Reason and Meaning
Philosophical reflections on life, death, and the meaning of life, aristotle on the good life.
Aristotle’s views on living well begin with a consideration of ends and means. Suppose I want a car—the car is my end or goal . I can earn, borrow, or steal the money to get the car—these are my means . The means I choose depends on which is easier, quicker, likelier to succeed, etc. Thinking about the goal we are aiming at, and the means we will employ to reach that goal is practical thinking . But such thinking bears no fruit until it results in purposeful action , which is acting with some end, goal, or purpose in mind. Purposeful action contrasts with aimless or thoughtless action, which is action with no end in view.
Now suppose I get my car? That is itself a means to another end, say of getting to school or work. And of course, getting to school or work is the means to another end, getting a degree or a job. And these are the means of making money, which is itself a means of buying food, clothing, and shelter, which are the means of staying alive. Such considerations led Aristotle to wonder whether there is any ultimate or final end , an end for which everything else is a means, an end that is not a means to anything else. In short, he wanted to know if there is an ultimate end, goal, or purpose for human life.
Aristotle argued that as we mature, we act less aimlessly and more purposefully. We try to develop a plan for living that unites all our various purposes. Without a plan for living, we don’t know what we are trying to do or why we’re trying to do it. Moreover, not just any plan will do—we need the right plan, which is one that aims at the final or ultimate end. But what is the final end of human life, the end that all of us ought to aim at?
For Aristotle, the final end of human life is to flourish, to live well, to have a good life. All actions should aim at this end. Of course, in order to live at all we need food, clothing, and shelter, but living is itself the means to the end of living well. And what is living well a means to? Aristotle says that living well is the final end for humans; it is not a means to anything else. Aristotle thinks this is obvious because few people want to live poorly.
But now another question arises: don’t people differ about what constitutes a good life? For some it may consist of accumulating wealth; for others, it is having power or being famous or experiencing pleasure. But if people construe the good life differently, if they have different desires, how can there be one right plan for living well? How can there be one final end that we all ought to seek?
To answer these questions Aristotle argued that not all desires are the same. There are acquired desires , which differ between individuals, and natural desires , which are the same for everyone. Acquired desires—say for caviar—are things we want , whereas natural desires—say for food—are things we need . Acquired desires or wants correspond to apparent goods ; things that appear good because we want them. Natural desires or needs correspond to real goods ; things that are good for us whether we want them or not.
With these considerations in mind, Aristotle states that the good life consists in the possession, over the course of a lifetime, of all those things that are really good for us. Moreover, what is really good for each of us corresponds to the natural needs that are the same for all of us. Thus what is good for one person is good for another; in other words, there is a right plan for living well. What are these real goods that we should all seek to obtain in order to live well? According to Aristotle, they are:
1) bodily goods – health, vitality, vigor, and pleasure; 2) external goods – food, drink, shelter, clothing, and sleep; and 3) goods of the soul – knowledge, skill, love, friendship, aesthetic enjoyment, self-esteem, and honor.
The first two types of goods are limited goods —we can have more of them than we need. Goods of the soul are unlimited goods —we cannot have more of them than we need. But surely the knowledge of the good life isn’t sufficient to actually living a good life? I may know, for example, that drinking alcohol is bad for me but do it anyway. So how do we learn to desire these real goods?
Aristotle argued that the way to bridge the gap between knowledge of the good life and actually living it was through the development of a good moral character . And this entails developing good habits . A good habit allows us to perform certain actions without effort. We can have a good habit for playing the piano, studying hard, hitting golf balls, or thinking well. We can also habitually make good choices to avoid overeating or drinking too much.
Aristotle calls good habits excellences or virtues . Virtues of the mind are intellectual virtues ; while virtues exemplified by a regular disposition to choose correctly are moral virtues. For Aristotle, wisdom is the most important intellectual virtue but moral virtue plays a special role in living well. The reason moral virtue—the habit of making the right choices—is so important is that our choices determine whether we live well. In other words, if we make too many bad choices we will live poorly.
