Aristotle’s Way

1. Happiness is an Active Pursuit

The full use of your powers along lines of excellence in a life affording scope.

Happiness is Eudaimonia. Aristotle defined happiness not as fleeting pleasure or a passive state of contentment, but as eudaimonia – a flourishing, well-lived life achieved through purposeful activity. It's about engaging with existence and striving towards excellence, using your rational faculties to live in the best way possible. This objective, observable state of well-being is distinct from subjective feelings of temporary glee.

It's a personal project. Becoming happy is your own responsibility, regardless of circumstances. While external factors like health or wealth can influence well-being, Aristotle believed that for most people, happiness is attainable through conscious effort, learning, and cultivating goodness. It's an internal state derived from habitually doing the right thing, leading to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

More than just feeling good. Unlike hedonism, which equates happiness with maximizing pleasure, Aristotle's view requires activity and goal-directedness. A life spent passively seeking pleasure, like watching television all day, would not qualify as eudaimonia. True happiness comes from exercising your distinctively human capacity for rational thought and action, making deliberate choices to live virtuously.

2. Realize Your Unique Potential

Creating happiness means, above all, spending our lives enabled to do what we are best at and enjoy.

Every being has potential. Aristotle's concept of dynamis (potentiality) suggests that everything in the universe, living or inanimate, has an inherent capacity to develop into its mature form or fulfill its purpose. For humans, this includes a unique "rational potentiality" that requires conscious thought and effort to actualize (energeia).

Actualizing your dynamis. Identifying and developing your natural talents and aptitudes is crucial for happiness. This isn't just about innate gifts, but also requires training, intention, and reasoning. Parents, teachers, and society have a duty to help the young identify their potential and provide the right circumstances for its development, as wasted potential hinders both individual and collective flourishing.

Purpose guides actualization. An unplanned life is less likely to be fully happy. Setting achievable goals aligned with your potential and desires provides direction. Aristotle believed that occupations that bring pleasure are often those where we are best suited, as nature uses pleasure to guide us toward what helps us flourish. Finding work you enjoy and are good at is a key part of actualizing your potential.

3. Master the Art of Decision-Making

It is by a man’s purposive choice that we judge his character – that is, not by what he does but what he does it for.

Deliberation is key. Aristotle was the first to systematically analyze decision-making (euboulia), defining it as the process of competently deliberating about alternative courses of action to achieve your goals. This skill, central to both ethics and politics, improves with practice and experience, developing into practical wisdom (phronesis).

Rules for good deliberation:

• Don't deliberate in haste; take time to consider.
• Verify all information; don't act on rumor.
• Consult expert, disinterested advisers.
• Consider the perspective of all affected parties.
• Examine precedents from personal life and history.
• Calibrate likelihood of outcomes and prepare for them.
• Factor in the possibility of random bad luck.

Take responsibility. Deliberation applies only to things within our power that can be realized by action. We are responsible for our choices and failures to act. While bad luck can derail even the best plans, the process of careful deliberation itself is valuable, ensuring that if a plan fails, it's due to chance, not lack of effort or poor judgment.

4. Communicate with Clarity and Purpose

It is absurd to hold that a man should be ashamed of an inability to defend himself with his limbs, but not ashamed of an inability to defend himself with speech and reason; for the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.

Rhetoric is a vital skill. Aristotle saw rhetoric not as mere trickery, but as a neutral, teachable skill essential for effective communication and self-defense in any social sphere. It's about using reason and language to argue facts convincingly, allowing the audience to form rational judgments.

The ABCs of effective rhetoric:

• Audience: Understand who you are speaking to, their beliefs, and what will resonate emotionally. Tailor your message to create a positive response without resorting to flattery.
• Brevity: When persuading about future action, be concise. State what you want and provide only the most relevant evidence. Less is often more.
• Clarity: Be specific and avoid opaque language. If your audience doesn't understand you, you will fail to persuade them. Ensure your writing and speech are easy to read or utter.

Logic underpins persuasion. Effective arguments are built on proof (enthymemes or syllogisms). Learn to identify premises and conclusions, and critically question the underlying assumptions (especially the second premise in a syllogism). This skill is crucial for defending yourself against manipulation and making sound judgments.

5. Know Yourself: Cultivate Virtues

it is hard to find the middle point in anything

Virtues are learned habits. Aristotle's "virtue ethics" focuses on cultivating good character traits (aretai) by finding the "golden mean" (meson) between two extremes (vices). These aren't innate qualities but habits developed through repeated practice, like learning a skill.

Finding the "mean":

• Courage is the mean between cowardice and recklessness.
• Generosity is the mean between stinginess and wastefulness.
• Good temper is the mean between apathy and irascibility.
• Truthfulness is the mean between boastfulness and false modesty.

Self-appraisal is essential. To cultivate virtues, you must honestly assess your own character, identifying your tendencies towards excess or deficiency. Use Aristotle's table of virtues and vices as a checklist. This self-knowledge is the first step towards deliberate self-improvement.

