Aristotle eudaimonia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aristotle eudaimonia - Essay Example p practicing the good things, which may entail seeking to excel in one’s career, having good friends and also eating well and staying healthy (Aristotle, 2004). In this respect, Aristotle eudaimonia is an objective kind of happiness or satisfaction that arises out of an individual pursuing the good deeds in life, which in turn enables the individual to achieve the states of good human spirit and satisfaction (Aristotle, 2004). This can simply be interpreted to mean that happiness or satisfaction according to Aristotle eudaimonia is a two-directional approach, which entails both an inward and outward pursuit of goodness. The inward pursuit of goodness entails doing the things that keeps a human being at peace and in a state of satisfaction, such as contentment with the status of his/her work. On the other hand, the outward direction of pursuing goodness entails being generous to others, since altruism is a source of happiness and contentment. Therefore, the concept of Aristotle eudaimonia can simply be summarized as referring to doing good and living well, which in returns derives a feeling of contentment for an individual (Aristotle, 2004). Mean is a concept that has been applied in Aristotle eudaimonia, to refer to the state of balance, which does not entail any of the extremes of excess pleasure on the one hand and excess deficiency or suffering on the other hand (Aristotle, 2004). Thus, the requirement for something to be considered the greatest good is that it should not constitute extreme pleasure that may eventually make a person fail to pursue excellence, and it should not be too much deficient as to make the person feel discontentment (Aristotle, 2004). The achievement of the greatest good therefore means that self-development is pursued as a means of arriving at the state of the individual’s best potential on the hand, and then the pursuit of the most human attitude and attributes for serving others, on the other hand. Through this attempt to perfect