Happiness

            When reading Aristotle’s work, I could not help but compare his ideas to our beliefs as Christians and also apply it to my own life. Right now, my life is filled with questions about why I am doing certain things, such as choosing my specific major or classes. The ultimate goal of all of these things is something I don’t often think about, but is definitely important. Aristotle would claim that he knows why I, and everyone else, do what I am doing.

            Aristotle says that happiness is the best thing in the world, and “in every action and purpose it is the end, and it is for the sake of the end, that people do everything else” (p. 13). Happiness, according to Aristotle, is the end goal for everything that we do, and everything else is done in a means to achieve happiness. While not every action, such as taking a certain class, will make a person happy, the end result will. In that case, the resulting degree will get them a job which will hopefully make the person happy. Further, this achievement of happiness is also considered the ultimate good for which we constantly strive. This is easily contrasted (and related) with our constant strive as Christians. Our ultimate goal is to serve the Lord, in a way trying to reach an ultimate “good” set by God. This is somewhat similar to Aristotle’s views, although his are based on happiness rather than righteousness.

            While pursuing a life full of “good” in itself is not a bad thing, Aristotle’s definition of happiness is not one that is shared by God. On page 27, Aristotle claims that material possessions are a good way to judge happiness. The Word of God, on the other hand, says strictly the opposite. As Christians, we know that while possessions might provide temporary happiness, they are by no means a source of joy. In this sense, Aristotle seems to use the word “happiness” as the temporary emotion, unlike lasting joy. However, some of his other claims make me think that he was using it in a longer lasting context. When Aristotle talks about someone having a happy life, he claims that this could only be judged across an entire lifetime. He believes that short-term delight does not make a happy life. This claim reminds me more of what God says about joy, and how it cannot be reached without Him. Anyone can be temporarily happy, and even material goods can make us very happy for a little while, but only a life centered in Christ can really be filled with joy for an entire lifetime (and beyond).

            Thus, I can relate to some of Aristotle’s beliefs, such as that only true happiness spans a lifetime and we are constantly pursuing a higher good. However, many of his views are world-centered, and materialism and Christ-likeness cannot be valued in unison.