Strive for magnanimity. The ideal Aristotelian is the "great-souled" or magnanimous person – quietly courageous, self-sufficient, polite, discreet, and candid. They are open in their feelings, avoid gossip, rarely criticize others unnecessarily, and do not bear grudges. This state of mind is a mark of true happiness and is attainable through consistent effort.

6. Intentions Define Your Character

We praise and Blame all Men with regard to their purpose rather than with regard to their actions.

Intention is paramount. For Aristotle, a person's underlying intention is often more important than the outcome of their actions when assessing their character. The same action (e.g., striking a blow) can be virtuous or culpable depending on the purpose behind it (self-defense vs. insult).

Wrong by omission. We are responsible not only for the actions we take but also for the good actions we fail to take when it is within our power. Failing to intervene when seeing injustice, for example, can be as morally culpable as committing the injustice itself. This is especially true for those with greater social advantages or power.

Equity tempers justice. While general laws and rules are necessary, life's complexities mean they cannot cover every situation perfectly. Equity (epieikeia) is the rectification of legal justice, allowing for flexibility and discretion based on the particulars of a case, like a flexible lead ruler bending around a curved stone. This ensures true fairness, not just rigid uniformity.

7. Cultivate Deep, Meaningful Relationships

Friendship is one of the most indispensable requirements of life.

Love is essential. Aristotle saw love (philia) as fundamental to human flourishing, encompassing not just romantic relationships but all bonds with people we care about. These relationships require effort but offer inestimable rewards throughout life.

Three types of friendship:

• Utility: Based on mutual benefit or advantage (e.g., neighbors helping each other). These are pragmatic and often end when the utility ceases.
• Pleasure: Based on mutual enjoyment (e.g., friends who share a hobby or make each other laugh). Common among the young, these can be transient if not based on deeper qualities.
• Primary/True: Based on mutual appreciation of character and a genuine desire for the other's well-being. These are the deepest, most stable friendships, built on trust and reciprocal good deeds over time.

Prioritize primary bonds. While utility and pleasure friendships are valuable, confusing them with primary friendships can lead to disappointment. True, lasting happiness comes from cultivating a few deep, trusting relationships, including family and chosen kin, who have your best interests at heart and with whom you share both joys and sorrows.

8. Flourish Within Your Community

None will doubt that the legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution.

Humans are social animals. Happiness cannot be achieved in isolation. Humans are biologically wired to live in communities (polis) and flourish through association and reciprocal good deeds. Civic friendship (civic concord) – a commitment to mutual goodwill and responsibility – is the foundation of a healthy state.

The ideal state fosters happiness. Good government aims at the happiness of its citizens, promoting civic friendship and enabling individuals to realize their potential. Aristotle analyzed different constitutions (democracy, aristocracy, monarchy, tyranny), finding democracy most conducive to friendship and justice due to the equality and shared interests of citizens.

Collective intelligence is powerful. Aristotle believed the collective judgment of the many in a democracy could be superior to that of a few rulers, like a public feast with many contributors being better than one provided by a single host. A large number of citizens is also harder to corrupt than an individual.

Responsibility to the world. As advanced animals with unique mental capacities, humans have a responsibility to the natural world and its inhabitants. Aristotle's scientific view of interconnectedness and his condemnation of unnatural, unlimited accumulation (like unbridled capitalism) align with modern environmental concerns.

9. Prioritize Constructive Leisure

Leisure is therefore wasted if we do not use it purposively.

Leisure is life's goal. Aristotle radically argued that leisure (schole), not work, is the ultimate goal of human life. Work is merely a means to secure survival, but leisure is the time when our full human potential for happiness can be realized through chosen activities.

Beyond mere amusement. While leisure includes necessary rest and amusement, its highest form involves activities that develop our uniquely human capacities – our minds, souls, and relationships. This requires education in constructive pastimes, as boredom is an enemy of happiness.

Arts enhance life. Aristotle passionately defended the arts (literature, music, drama) as crucial for human flourishing. Unlike Plato, who feared their emotional power, Aristotle saw them as educative, allowing us to learn about the world, human nature, and even difficult subjects like suffering and death in a pleasurable way. Quality art should be both pleasant and useful.

10. Face Mortality to Live Fully

death is the most terrible of all things, for it is the end.

Acknowledge death's finality. Aristotle faced the truth that death is the cessation of consciousness. While terrifying, confronting this reality is necessary for living well. It underscores the preciousness of life and can motivate us to live more fully and virtuously while we can.

Death defines your "self". Paradoxically, death makes your unique "person" complete and unchanging in the human record and memories. Your life gains a narrative unity, an "arc," like a well-written story. This perspective can bring comfort and a sense of closure.

Plan for your end. Just as we plan for life, we should plan for death. This includes making wishes known regarding end-of-life care, possessions, and ceremonies. It also means ensuring the continuation of projects and relationships that matter most, delegating responsibilities where needed.

Recollection offers solace. While memory can be involuntary, deliberate recollection (anamnesis) is a uniquely human capacity. By consciously recalling happy moments and the contributions of loved ones, we can find comfort in their continued presence in our minds, helping us cope with aging and loss.

Last updated: June 4, 2025