On Happiness

Happiness is not a comfortable state of well-being, but an energetic and carefully considered endeavour to lead a rich and meaningful life.

Few books are so suited to stimulating critical thought about the good life as Aristotle?’?s Nicomachean Ethics. What makes the Ethics so appealing is that Aristotle always remains realistic, in spite of his high ideals, and is constantly testing his views against those of others. In Book X of the Ethics, included in this volume, the great philosopher discusses what happiness [eudaimonia] is and how to achieve it.

There is also a branch of knowledge—if we can call it that—which asks how we should live: this is ethics, traditionally one of the most important fields of philosophy and without doubt the philosophical discipline that is most focused on application in daily life. Because everyday life usually takes place in a community, ethics and politics are closely connected. Clearly, the answer to the question of what a good life entails depends to a very large extent on the cultural and socio-economic circumstances in which the researcher is operating. Exploring what thinkers in various periods and language areas have said—often quite categorically—about human beings, happiness and society sharpens our understanding of the diversity of views and encourages us to be circumspect, since although we are constantly faced with crucial choices, we don?’?t really know how we should live. And that happiness we are supposedly all pursuing—what might that actually be?
Few books are so suited to stimulating critical thought about the good life as Aristotle?’?s Nicomachean Ethics, the tenth and final book of which is presented here.