FREE ESSAY ON HAPPINESS, FUNCTION, MORALITY, AND VIRTUE

HAPPINESS, FUNCTION, MORALITY, AND VIRTUE

Happiness, Function, Morality, and Virtue
Aristotle argues that happiness, function and morality are closely connected and that
virtue is dependent upon all of them. To fully comprehend Aristotle's theory, we must
first examine each of these qualities and then determine how they are related to one
another. The deliberation process will show that all of these qualities can be strongly
connected, but not exclusively. Happiness, function, morality and virtue can exist
independent of one another.
The first deliberation is to define happiness. Happiness is the highest of all practical
goods identified with " living well of doing well"(100). According to Aristotle, 
Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at
some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all
things aim. But a certain difference is found among ends (99).
An example of this reflection would be the final product created by an architect. This
individual completed building a structure from start to finish and has reached the end of
the project. The architect is pleased by the results of what she created. The architect
achieved the desired outcome and is therefore happy. A difference between the actual end
and the desired outcome is what makes happiness different for each individual. All ends
do not lead to happiness. For example, finishing a painting makes the artist happy but
not the autoworker whose preferred end is making vehicles. The fact that not all human
beings share the same ends proves that happiness is found at different ends. Aristotle
illustrates happiness as being the "chief good". In the following quote he explains that
rational human beings take happiness for itself and never for any other reasons: 
Since there are evidently more than one end, and we choose some of these…for the
sake of something else, clearly not all ends are final ends; but the chief good is
evidently something final. (103).
By this definition, happiness must be only the final end, which is the "chief good"
(103). This means that happiness is the pursuit of all that which is desired, and the
desire is to reach the final end. If the end is final it becomes the "chief good" (103).
In Aristotle's own words he says, "Happiness, then, is something final and
self-sufficient, and is the end of action"(103). To say that happiness is the only chief
good is not completely true. If happiness is the only chief good than what is our
function as human beings?
Aristotle associates functioning well with happiness and happiness is the final result.
He says that the function of human being is, "…an activity of soul which follows or
implies a rational principle…"(103). Human beings must have the ability to exercise
their capacity to reason in order to function well. Reasoning is the key factor in making
decisions. Human beings use reasoning to decide what choices to make in life. The outcome
of the choices humans make is what creates desire. As a result, desires are what
determine the "chief good" (103). If the chief good is happiness, than the function of
human beings and reasoning must also be happiness. One will stay on the path towards
happiness if reasoning is used as a function of life.
Having virtue is an essential part of the equation that sustains happiness and the
ability to function well. Rather than taking detours down paths of deficiency and
excessiveness, one may use reasoning to become a virtuous person. By staying committed to
the path toward happiness, one is considered virtuous. Aristotle claims that the, "virtue
of man also will be the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do
his own work well"(111). If the above statement is true than only virtuous human beings
are happy and if they are happy than they must also be functioning well.
Aristotle then divides virtue into two separate areas: intellectual virtue and moral
virtue. He says that moral virtue is the result of "habit"(108). If moral virtue is
"habit"(108), it cannot be "nature"(109). Let us bring this to a deeper level. Gravity by
nature pulls everything to the earth's surface at a fixed rate. This rate can never be
changed by the habit of something else. For example, no matter how many times running
water is diverted from its original path to the lowest point, the laws of physics will
always prevail. The running water will once again find its path to the lowest point. This
proves that any sort of habit cannot change nature. However, intellectual virtue comes
from what is taught and learned throughout life by habit. Aristotle's example of
intellectual virtue is made clear when he says, "…legislators make the citizens
good by forming habits in them, and this is the wish of every legislator, and those who
do not effect it miss their mark, and it is in this that a good constitution differs from
a bad one" (109). If virtue is the state of character, than the state of character
defined by Aristotle is, "what makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well"
(111). If it is true that virtue gives people a choice, than Aristotle is correct when he
states without doubt that we as human beings could, "…take more, less, or an equal
amount"(112).
If a person chooses to stay within the mean than they are "intermediate" or equal. If
they choose to "take more" than they are excessive. Finally, if they choose to take
"less" then they are deficient (112). Therefore, happiness and virtue are in-between
excess and deficiency. For example, if one is excessive in the characteristic of courage
than others might view them as being afraid of nothing. If an individual is afraid of
nothing than they cannot be happy. People do not always admire absolute courage. There is
a time and place for courage. The same can be said for those people who are deficient or
lacking courage. In other words, happiness is being intermediate.
Aristotle has some good points when he speaks about the concepts of happiness, but his
thoughts also imply that happiness, function, morality and virtue are all tied together
as if they are inseparable. He states that happiness is the aim of the "chief good".
Function is the ability to reason, morality is knowledge gained through habit of what is
right or wrong and virtue is a state of mind of that which is intermediate. The way
Aristotle ties these separate elements together is remarkable and in a perfect world his
theory would probably be true. The only down fall to his hypothesis is that this world in
which we live is not a perfect one. Even Aristotle says that the "chief good" is the
"final end"(100). If this is so, than life cannot be considered happy until it ceases to
exist. The ability to reason is not the only purpose of human existence. The main
function of human beings is instead the ability to survive with the advantage of being
able to reason. Morality is the distinction between what is right and wrong and this
distinction is dependent on the individual and the situation. Virtue includes all
characteristics that have merit and that are held in high regard. 
This deliberation with Aristotle's theory has proven that happiness, function, morality
and virtue are tied to one another in a perfect world. These four elements are also
inter-mingled in our non-perfect world, but only under certain circumstances. This is
because every human being has their own perception of what represents happiness,
function, morality and virtue. Finally, Aristotle says that virtue is being intermediate,
but how realistic is it to believe that virtue can only exist for those who always stay
with-in the mean? Just as we don't have a perfect world, there is no perfect human being
either.
Bibliography
Work Cited
Newberry, Paul A. Theories of Ethics. Mayfield Publishing Company: California, 1999.
Nicomachean Ethics. 2000. Online. Internet. 22 Feb.1994-1998. Available:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.1.i.html