Introduction
From our perspective, human happiness is the primary goal of human existence and its meaning. In the text, we mainly deal with aspects of happiness such as: eudaimonion (blessedness), hedone, friendship, its kinds and the conditions of its functioning, and the meaning of life.
Defining happiness is not simple. In the publication Základy etiky it is written: "Happiness is above all the quality of our life, not the object of seeking theoretical certainty" (Miedzgová, Vargová, 2007, p. 34). Yes, it can also be understood this way, or: "Happiness as exceptional positive events that favorable fate grants us... This happiness does not depend on us, our effort, or our character" (Miedzgová, Vargová, 2007, p. 34). This is probably the simplest definition of happiness, because we do not contribute to it through our actions. As it is said: "You either have good fortune, or fortune comes around." However, we would not call such circumstances happiness by their very nature. Happiness that we do not create by our own strength or energy is not what we call blessedness. We can say that their essence is chance, external causation, or favorable circumstances. It is not our conscious effort and search for happiness. We do not build it through our energy and actions. Its essence is hollow, short-term, fleeting.
Categories of happiness
Aristotle says that there is no true happiness as long as we do not strive for it and struggle for it. Rather, these are happy moments, flashes of happiness, or happiness by chance. "In Greek, the terms eudaimonia and tyché are distinguished. The first denotes happiness that a person can earn for themselves, while tyché is chance, the unpredictable happiness of a fleeting moment" (Paprotny, 2005, p. 125). The following description likely reflects the view of many about what happiness is: "An intense inner feeling, great joy, a state of blessed rapture. This experience does not depend on circumstances; it is an expression of the human capacity to intensely feel joy, which another person may not even perceive" (Miedzgová, Vargová, 2007, p. 34). This feeling of joy may not be long-term; it can be a short moment, therefore it should not be attached to materiality. Another view understands happiness as a positive life value: "Something at least relatively lasting in human life" (Miedzgová, Vargová, 2007, p. 34). It seems to mean that in our lives positive circumstances and joy predominate more. We can enjoy things and savor those moments. Vajda states: "Happiness is usually characterized as a feeling of satisfaction or joy from pursuing and achieving set goals" (Vajda, 2004, p. 119). That means we mainly designate happiness as a state of psychological satisfaction and joy from achieving a goal, or also a characterization of the entirety of a person's life activity. In the first case, these are feelings, moments of happiness we experience in certain situations. They usually eventually fade and remain as memories. In the second case, it is a lifelong path in which we try, more or less successfully, to follow happiness.
The view closest to true happiness is that happiness is satisfaction with life. The greatest gift of a human being is to know how to love life, to take joy in ordinary days, and not to complain that exceptional days do not come (Miedzgová, Vargová, 2007, p. 34).
Desires and passions also belong to the fully human being, just as restraint and conviction do. "It is not that human desires are bad because they are powerful; they are bad because people's conscience is weak" (Mill, 1995, p. 56). We can state that a complete person is the one who strives to live in accordance with his conscience, develops his best abilities, and strives for a valuable and happy life. Such a person is not free from negative emotions or desires; all of them belong to human nature. He becomes more fully human the more he becomes aware of them and learns to work with them in his favor.
Happiness as eudaimonion
We try to clarify the concept of happiness from Aristotle’s ethics as eudaimonion. We find a contrast between two different perspectives on happiness. One perspective presents happiness as joy, delight, or pleasure. The other presents happiness as practical intellectual activity connected with reason and virtue.
As beings equipped with reason and the ability to think constructively, we are destined to develop and use these gifts as best as we can. Reasoned activity should therefore be something privileged in our lives, something to cultivate. Philosophy, as an activity of reason aimed at wisdom, also deals with the concept of happiness. Aristotle, one of the best-known ancient philosophers, reflects on happiness as a philosophical and ethical concept worthy of thought. Ultimately, not only worthy of thought, but also of human action, and that at the highest level. This means that happiness, as the last possible level, is the ultimate goal toward which a person should strive. In life we strive for many things, but all of them lead to this: to be happy. We do not consider happiness an instrument with which we would strive for something else, because it is the highest goal, valuable in itself. To clarify the conceptual definition, expressions such as eudaimonion, blessedness, the good, a successful life, and happiness denote the same thing. "Aristotle strives for the highest good and finds it in the idea of eudaimonia, which is generally translated as happiness, blessedness, or well-being" (Thompson, 2004, p. 65). Every person may use a different expression for the same state. We understand blessedness as a concrete activity, not a state. The activity itself is noble and satisfying in itself, and we perform it for its own sake. The more serious and useful this activity is, the more blessed the person is. Because all can perform bodily and sensory activity, but only some can perform rational activity and valuable work.