So we need to develop the good habits or virtues which help us obtain what is really good for us, as opposed to bad habits or vices which lead us toward things that merely appear good. Good habits or moral virtues are the principal means to having good lives because they allow us to habitually make the choices that both constitute and lead to good lives.
The most important moral virtues or habits are moderation, courage, and justice . Moderation keeps us from overindulging in pleasure or seeking too much of the limited goods. Courage is having the disposition to do what it takes to live a good life, and justice is the virtue that allows us to have friends and enjoy the benefits of cooperation.
However, both knowledge of the good life and good habits may not be enough to ensure that we have good lives because living well is not completely within our control. Why? First, some real goods, like wealth or health, are not completely within our power to possess. And second, we didn’t create the initial conditions of our birth or the environment into which we were born. Thus moral virtue, while necessary, doesn’t guarantee a good life. We also need to be fortunate or lucky. But if we are wise, morally virtuous, and fortunate we will likely have good, meaningful lives. 1
Postscript – Aristotle’s Politics
Finally, while possessing both virtue and luck gives us a good chance of having good lives, of being happy, it doesn’t completely guarantee it . Why? Because the quality of our lives also depends in large part on the quality of our society and government . It is exceedingly hard to have good lives in societies with bad governments despite our best efforts, and no amount of virtue and good fortune completely compensates for a tyrannical or despotic government. Put simply, we have a much better chance of living good, happy, and meaningful lives in societies with good governments than we do in societies with bad ones.
So what is the end, goal, or purpose of the state? Aristotle says the purpose of the state is to provide the conditions under which all its citizens can flourish. This implies that some governments are better than others—good governments fulfill their purpose whereas bad ones either fail to help or actively hinder their citizen’s chances of living well. Just as a bad family doesn’t care for its children’s well-being, a bad government ignores the well-being of many of its citizens. We have a right to expect more.
In fact, we have a right to expect that the state uses its power to provide the conditions under which all its citizens can flourish. However, a just government cannot guarantee that we will attain moral virtue or have good lives, that is up to us . Nevertheless, a good or just government can and should provide the conditions under which living well, a good life, or human flourishing is possible, thereby alleviating much of the injustice caused by misfortune or bad luck. 2
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1 This essay owes much to my reading, almost forty years ago, of Mortimer Adler’s Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy , and to trying to make Aristotle accessible for generations of college students. 2 Obviously there are other threats to living a good life that Aristotle wasn’t aware of such as climate change, nuclear war, asteroids, and more.
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46 thoughts on “ aristotle on the good life ”.
Appreciate your comments.
Aristotle? John Messerly?
Due to external environment,we acquire external desires,which becomes our own desires…. Everybody starts chasing their desires, leaving moral values Only a TRUE saint can lead a desire less life…with natural needs…
Terrific summary – most eloquent I have read in years.
thanks for the comment, and I do believe that Aristotle offered good advice on this. – JGM
I echo James and Anom…this is an excellent essay that makes me want to learn more about Aristotle. I was particularly intrigued by the emphasis on developing good habits as the key to living a good life. Yes, that is clearly “common sense” and easily dismissed as “old advice”. But in our current society, we are awash with an overabundance of habit-forming products and devices – some good and some bad. We almost need lessons in how to develop good habits and avoid developing bad habits amid this sometimes overwhelming overabundance. First and foremost, parents and grandparents need to reflect on Aristotle’s philosophy and examine all the habits they have developed as they simultaneously work to instill good habits in their children and grandchildren.
Of all the many things I’ve taught in philosophy classes through the years I have always thought this was some of the simplest yet most profound.
good presentation
That is a good article
Very helpful article for a law student, encountering Aristotle for the first time!
