POST#1: Happiness
Happiness is extremely important in life. Although being constructive and assuming responsibilities may rank ahead, no one can disregard the significance of being happy.
A person will struggle just to go on in life if he or she is not happy. Therefore, the matter of what makes a person happy becomes a big question that everyone should ask himself or herself.
The answer to the question varies from people to people. In my case, being loved and achieving personal goals is what would make me happy. People are social animals who are born to crave for care, love, and company, and I am no exception. As for achieving personal goals, a few examples include helping the lands that I love become better places, making or seeing my loved ones happy, becoming successful in life, and staying true to myself.
In my first example, I wish to be help the lands I grew up on, which are Taiwan and the United States, become places that are even more wonderful than they already are. I would like to help the whole world become a better place; however, I feel that I have a better chance of helping the lands that I am familiar with, since I actually know the places. For now that I am still a student with little to offer, I try to accomplish this goal by recycling, saving energy, and urging others to do so.
In my second example, I said I would like to make my loved ones happy. This goal can actually be combined with the latter ones: becoming successful in life and staying true to myself. By becoming successful, not only that I can be proud of myself, my families and friends can be proud of me, too. Also, I will be capable of taking better care of them. However, a side-effect that often comes with success is that one is often lost on the way of becoming successful. I wish that no matter what happens I can be true to myself, and I know that is what my loved ones want, too.
Of course, one of the most important factors constituting happiness is knowing how to appreciate. No matter how fulfilling a person’s life is, the person will not be happy if he or she cannot see this fact. It is easy for someone to take his or her good life for granted. Personally, I feel the need to be reminded how great my life is. I forget to appreciate every once in a while, and every time I am reminded I feel happy and lucky instantly. One change in thought can change the person’s whole world.
According to Aristotle’s perspective, happiness must be explained in terms of reason, a human being’s distinctive function or activity. Also, Aristotle emphasizes the role of self-sufficiency in happiness. By using the word “self-efficient”, Aristotle is trying to express the idea that if a person’s life is desirable and lacks nothing, then it is the man’s life is considered to have reached its final good. “Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action” (Great Traditions, 27).
A few more quotes further explains Aristotle’s philosophy on happiness: “Now such a thing happiness, above all else, is held to be; for this we choose always for itself and never for the sake of something else, but honor, pleasure, reason, and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves, but we choose them also for the sake of happiness, judging that by means of them we shall by happy. Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for anything other than itself” (Great Traditions, 26).
The wording of the previous paragraph may seem confusing. In my interpretation, it holds the simple concept that a person can choose honor, pleasure, and reason for both their own sake and the sake of happiness, for these attributes are capable of bring happiness.
These ideas are amazing, especially considering that they were invented in ancient times (384-322 B.C.E). For example, I like his use of words. When he says that we “choose” for the sakes, there is the interpretation that we are the person in charge of all our virtues, and of course, happiness.
I also like Aristotle’s perspective that happiness must be explained in terms of a human being’s distinctive function or activity as mentioned above. Every human being is a unique individual. Although it is possible to make generalizations; however, on the subject of happiness, one must take individual differences into account. Aristotle calls these distinctions “reasons”. It may seem like common sense that people are different. However, this is still an important issue that is necessary to address.
Aristotle is a great philosopher and therefore it is not easy to critique his work.. However, I still find my opinions slightly differ from his. For example, in a quote from the previous paragraphs, Aristotle expresses that when a person lacks nothing and reaches the final good, then the person is happy. However, in my opinion, people can never reach the final good. Therefore, I consider the theory flawed.
From my observations and experiences, people may indeed lack nothing, but it will just be momentary. The so-called final good that people reach are more like milestones than the final stop. Every time a person become self-sufficient and lacking nothing, he or she will tend to start looking for another goal to accomplish. A lot of times the desirables turn undesirable the moment people achieve them. The desirables only remain desirable within reach, and thus people can never reach the final good.
Aristotle’s definition of happiness is reviewed more thoroughly by examining the nature of virtue, which depends on the structure of the soul. This goes in great detail and my attempt to give an in-depth critique is unsuccessful. Nevertheless, learning about Aristotle’s theory about happiness and comparing it to my own is still very beneficial. By re-thinking about the sources of happiness, I wish to find them better in the later part of my life.