We aim for the highest good
We believe that conceptions of happiness and the good life have a practical character and are not just theoretical scientific concepts. "It seems that every art and every scientific inquiry, just as all action and decision-making, are directed toward some good; therefore good is what everything is directed toward" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 27). Because, if in medicine good is for example saving a patient's life, or in sport good is to win, and in education good is to pass on knowledge to future generations, then in life itself good is happiness and a blessed life. That is, a life that is well fulfilled and free from suffering. "It appears, however, that there is a difference between a goal and a goal, because actions themselves are some goals, as are some works alongside them. Where actions have accompanying ends, these works are naturally better than mere actions" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 27). This means that not every action and not every goal is equally valuable. Aristotle argues that some are more noble than others. As with Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, physiological needs are lower, while needs for leadership and inquiry are higher, so too, in our view, is the concept of happiness at the highest rung. "If different kinds of activity truly have one final end that we pursue for its own sake, whereas everything else we want only for that final end and do not always set one goal for the sake of another—for then we would proceed endlessly and every human effort would be empty and vain—it is clear that this final end is good, and the highest good" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 28). Aristotle meant that we strive for ultimate happiness, because the word good is its synonym.
Happiness on the individual level
When we ask people what is important in their life, we very often receive the answer: to be happy. If we ask what kind of life they would want to lead, a common answer is a good, satisfied, happy, or joyful life. "But in what is central to blessedness, opinions differ, and the answer of ordinary people sounds differently from that of wise men. Some imagine it as something obvious and apparent, for example as pleasure or wealth, or honor; others as something else, and sometimes even the same person changes their view" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 30). Our views are influenced by the circumstances in which we are, for example a sick person imagines happiness as health, while a poor person imagines happiness as wealth. People who love pleasures and pursue them consider wine, women, and other bodily pleasures as blessedness. Educated people imagine happiness as, for example, scientific contribution to society, passing knowledge to younger generations, lifelong learning, or professional help to others. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle notes: "For some, blessedness means virtue; for others, intelligence; for others, the philosopher’s wisdom. Others seem to think it is all of this or something in combination with pleasure, or at least not without pleasure; and finally some also add external well-being" (Aristotle, 2011, 40-41).
Most people, however, behave in an at-most slave-like way because they are servants of their passions and desires. They do not listen to their true inner voice; they are slaves of sensory affects. They are like animals that chase better pasture, and as soon as they graze it, they move elsewhere. It seems that matter is their happiness. For them, owning properties is a necessity for reaching satisfaction. These authors distinguish three dimensions of this approach:
- Centrality. These people place the acquisition and ownership of objects at the top of their value hierarchies.
- Happiness. One reason why acquiring properties occupies such an important place for them is that they consider it necessary for achieving happiness and contentment.
- Success. They tend to evaluate their own worth and success, as well as the worth of others, by the amount and value of acquired property, which they value more for its market price than for the personal satisfaction it might bring (Bauman, 1995).
Those who incline toward the first dimension place ownership of objects first in the value hierarchy; the second group believes that to attain happiness one needs to own material values; and the third group evaluates the values of themselves and others according to how much ownership they have acquired, which they value more for market price than for personal satisfaction. We believe that freedom in today's world is tied to the market economy. People see money and property as important life values, and therefore believe they are necessary to achieve happiness.
To Have or to Be: the Identity Crisis
Following this, we ask ourselves: what is more important for our happiness? The German-American psychoanalyst Erich Fromm hints at this in To Have or To Be. If we fall into the illusion that ownership is more important, the world fills with dissatisfied people. We think the more we have, the more we want.
Another less reflected problem is identity crisis. A person does not ask themselves what should take priority, what suits their nature and dispositions, how they might perfect themselves and allow the personality of their "I" to move freely. They ask: What is more advantageous for my position? What do people in my position and financial situation usually do? Or (even worse): What do people in positions and circumstances above mine usually do?" (Mill, 1995, p. 57). From this pattern of thinking and acting, authenticity and originality of the person’s personality emerge.