Appreciate your comment. JGM
I was reading “The burn out Society” by Byung-Chul Han, Korean-born German philosophy teacher, in Berlin. He refers to Aristotle and “the good life” several times, and I felt that I needed a refresher course on the topic, “googled” it, and this article popped up at the top of the list : Magic of the Internet! I found it excellent, concise, limpid; the best I read for a long time. I shall start the day happily equipped with renewed clarity. Another step into my ‘good life’.
I shall make sure to recommend this article to friends and students. Many thanks.
ps: However I don’t get the last sentence of § 12:”If we make too many bad choices we will not live poorly”. Surely, too many bad choices lead to an impoverished life, no?
thanks for catching the mistake. fixed it. JGM
1st year Classics student, I found this a very helpful and well written summary! Thank you
thanks for thanking me.
Terrific explanation John – can I suggest: 1. that “opportunity”, both socio-economic and personal, describes “fortunate” very well 2. “purposeful actions” – might translate appropriately today as worthwhile projects by a right plan that builds sustainable societies and good lives
So much thought went into these writings that its value just increases with every layer peeled back…
Thanks much for the comments, very insightful. JGM
this is so helpful! thank you so much, this is exactly what I have been looking for!!
Thanks. JGM
Who is the author of this article? He explained it very well.
I’m the author of all 800+ articles on the site.
John Messerly
THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT CONCERNING GOOD LIFE CF ARISTOTLE
Of these universal goods should we seek to acquire the limited goods first, (in moderation so as to live morally & virtuously). Then once we are satisfied with our possession of these first 2 categories of goods, ought we try and obtain the goods of the soul in order to maximise well being? What’s your take on what needs prioritising? Also is pleasure a good in itself? My view is that it isn’t because it comes as a reward to us as we are reaching fulfilment and when we fulfil our desires (climax) via our activities in which the goal is to obtain other goods. Thank you for an interesting article.
Aristotle does believe that the unlimited goods are superior but I assume he also believed that you need to acquire the limited goods as a prerequisite to having the chance to acquire those unlimited goods (as in Maslow’s hierarchy.) I don’t remember his specific views on pleasure, sorry. JGM
Thanks for your sharing. I read the World Happiness Report 2018 and got interested in Aristotle’s good life theory. Your sharing gave me more ideas about the relationship between good life and happiness. Thanks!
thank you. JGM
I enjoyed reading your article how would you say a well known person of history (Martin Luther King) lived a good life going by Aristotle’s definition?
reader’s have any thoughts
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Is this page reliable and trustworthy for a timeline on Aristotle
So glad to see this,I find this so helpful in my coming exams in Social and poilitical philosophy
Thank you for the brief information yet very helpful! 💗
Aristotle was truly brilliant–I am slowly and laboriously going through his Nicomachean Ethics–have been for the last 10 years….. I disagree with his saying that all actions have an end of producing happiness–I think they have an end of terminating suffering and transforming suffering into Joy…….
Thanks for your great article–I have read Aristotle ‘s Nicomachean Ethics—I don’t agree with everything he says–I feel Epictetus is more accurate–“Some things are up to us, and some are not” Happiness or Virtue cannot necessarily be exactly portrayed, it varies by person, circumstances, and skill
please sir according to the Nicomacheam Ethics, is the good relative to Aristotle?
Good material. You stated what Aristotle said but you didn’t give references to the primary sources. That would be helpful for those of us who want go back to Aristotle’s work. But good info.
Brilliant article! how would you reference it ?
Messerly, John (19 December 2013). “Aristotle on the Good Life”. Reason and Meaning.
is there any way you can offer sharing via email?
not sure, have to ask my wife who is the webmaster.
Very interesting as a historical piece but this goes to show how dated Aristotle’s ethics is in this day and age. He was a product of his time and his ethics wasn’t timeless.
Compare Aristotle’s outdated humaistic notion of the person to the latest posthuman moral rationalism which is relevant now and will become more relevant into the future:
https://www.academia.edu/60656070/Purism_Logic_as_the_basis_of_morality
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