Aristotle: What Is the Purpose of Life? The Happiness of Virtue
The great tradition of Greek philosophy anchored by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all occurred during the Classical Period or Golden Era of Greek philosophy, which ranged approximately from 480 BC to 323 BC, concluding with the conquering of Greece by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Of interest is that Alexander the Great was actually a student of Aristotle’s for a period of time.
Aristotle lived from 387-321 BC and his approach to philosophy serves as one of the best examples of early inductive logic within rational thought. (That is, drawing conclusions starting from specific information and reasoning towards general propositions.) Initially he was primarily a botanist who pursued the study and classification of all kinds of plants, but his innate curiosity drew him into the realm of philosophy, for which he is best known.
In this treatise, we will be examining his concept of happiness, which is primarily found in his work, Nicomachean Ethics, which we touched on briefly when we discussed his thoughts on the topic of friendship.
Before jumping immediately into the topic of happiness, there are perhaps several preliminary issues that need to be clarified in how Aristotle arranges the Ethics and some of the terms he uses that may be a little bit different than what we are familiar with today.
The Nicomachean Ethics is divided into ten major sections called “books,” (what we would today call chapters), each of which is further divided into units called “chapters,” (what we would today call sections of a chapter). So, a “Book” doesn’t really consist of a lot of text. These ten “books” of the Nicomachean Ethics are divided topically into roughly four sections. The first early Books contain a definition and illustration of happiness and virtue. Books VI-VII discuss the rational component of the Ethics, while Books VIII and IX are his exposition on friendship, before concluding in Book X with a return to the topics of pleasure and virtue. For this discussion on happiness, we will be mostly discussing the content of Books I-VII.
In Book I, Aristotle begins by asking the question, “What is the purpose of life?” or “What is the chief goal of human life?” He first examines several common answers to those questions. Is it pleasure? Or honor? Or wealth? No, he says, none of these are what really brings true purpose to life. It needs to be something that’s desirable in itself; these things are only a way to find the ultimate purpose of life. They are only a means to an end.
Aristotle then finally states that he believes man’s ultimate goal is to find happiness. For Aristotle, happiness is the “end in itself,” rather than a means to an end. All other desires, whether it be power, health, or prestige are actually subordinate to happiness. It is to be noted that Aristotle has a slightly different concept of the word happiness than we tend to think of it today. It is not simply pleasure, although pleasure may be a component of happiness. For Aristotle, happiness is something different. The Greek word eudaimonia, which translates into English as “happiness,” is in Greek more accurately translated as one “having a good spirit.” For Aristotle, this means living a virtuous and noble life.
As Aristotle proceeds in discussing the topics of happiness and virtue, he often uses the term “good” or “goods” to convey the concept of that which is “truly desirable.” He doesn’t really use it in the context that we’re familiar with so much as in metaphysical view of good vs bad; but he conceives of “good” as a moral or ethical goal towards which one should always strive.
In Book I, Aristotle pauses a bit to ask an additional question. “What else is truly ‘good’ for human beings?” He acknowledges that there are other “goods,” but claims only happiness is the good. He proposes that any concept of “good” other than happiness, needs to contain a function that is distinctly or uniquely of human nature. For Aristotle, that is the function of rationality. Only humankind has the capacity for reason or rational thought. And Aristotle, true to form, breaks down reason into two components: that of knowledge and that of choice.
Knowledge, for Aristotle, includes both the intellectual capacity that humankind possesses, and also a practical knowledge as in the case of craftsmanship or art. Choosing, for Aristotle, includes the aspect of one’s desires, their emotions, passions, and the practice of selection. Both knowledge and choosing then are natural components of human functioning rationally, but these must be developed into functions of “excellence.” They need to be formed and refined into functions of “excellence” in order to find true happiness.
Here Aristotle takes issue with Socrates’ claim that if a person really had full knowledge, that would be sufficient for him to always make the proper and best decision regarding a moral virtue. No that’s not true, Aristotle would say, that there are plenty of instances when a person fully knows the consequence of their actions, but chooses to do otherwise, often to their eventual detriment. Aristotle goes on to claim that knowledge, by itself is insufficient, but must be accompanied by habitually choosing the proper action to arrive at moral virtue. This combination of knowledge and habitual choice leads to habits becoming ingrained as “second nature,” and right choices ultimately become easier to make with less deliberation or uncertainty and more beneficial results. It is a process of personal growth in character.
The element of choice in this process implies individual responsibility. And Aristotle, in Book III defines his concept of responsibility as consisting of two things: The first is that the action must not be done under force, coercion, or compulsion. And the second is that the person must have had the relevant information about the circumstances, or honest and sufficient knowledge, to make a wise decision. If either of these conditions are not met, Aristotle would say, then the obligation of moral responsibility is not fully determined, and there is reduced culpability or responsibility for that decision. Still, Aristotle states very emphatically that each person is responsible for their own actions and their consequences. He lays out the principles of deliberation and thoughtful choice consistent with the known virtues which are to be reinforced through habit.
Aristotle has laid the groundwork that only happiness is the real purpose of humankind, and it is to be discovered by means of reason processed through the facilities of both knowledge and of choice.