"All people would like to be happy" (Spaeman, 1998, p. 27). In this sentence there is reflected the foundational stone of ancient philosophy on which we rely. We all want to have a fulfilled and good life. "Further, there is a second thesis, namely that all people want everything they desire ultimately for this goal" (Spaeman, 1998, p. 27). "Happiness is therefore a goal that is foundational to all and links all other goals toward which a person may go. By itself it gives meaning to life" (Thompson, 2004, p. 66). If Aristotle labeled happiness as the ability to live a good life, we must understand this as a disposition to act in a particular way, and this way can be called a good life, or a blessed life. "One yields to their passions, another considers the highest pleasures worthy of effort. Many believe that happiness will come through fame and honor, and therefore want to advance and gain influence, power, and strength" (Paprotny, 2005, p. 126). For each person this is something different, depending on the circumstances of birth, culture, upbringing, life, and the like.
Reasoned activity as meaning
"A person whose soul is led by reason understands that one can live well only if one is virtuous and competent, one develops one’s own capability or competence (arete) fully, and in this way is able to use the highest happiness on earth" (Paprotny, 2005, p. 126). It is reason that leads us to act in certain ways, and to set the final goal, tellos, and gives us the ability to think about actions and align them with the chosen goal. This is what is called practical wisdom, phronesis. "Aristotle most values reasoning because it is focused on timeless truths. A person who thinks in this way is superior to those who are driven by emotions or act with the prospect of reward or avoidance of punishment" (Thompson, 2004, p. 68). Such a person would likely be the ancient philosopher who chose happiness and a good life as his tellos. The blessedness he chose had to be always in harmony with reason. For Aristotle, this union is moral perfection. From this follows that the most perfect activity of any type of organism (bacterium, plant, animal, human) becomes for him the norm in action. With reason are also his qualities that we can call virtues. The highest virtues are wisdom, correct judgment, prudence, focus, leadership, reasonableness, and understanding. Spaeman asks: "But what is this horizon of reason? We have known it as a horizon that represents life as a whole from the perspective of fulfillment" (Spaeman, 1998, p. 37). He tries to bring close the ability to analyze a good life based on its totality and whether, in the end, it succeeded. This means that according to Spaeman, we can assess a good life only at its end, because only then do we have a complete picture of living. A further question then arises: who can evaluate this life as fulfilled, because the actor themselves may think their life was not fulfilled, even though it actually was. Is it then possible to label their life as good even though they do not consider it so? Conversely, when we perceive life as blessedness, is it enough that its actor judges, based on their own feelings and impressions, that they were blessed and therefore good? We also ask: "is such a person truly happy?"
Conditions necessary for a happy life
Even a person acting on reason is dependent on external circumstances. Since we are not cut out of the context of our environment, circumstances and details of our outer life are important for our happiness. We cannot be happy under certain conditions. For example, for a happy life it is better to have a solid family base and friends. Likewise, if we are ill, it is difficult for us to be happy. We would likely not call someone happy when other people despise them and they have neither friends nor children. They may have children, but if these bring them shame, damage, or are otherwise unsuccessful, this too is a burden and that person is unlikely to be happy.
"Therefore the question also arises whether happiness can be learned or whether one can get accustomed to it. Whether it can be obtained by training, or whether it comes to us as some gift of divinity, or even perhaps by chance" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 43). Yes, much talent comes to us at birth, we inherit genes in the same way, and certain physical dispositions as well, but blessedness needs to be learned. Aristotle understood blessedness as the most valuable state linked to joy, connected with pure philosophical activity. This is lasting and provides admirable joy. Why is this so? If we want to be happy in this way, it requires a certain level of intelligence. Because one who does nothing does not develop his rational virtues and capacities. Such a person can never be happy in the way we understand happiness. In a person’s life it is necessary for him, by his own strength, to go toward the goal of happiness by the path of work, struggle, perseverance, renouncing pleasures, and the study of philosophy. "Let us assume that happiness is success in action connected with honor, or complete fulfillment of life’s needs, when enough of all that we need is secured, connected with the ability to acquire and maintain them in use" (Aristotle, 2009, p. 44). At the same time, we note that happy can be everyone who experiences happiness. Happiness has many forms. We do not exclude, for example, people with permanent intellectual impairment, weak intellect, and the like from this circle. Even among them we see that they can experience pure joy and happiness in life.
