Happiness = Pleasure (immediately accessible) – whims of self // Ambitious class Happiness = Honor and Status (manipulative pursuit of power) – whims of others // Life of Contemplation Happiness = understanding and wisdom
Happy life = virtue (being excellent at being human) or pursuit of excellence (arete). If you have “happiness” you don’t need happiness (+). What is the characteristic work of being a human? Need not praise humans for things that normally happen (breathing, existing). What would we praise a human for?
The human task is the activity of his soul in accord with virtue.
Bringing reasoning capacity and evaluation and reflection into activity // activity with reason (or not without reason) // bring mind into doing // don’t act mindlessly // be thoughtful and self reflective in the things that we do
Parts of soul = rational (two parts = intellectual, or part that can perform math or physics, and moral or choice-making and dealing with desires // is what we want good for us or will it allow for our overall benefit) and nonnational (breath/digest/grow = common to plants, perception, passion, and desire = common to animals)
Ethics is a kind of psychological health