Happiness and the Golden Mean - 1396 Words

In the Declaration of Independence, it states that all men, being equal by nature, have the equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is interesting from Thomas Jefferson’s point of view that he says that we have the right to pursue happiness. When he said this, what did he mean in ways of understanding it and pursing this happiness? To live, as we have experienced, is itself a means to living well. The same applies to freedom. We cannot pursue happiness if we cannot freely carry out the choices we make. â€Å"If everything is determined for us, if the pattern of our life is imposed upon us, there would be no sense in talking about planning our lives or about adopting a plan for living well.† We need to stay and be†¦show more content†¦Meanwhile, if anything that is good for us is something that ought to be desired, then in reality we ought to desire what is good for us. When we ‘ought’ to do anything, it comes with a notion of an obligation or duty of some kind. This means that there is a responsibility to do what we ought to do. By saying that we ought to pursue happiness puts us in a place to make an effort to live well and find a way to make a good life for ourselves. In doing so, it means that we need the ‘real goods’ to make a good life. That is why we have the right to the ‘real goods.’ If we did not have that freedom, then it would mean that there was no obligation to even pursue happiness or a good life in which Thomas Jefferson was referring to in having the right to pursue happiness. In having the same human nature, Thomas Jefferson believed that all human beings had the same natural rights. It is the idea that what is good for one is good for all. This led to adapting Aristotle’s view on the pursuit of happiness that all human beings are in pursuit of the same set of ‘real goods’ for themselves. Before presenting what Aristotle means to obtain t he ‘real goods,’ there needs to be an understanding of what it means by â€Å"ought to pursue happiness.† This can be explored throughShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Philosophy Of Aristotle1725 Words   |  7 PagesThis means that he emphasizes virtues and moral character and that the best way to resolve moral questions is by focusing on the moral agent. However, unlike Plato who is a rationalist, Aristotle is an empiricist. Since he is an empiricist, he uses his senses to first to observe the world, then later uses reason to understand it. It is because of these two reasons that he will develop his definition of a moral and just person which to him is someone who follows the Golden Mean. The Golden Mean is theRead MoreEssay on The Golden Rule in Kant and Mills Ethical Theories1320 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferences; Kant’s theory deals with conduct, seeking reason for good action in duty. Mill’s theory deals with consequences and maximizing human happi ness. However both Kant and Mill’s ethics relate to the important biblical principal of the Golden Rule. What makes actions right? For some philosophers it is their consequences, like the pleasure or happiness that they produce. However for a deontologist like Immanuel Kant, rightness is the action itself and the obligation to perform it. His ethics isRead MoreAristotles Balance of Eudaimonia880 Words   |  4 Pagesnorthern Greece. During his lifetime, he studied variety of subjects and brought knowledge to all aspects (Blackburn). He viewed that as a human, a subject who’s determined goal is to reach virtue and Arà ªte, is connected with nature and its balance (Golden Mean). Aristotle also viewed a good life as political questions. He analyzed that human’s basic shape of desire and aim is formed at the age of six (Hare). The good life, then, was defined by Aristotle as ‘the activity of the soul in accordance withRead MoreAnalysis Of Aristotle s The Golden Mean 820 Words   |  4 Pages Final Exam- The Golden Mean In the philosophical book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle introduces the means to reach the ultimate good of happiness. A guide called the Golden Mean is provided to therefore reach eudemonia. This concept encourages a balance in life in order to remain virtuous. There is, however, social movements such as feminism and the black activists that shows exceptions to this principle. This mean is also inexact, as it is relative to each, and is thus subjective to its level ofRead MoreThe Ethics Of Plato And Aristotle977 Words   |  4 PagesThe ‘good life’ as Aristotle defines it as one which has happiness as a characteristic or ‘a life of happiness’. ‘Happiness is a motion of the soul in accord with perfect virtue’. ‘People ought to behave so as to achieve happiness’. I believe that Aristotle’s response will be everyone always ought to follow the middle passage between certain kinds of events. Aristotle uses an analogy to describe happiness. The best way to describe happiness is how much a person can eat. For example, if a person believesRead MoreExamining the Ethics of Plato and Aristotle Essay1063 Words   |  5 Pagesethics. The ‘good life’ as Aristotle defines it as one which has happiness as a characteristic or ‘a life of happiness’. ‘Happiness is an activity of the soul in accord with perfect virtue’. ‘People ought to behave so as to achieve happiness’. I believe that Aristotle’s answer will be everyone always ought to follow the middle course between certain kinds of activities. Aristotle uses an analogy to describe happiness. The analogy of happiness is best described as how much a person can eat. For exampleRead MoreThe Aristotles Idea of a Good Life Essay1037 Words   |  5 PagesQuestion: What is Aristotle’s idea of a good life and why does he view a good life in this way? Is Aristotle’s understanding of a good life accura te? Why or why not? (Make sure to talk about the concept of the mean). To Aristotle leading a good life, for the most part, means fulfilling one’s purpose in a way that is good by balancing life’s pleasures. In order to determine if an object fulfills its function in a good way, we must first consider the object. If we were to agree that a car shouldRead MoreIntroduction to Ethics1269 Words   |  6 Pagesdo the right and wrongs, our values and morals, and ethics. In philosophy, there were three ethical theories by Aristotle, Kant, and Bentham Mill and they were the Golden Mean, Categorical Imperative, and Greatest Good for the Greatest Number respectively. Aristotle believed the one goal everyone strived for was happiness for ones ownself. If you were a happy person, that would eventually lead to being a good person. He also believed that all living things had certain capacities, andRead MoreEssay on Aristotles View 562 Words   |  3 Pagesthe goal of a human life is to achieve happiness or eudaimonia. I believe that Aristotle is completely correct in his reasoning of the purpose of human nature. He even explains how happiness is different for every person, and each different type of person has a different idea of eudaimonia. He then goes on to talk about how a person must do all things in moderation, not doing the excess but at the same time doing just enough. This idea, called the golden mean of moderation was the backbone supportRead MoreBuddhism : Religion Of Buddhism1478 Words   |  6 Pagesadherents to live out the golden rule? For this religion project I decided to look more closely into the religion of Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion that has around 300 million people world wide of all nationalities, race, sexuality and gender following and practicing its teachings. Buddhism is a path of spiritual development leading to the insight and understanding of the true nature of reality. Buddhist practice things like meditation because they feel it’s a means of changing yourself in