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The Greeks

Aristotle’s Guide To Living Well

Lawrence Evans contemplates Aristotle’s argument that happiness is the ultimate goal of human life, and that it can best be found in philosophical contemplation.

Aristotle’s most famous work on ethics is the Nicomachean Ethics, which aims to describe the ultimate end and good for human beings.

One of the most puzzling features of this classic is that Aristotle seems to waver between two views. These are firstly that happiness involves the activity of the moral as well as the intellectual virtues (this is sometimes called ‘inclusivism’ by Aristotle scholars) and secondly that happiness consists in nothing but the intellectual activity of contemplation (sometimes called ‘exclusivism’). In this article I will explore what he says about happiness, and ultimately conclude that for Aristotle perfect happiness indeed consists in philosophical contemplation.

Ultimate Happiness

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