in your life. If you are disabled you can find happiness in companionship, the out doors, or you improving on things for yourself. I think that happiness in your life is what you make of it, if you make it positive, it will be positive.
ReplyDeleteMore than anybody else, Aristotle establishes happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. It is easy enough to see that we desire money, pleasure, and honor only because we believe that these goods will make us happy. However, these things are not true happiness. Material objects only brings a temporary state of happiness. This is why i believe those that are poor can still find happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness is the ultimate lifelong goal. I do not believe that happiness is something that can be lost or gained in a matter of moments. It develops over time as a result of optimism, virtue, and self realization. Obviously, life has its ups and downs and it is often easier to let feelings of sadness, pity, and anger to overtake our life. However, these feelings have a cumulative affect and will destroy any attempt of true happiness if they become a common occurrence in your life. No matter your circumstance, there is always happiness that can be found. It is not always easy, but the reward of being truly happy is worth the effort. Sometimes this may be through luck, but often times work hard leads to opportunities of "luck."You must find the balance or "Mean" as said by Aristotle.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree with Aristotle on this topic. I think attitude comes from how you view the world and your attitude. Just because you are rich does not mean you are happy. I can think of plenty of examples of rich people not being happy. I can think the same for the poor. I know some families that really struggle financially, but you would not be able to know that by the way they act. I truly believe that happiness comes from within yourself. Another aspect is the types of people that you have in your life. If you are surrounded by positive people I think that this will also give you a positive outlook on life.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Aristotle, in part. I do agree with him when he says that some of happiness comes from good luck but this good luck comes from the good a person is putting out into the world. So I again agree with Aristotle in that most of happiness comes from character and improving ourselves. I believe that through this hard work and virtue a person is more likely to have things go their way in life and in return be happier. This can work like a cycle in a sense, a person improves their life, putting good into the world and having a positive outlook on life and as a result they get this positivity in return.
ReplyDeleteOn the second part of Aristotle's beliefs I would have to disagree. We hear a lot about money not being able to buy happiness and I would agree with this. Therefore, Aristotle's view that a person cannot be truly happy if they are too poor or disabled cannot hold true. Even if a person is poor, disabled, or has no friends they are still able to improve on their character and live a virtuous life which will give them good luck and cause them to have a happy life, despite their environmental hassles.
I agree with Aristotle on a few points. While good luck can certainly lead to happiness, it is certainly not the only factor. I do think that improvement of character can lead to happiness as well. I've played a sport or multiple sports every year since I was about 6 years old, and one of the biggest aspects of sports is the constant self improvement you focus on, both of athletic ability and personal responsibility. It is not always fun or easy at the time, but looking back I would not trade the experience for anything- It has made me the person I am today, and I truly believe I am a better person because of it. However, I partly disagree with the last statements. While it might be harder for someone with a disability or who is impoverished to find happiness in life, I know some people who are disabled who are still incredibly thankful for everything they still have in life and are happy to simply continue living. I do agree that if certain basic needs aren't met, however, happiness is almost impossible to find, i.e. lack of food or water, or any social interaction (and yes, I do think that humans are social creatures at our core and we require at least some level of basic interaction to function in life.)
ReplyDelete