A person will struggle just to go on in life if he or she is not happy. Therefore, the matter of what makes a person happy becomes a big question that everyone should ask himself or herself.
The answer to the question varies from people to people. In my case, being loved and achieving personal goals is what would make me happy. People are social animals who are born to crave for care, love, and company, and I am no exception. As for achieving personal goals, a few examples include helping the lands that I love become better places, making or seeing my loved ones happy, becoming successful in life, and staying true to myself.
In my first example, I wish to be help the lands I grew up on, which are Taiwan and the United States, become places that are even more wonderful than they already are. I would like to help the whole world become a better place; however, I feel that I have a better chance of helping the lands that I am familiar with, since I actually know the places. For now that I am still a student with little to offer, I try to accomplish this goal by recycling, saving energy, and urging others to do so.
In my second example, I said I would like to make my loved ones happy. This goal can actually be combined with the latter ones: becoming successful in life and staying true to myself. By becoming successful, not only that I can be proud of myself, my families and friends can be proud of me, too. Also, I will be capable of taking better care of them. However, a side-effect that often comes with success is that one is often lost on the way of becoming successful. I wish that no matter what happens I can be true to myself, and I know that is what my loved ones want, too.
Of course, one of the most important factors constituting happiness is knowing how to appreciate. No matter how fulfilling a person’s life is, the person will not be happy if he or she cannot see this fact. It is easy for someone to take his or her good life for granted. Personally, I feel the need to be reminded how great my life is. I forget to appreciate every once in a while, and every time I am reminded I feel happy and lucky instantly. One change in thought can change the person’s whole world.
According to Aristotle’s perspective, happiness must be explained in terms of reason, a human being’s distinctive function or activity. Also, Aristotle emphasizes the role of self-sufficiency in happiness. By using the word “self-efficient”, Aristotle is trying to express the idea that if a person’s life is desirable and lacks nothing, then it is the man’s life is considered to have reached its final good. “Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action” (Great Traditions, 27).
A few more quotes further explains Aristotle’s philosophy on happiness: “Now such a thing happiness, above all else, is held to be; for this we choose always for itself and never for the sake of something else, but honor, pleasure, reason, and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves, but we choose them also for the sake of happiness, judging that by means of them we shall by happy. Happiness, on the other hand, no one chooses for the sake of these, nor, in general, for anything other than itself” (Great Traditions, 26).
The wording of the previous paragraph may seem confusing. In my interpretation, it holds the simple concept that a person can choose honor, pleasure, and reason for both their own sake and the sake of happiness, for these attributes are capable of bring happiness.
These ideas are amazing, especially considering that they were invented in ancient times (384-322 B.C.E). For example, I like his use of words. When he says that we “choose” for the sakes, there is the interpretation that we are the person in charge of all our virtues, and of course, happiness.
I also like Aristotle’s perspective that happiness must be explained in terms of a human being’s distinctive function or activity as mentioned above. Every human being is a unique individual. Although it is possible to make generalizations; however, on the subject of happiness, one must take individual differences into account. Aristotle calls these distinctions “reasons”. It may seem like common sense that people are different. However, this is still an important issue that is necessary to address.
Aristotle is a great philosopher and therefore it is not easy to critique his work.. However, I still find my opinions slightly differ from his. For example, in a quote from the previous paragraphs, Aristotle expresses that when a person lacks nothing and reaches the final good, then the person is happy. However, in my opinion, people can never reach the final good. Therefore, I consider the theory flawed.
From my observations and experiences, people may indeed lack nothing, but it will just be momentary. The so-called final good that people reach are more like milestones than the final stop. Every time a person become self-sufficient and lacking nothing, he or she will tend to start looking for another goal to accomplish. A lot of times the desirables turn undesirable the moment people achieve them. The desirables only remain desirable within reach, and thus people can never reach the final good.
Aristotle’s definition of happiness is reviewed more thoroughly by examining the nature of virtue, which depends on the structure of the soul. This goes in great detail and my attempt to give an in-depth critique is unsuccessful. Nevertheless, learning about Aristotle’s theory about happiness and comparing it to my own is still very beneficial. By re-thinking about the sources of happiness, I wish to find them better in the later part of my life.
posted by Mavis Chao at 1:33 AM
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