Likewise, good reputation belongs among external goods. It means that others respect us. "Those honored above all are people who acted for good, but also people who are capable of doing something well" (Aristotle, 2009, p. 46). By this good we can understand selfless help to those close to us, as well as strangers. We already said that physical goods such as health also belong here. It should be so that we can freely perform various types of work as needed.
One of the external components of life is chance. "In other words, if these people notice that in human affairs fortune has great power, it leads them to the claim that this is the decisive causal factor in achieving a certain kind of life and that nothing is more important" (Nussbaumová, 2003, p. 603). "On the other hand, there are those who claim that chance has no power at all to influence the good of human life. The causative factors decisive for good life, for eudaimonia, are all under the actor’s control; uncontrollable external events cannot significantly increase or significantly diminish good living" (Nussbaumová, 2003, p. 603). We think a human life is worth living only when we have at least some control and power over it.
Moderate conduct is also necessary to achieve happiness. We live best when we manage to achieve the right measure in everything. This means that in situations we behave appropriately and act appropriately with regard to circumstance, or select possessions moderately. This midpoint is different for each person; it is not an arithmetic mean. "It must therefore be chosen consciously, and in each case by reason anew determine it in the given situation" (Paprotny, 2005, p. 127). This midpoint can also be known as the "golden mean." "By the mean, I mean what is the same in relation to both extremes, and this is the same for all people, but regarding us, the mean is what is neither greater nor lesser; however, this is not the same for all people either" (Aristotle, 2011, p. 60). Excess and deficiency both destroy harmony, and therefore our aim is to find the mean; moderate action is a virtue. Each person needs a different cut for their life. Is it therefore better to tailor life to us, or our coat? We cannot create one single measure of conduct for everyone. "The same things that help one person shape a better self are obstacles for another."
"A single way of life is healthful and relaxing for one person, maintaining all his abilities to act and enjoy life in the best condition, while for another it is a heavy burden, distracting or repressing his entire inner life" (Mill, 1995, p. 63). Such differences between people (sources of pleasure, sensitivity, physical and moral dispositions) are such that if each person does not receive exactly what suits them, then they do not receive true happiness and development either. The individual should set out on their own path of knowledge and actively participate in their own and collective happiness.
Conclusion
The reader could find that concepts such as eudaimonia, happiness, blessedness, and good life are closely related and express the same essence. We could also learn with which situations Aristotle connects the concept of happiness and under which conditions it is possible to achieve it. We know that external circumstances are as important as internal dispositions. Yet the person must, in achieving happiness, work hard on themselves, developing their gifts and rational abilities. We know happiness never comes by itself; one must fight for it. An important insight was that happiness can be viewed from the perspective of chance and from the perspective of the quality of our life, for which we actively strive.
Author: Mgr. Boris Kňažko
List of bibliographic references
ARISTOTELES, 2009. Rétorika. Martin: Thetis, 2009. p. 257, ISBN 978-80-980115-1-2
ARISTOTELES, 2011. Etika Nikomachova. Bratislava: Kaligram, 2011. p. 296, ISBN 987-80-8101-417-8
BAUMAN, Z. 1995. Úvahy o postmoderní době. Praha: Slon, 1995. p. 162, ISBN 80-86429-11-3
MIEDZGOVÁ, J. VARGOVÁ, D. 2007, Základy etiky. Bratislava: Slovenské pedagogické nakladateľstvo - Mladé letá, 2007. p. 111, ISBN 978-80-10-01203-9
MILL, J. S. 1995, O slobode. Bratislava: Iris, 1995. p. 116 ISBN 80-88779-07-7
NUSSBAUMOVÁ, M. C. 2003. Křehkost dobra, náhoda a etika v řecké tragédii a filosofii. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2003. p. 839, ISBN 80-7298-089-0
PAPROTNY, T. 2005. Stručné dejiny antické filozofie. Praha: Portál, 2005. p. 182, ISBN 8071789003
SPAEMAN, R. 1998. Štestí a vůle k dobru. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1998. p. 219 ISBN 80-86005-01-0
THOMPSON, M. 2004. Přehled etiky. Praha: Portál, 2004. p. 167, ISBN 80-7178-806-6
VAJDA, J. 2004. Úvod do etiky. Nitra: Enigma, 2004. p. 251, ISBN 80-89132-12-X