Great Ideas of Philosophy

III. The problem of conduct is then translated into the question of how to achieve that flourishing life that is theultimate end of our choices and actions. If the goal of all our actions, ultimately, is eudaimonia, then what iseudaimonia for us? Aristotle gives two rather incompatible answers.A. The essence of our nature is to reason; therefore, as birds must fly and fish must swim, it follows that themost complete life for humans is the life of contemplation of things of first importance and greatestexcellence.B. Actions performed for their own sake rather than as instrumentally tied to other goods are “godlike,”because the Olympians do not act out of necessity. Only the contemplative life is “godlike” in this senseand answers to this description. The contemplation of the sublime is not a practical matter; it is not done inorder to achieve some other good, such as wealth or fame or the like.C. But is the contemplative life enough? Does not eudaimonia refer to a form of life that includes others? As asocial animal, man cannot flourish in isolation.1. Indeed, Aristotle says that the completed human being is found within the polis, at the hearth, andobedient to the law, not in Homer’s hearthless, stateless, lawless man.2. It is in the nature of the completed being to seek out the company of equals and enter into enduringfriendships, which by their nature, are founded in principles of pleasure, utility, and virtue.3. The principles of virtue at the individual level are like the principles of law that govern the politicalcommunity itself. The good state will require all of us to do what the rational man does by choice and,by enforcement, will make virtue habitual.4. In guiding us toward virtuous conduct, the state renders us fitter, not merely for life in the polis, butfor the most rewarding of friendships and the flourishing life that becomes possible thereby.D. What would be the best form of life one could live, understood in these terms? The eudaimonic life wouldbe the active life of the lawgiver. It would be the life of one immersed in the political needs and realities ofhis time and contributing to the polis through his own virtuous conduct, contributing in such a way that thestate, like the person, perfects itself.1. The purpose of the law is to secure a reasonable, prudent, balanced, harmonious form of life.2. The rule of law attracts us, and we attach our fidelity to it, because it has a friendly quality—philikon.It inclines us to behave in ways that are best for us for our own sake.E. How do we broker the seemingly competing claims of a life of political activity and the contemplative life?1. The answer is that it may not be possible to reconcile these competing claims; even Aristotle offers usno compromise here.2. There is a fundamental tension between a life of activity and a life of contemplation. Once a scholardecides to devote himself or herself to a life of study, which includes the recognition that by nature weare fallible beings, it becomes impossible to take decisive action at the daily political level.3. In contrast, the political leader changes the world, with military force, enacted legislation, tradeagreements, and so on.F. In this view, who do we see on the horizon? Alexander the Great, who attempted to Hellenize the world. Inthe process, he also transformed himself, illustrating the dilemma faced by those who seek to balance thecontemplative life with the life of political affairs.Recommended Reading:Aristotle. Complete Works. J. Barnes, ed. Princeton, 1984 (especially the Nichomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics,and Politics).Robinson, D. N. Aristotle’s Psychology. Columbia, 1989.Questions to Consider:1. Given that the eudaimonic life is only for the few, explain what sort of life is right for the many.2. Aristotle granted that non-human animals could experience pleasure and pain but not eudaimonia, because thelatter requires developed rationality. Explain why “happiness” should require developed rationality and inferwhether childhood can truly be eudaimonic?6©2004 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership