According to Aristotle, a happy life is measured by reasonable and virtuous actions. Moral virtue is defined by our voluntary actions. Having reason and following it will allow a person to be the happiest, because, on the word of Aristotle, they are fulfilling their purpose or nature as found in the rational soul. These two traits combined influence the person to make the choices that ultimately lead to the overall happy life.
As humans we strive to be happy. We
want to be able to look back on the good things in our life to keep us going.
Sometimes we are put in positions where we must make a difficult decision.
Making a decision based purely on reason influences the decision that is
logically right. Sometimes when making this decision logically people may be hurt
in the process because one is not also relying on moral virtue. The idea is
that if both of these aspects are combined the decisions that are made will be
right morally and logically.
But is it really that simple? When
comparing this into my life I find that I fall short in different circumstances
of Aristotle’s program. It is not always easy to have the perfect balance of
reason and morality. There have been times that I have focused on reason
shutting out morality. At that time that is what seemed important. But looking
back I might have had more joy going to do a service project, instead of
finishing my homework. Though I did not make my decision in equal balance of
morality and reason in that situation does not mean I am completely unhappy.
The fault in this theory is that we will never truly experience happiness until
the end of our life. Why can’t we be happy now? Many will say that they are
happy now. Just because happiness can come and go does not mean that ultimately
one is unhappy at certain times. Happiness is too complex to easily label with
a theory. Aristotle is close but not close enough.
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