So then, one can reasonably ask, “What is moral excellence?” The term “moral excellence” for Aristotle is what he describes as “virtue.” The Greek word for virtue is “aristos,” which is the superlative form for the word “good,” therefore meaning “the best” and Aristotle used this word “the best” or “virtue” to convey the concept of the “excellence” in human endeavors.
The inquiring mind would logically then ask, “How does a person acquire these virtues, “the best,” which lead to moral excellence? …and subsequently to true happiness?” Is it innate to personality? Or is it by one being taught? Or is it divinely inspired? Aristotle would respond that it is by a twofold process of acquiring true and sufficient knowledge; and by learning to make right choices by means of habit. It is the habitual use of knowledge and choice by means of good reasoning which develops and reinforces the tendency for making the right decisions, in the right manner, at the right time.
Aristotle states that virtue is the place of “moral excellence” that resides between the extremes of deficiency and excess. It is commonly referred to as his concept of the “Golden Mean.” The use of the term “mean” is not to infer an “average” within a combination of values, but rather a position of mediation that exemplifies “the best” of that characteristic or “peak excellence.” For example, the virtue of courage lies between the extremes of deficiency, that being cowardice, and excess, that being recklessness.
The Virtues:
Having outlined the process of knowledge and choice that result in beneficial deliberation for actions taken, Aristotle divides virtues into two kinds:
1. Moral virtues
2. Intellectual virtues
Aristotle proposes that there are eleven, and only eleven moral virtues, divided as follows:
The Moral Virtues in Book III-V
(In the order that Aristotle discusses them)
1. Courage: rests between the extremes of cowardice and reckless bravery. It consists of not only courage on the battlefield, but also in making difficult decisions that may impact one’s own or another person’s wellbeing.
2. Moderation: resides between lacking moral restraints and extreme legalism.
3. Liberality: is the virtue between the qualities of stinginess and reckless extravagance or wastefulness.
4. Magnificence: is the mean between being boorish or unrefined and shabbiness or apathetic.
5. Magnanimity: reflects a “greatness of soul” or claiming and deserving of great honor; and it is positioned between vanity and smallness of soul; I think of leaders like Churchill, Ghandi, MLK, Booker T. Washington, or Mother Theresa who exemplified the wonderful combination of integrity, wisdom, and compassion.
6. Ambition: sits between lack of ambition and too much ambition.
7. Gentleness: is the virtue of mean between irritability or impatience and that of excessive passivity.
“Social virtues;”
8. Truthfulness: bragging and irony
9. Wittiness: silliness and boorishness
10. Friendliness: pandering and arrogance or presumptuousness
11. Justice: the topic of “What is justice?” is explored in the entire Book V.
It is interesting that Aristotle doesn’t mention values like toleration, compassion, or even piety.
The Intellectual Virtues: in Books VI-VII
Aristotle lists five major intellectual virtues and several minor ones:
1. Science: the process of observation and reasoning.
2. Art (techne) – the virtue of knowing how to make things.
3. Prudence (practical wisdom) – (Book VI: Chapters 5,7) – knowing how to do things, how to act, how to make judgments; involving deliberation for decision making. In Chapter 11, Aristotle states that in making judgment, one must see and understand the situation realistically; and the judgment must be realistic and truth dependent.
4. Intuition – (nous: mind, insight, intuition)
5. Wisdom (Sophia) – demonstrating the linkage between cause and effect or perceiving the potential consequences for a decision or action.
The Intellectual Virtues: Book VI (K)
Here Aristotle develops his concept of the virtue of prudence (practical wisdom), along with other virtues which he considers intellectual virtues in distinction to the moral virtues. In contradistinction to the moral virtues which were virtues stemming from one’s developing the habits of excellence or Golden Mean between the extremes of emotion; the intellectual virtues, at least for Aristotle, are focused on developing the habits which expand the mind’s ability to realistically perceive the objective truths in order to reliably make valid decisions. These intellectual virtues attempt to actualize a mental capacity by means of developing, and refining, and by conforming the mind to the truth of “that which actually exists” – “the way things really are.”
• Contemplative (or speculative) intellect pursues knowledge for its own sake.
• Practical intellect pursues the correlation of right desire with truth.
A final note on prudence:
Prudence: (all of Book VI) – It is considered an Intellectual Virtue by Aristotle because of its practical judgment, its “right choices” or common sense. As such it serves as a type of bridge between moral and intellectual virtues. It entails using “right reason” or common sense to arrive at a beneficial result.
In summary,
• Man searches primarily for a condition of happiness. All else, whether it be wealth, honor, health, or power are only the means to accomplish a state of happiness.
• Happiness, according to Aristotle, is the condition of “moral excellence” or the virtuous position of mean between its two extremes of deficiency and excess.
• The process of acquiring “moral excellence” is by means of reason utilizing both knowledge and choice to make ‘right choices” for attitudes and behavior.
• These choices are reinforced by means of establishing habits of “right choice and behavior,” thereby developing and reinforcing the values required for noble character.
• That means habitually making the right choices, at the right time, for the right reasons.
Ultimately Aristotle’s list of virtues was consolidated into the four classical virtues that we think of today which consist of:
The Classical Virtues:
• Prudence: Common Sense
• Justice: Fairness
• Fortitude: Courage
• Temperance: Moderation
And still later were added the three religious virtues of:
Religious Virtues:
• Faith
• Hope
• Love