Aristotle - Philosophy, Ethics and Happiness
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Greek philosopher (pictured right) , student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
He was an expert in ethics, physics, biology, politics, economics, literature and psychology!
His most famous book is...
He wrote many great works including Nicomachean Ethics that had a huge effect on our ideas
about ethics.
His tips on how to be happy and successful
1. Do your best at what your best at
a) do good
Happy people use their virtues and knowledge to achieve something
useful and worthwhile, particularly to:
- achieve excellence in something.
- improve your relationships.
b) do your best
Choose something you’re really good at and work your hardest to make the most of your talent.
c) smile
Overcome your problems by being positive and cheerful.
d) do your duty
Do what is right and what you ought to do (your duty).
“Happiness depends upon ourselves”, Aristotle said.
2. Virtue and self-discipline
Make these virtues a habit:
- courage (the greatest virtue, because it makes all the others possible).
- moderation and self-control.
- justice (fairness and legality).
- prudence (being careful and looking ahead).
- liberality (tolerance and open-mindedness).
- patience, generosity and honesty.
- self-respect, gentleness, and modesty.
- magnanimity (avoiding revenge)
Good people are:
- make good communities and countries.
Morality is the habit of being virtuous through:
- making the right choices.
- controlling your desires (i.e. self-discipline and moderation in all things).
But this is difficult.
“The hardest victory is over yourself”, he said.
3. The “Golden Mean”
Every virtue lies in the middle of two related vices (the “Golden Mean”):
- one associated with excess and
- the other with deficiency.
This view is also shared by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius (pictured right).
Here are some examples:
Virtue |
Excess |
Deficiency |
Generosity |
Profligacy |
Meanness |
Courage |
Over-confidence |
Cowardice |
Self-respect |
Vanity |
Self-neglect |
Modesty |
Shamelessness |
Shyness |
Resolution |
Violence |
Indifference |
4. Think, reflect and learn
Learners are the best and happiest people, because “all men by nature desire to know”, he
said.
Work out the best thing to do after considering all the advantages and
disadvantages of all your different options.
Learning is:
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”, Aristotle said.
You learn and find knowledge from:
a) experience
Observing, doing and experimenting.
b) reason
- find all the relevant facts and
Theory must be tested by practice and experience.
c) logic
Make conclusions from related ideas.
For example, all snowmen are made of snow, all snow is white, so all snowmen are
white.
d) generalizations
(e.g. fruit is good for you),
But be aware of:
- exceptions (e.g. people allergic to fruit).
- stereotypes (e.g. all women are bossy).
e) non-contradiction
Aristotle’s principle of non-contradiction says:
You can’t contradict what you do or say
(e.g. your coat can’t be red, if it’s black).
f) listening and acting
Listening to wise people and acting upon their advice.
5. Money
Money is important but use it to do something useful and satisfying.
Happiness doesn’t come from material pleasures, but from being good, loved and
fulfilled.
What you really need (like virtue and water) will make you happier than what you
want (temptations and fizzy drinks!).
People must buy less, because not enough can be produced to satisfy their unlimited wants.
6. Friends
Close relationships are vital to your happiness.
“Man is a social animal”, Aristotle said.
Best friends:
- are like “a single soul dwelling in two bodies” (i.e. two friends have different
bodies but the same aims and principles).
7. Variety
Doing new and different things make you happy.
But work isn’t everything.
Aristotle said we should educate ourselves to make the best use of our leisure, doing something
useful, not just watching the TV!
You can learn a lot about life from literature and drama.
8. Wisdom and experience
He believed wise people are happiest and wisdom comes from:
- knowledge of science and the arts.
- prudence (practical knowledge).
- intelligence and intuition (knowing what’s right).
So wisdom comes from experience, i.e. knowing and understanding the world.
Don’t believe in anything you don’t experience (Aristotle’s principle of “saving the appearances”).
So he attacked Plato’s (pictured
right) Theory of Forms, which said there is a more important ideal world beyond this one.
9. Action and self-motivation
What you do results from one or more of seven causes:
If you’re compelled to do something, it isn’t your fault.
You must be determined to do what makes you happy and successful, whatever
difficulties or temptations you face (i.e. the will to win).
10. Be law abiding
Obey laws, if they are just and made by a democratic government.
The government can’t make people good and happy but only help them to be so by making sure:
- they live happily together.
- each individual develops his (or her) full potential.
11. Understand how things change
There are four reasons for change:
a) material cause
What it is made up - for example:
- an organization’s resources like people money and machinery.
- marble in a marble statue.
b) efficient cause
How it is made - for example:
- management organizing resources.
- a sculptor hammering and chiselling the marble.
c) formal cause
What gives it the shape by which it is identified - for example:
- an organization’s brands and logo.
d) final cause
Why something is made - for example:
Change requires stability, because the thing that changes must remain the same.
For example, an organization or person changes but still remains an
organization or person.
12. Think about the whole of your life
Happiness isn’t just one happy event
“One swallow does not make a summer”, Aristotle said.
But you must work hard to:
- make sure your life is full of a series of happy events.
- realize that your happiness is affected by things you can’t control (like fate and other
people’s behaviour).
Key quotes on fear and pain
He who has truly overthrown his fears will truly be free.
Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great
calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.
Key quote on
motivation
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Man is a social animal
Key quotes on
learning
The energy of the mind is the essence of life.
All men by nature desire to know.
Key quotes on
ethics
All persons ought to endeavour to follow what is right, and not what is established.
The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.
Key quotes on education and
wisdom
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d rather have been talking.
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”,
Key quotes on
happiness
Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life
One swallow does not make a summer.
Key quote on peace of mind
The ultimate value of life depends on awareness and the power of contemplation.
Key quote on
leadership
He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.
Key quote on
quality
Quality is not an act, it is a habit.
Key quote on science and
wisdom
Wisdom is both scientific knowledge and understanding about what is by nature most honourable.
Key quote on influencing
people
Good action...cannot exist without a combination of intellect and character.
Key quote on
economics
The weaker are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.
Key quote on
society
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
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