Why does Aristotle consider happiness as the chief good?

Whereas human beings need nourishment like plants and have sentience like animals, their distinctive function, says Aristotle, is their unique capacity to reason. Thus, our supreme good, or happiness, is to lead a life that enables us to use and develop our reason, and that is in accordance with reason.

What does Aristotle say is the chief good?

For Aristotle, eudaimonia is the highest human good, the only human good that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end).

Why is happiness the chief good?

Happiness is the highest good because we choose happiness as an end sufficient in itself. Therefore, the supreme Good should be an activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue. This definition aligns with popular views of happiness, which see the happy person as virtuous, rational, and active.

What does Aristotle say is the chief good of mankind What does he mean by this and how does he arrive at his conclusion?

For human beings in general, Aristotle suggests that the ultimate end or good is happiness, and that happiness itself is living in accordance with reason and virtue. He arrives at this conclusion by differentiating the function of human beings from the function of all other living things.

When did Aristotle say happiness depends upon ourselves?

An interpretative gloss of Aristotle’s position in Nicomachean Ethics book 1 section 9, tacitly inserted by J. A. K. Thomson in his English translation The Ethics of Aristotle (1955).

What does happiness mean to Aristotle?

According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life.

What does Aristotle mean by happiness depends on ourselves?

“Happiness depends on ourselves.”. More than anybody else, Aristotle enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself.

What is the Good Life According to Aristotle?

Therefore in answer to the question “What is the good life for man?’ it is “a life of happiness’. So Aristotle makes the point that e.g. collecting butterflies, or climbing mountains, or reading lots of books is always done for the sake of making that person happy. Therefore happiness is the common denominator of all these varied activities.

What is our supreme good according to Aristotle?

Whereas human beings need nourishment like plants and have sentience like animals, their distinctive function, says Aristotle, is their unique capacity to reason. Thus, our supreme good, or happiness, is to lead a life that enables us to use and develop our reason, and that is in accordance with reason.

Is happiness the ultimate purpose of human existence?

Happiness as the Ultimate Purpose of Human Existence. One of Aristotle’s most influential works is the Nicomachean Ethics, where he presents a theory of happiness that is still relevant today, over 2,300 years later.