{"id":74653,"date":"2022-07-28T13:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T17:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=74653"},"modified":"2022-08-05T15:47:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T19:47:40","slug":"what-makes-a-happy-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-makes-a-happy-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes a Happy Life: Aristotle’s Recipe for Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes a happy life? Must you have or do something in particular?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Aristotle, a person must have certain life circumstances to be capable of happiness. Specifically, he notes two requirements of a happy life: prosperity and longevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn more about Aristotle’s two ingredients for happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Prosperity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What makes a happy life? First, a person needs some level of prosperity and wealth\u2014enough that they have leisure time for philosophical inquiry and can easily meet their physical needs. This also means a life defined by great tragedy or misfortune cannot be happy. While a happy person can deal with some tragedy and misfortune in a virtuous way, too much will prevent them from pursuing the activities necessary for a happy life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Historical and cultural context helps explain Aristotle\u2019s views on the necessity of prosperity for happiness. Fourth century BCE Athens had three main social classes<\/a>: 1) Citizens, free Athenian-born men who could participate politically and often had wealth and power; 2) metics, free people who weren\u2019t born in Athens and couldn\u2019t participate politically, but could still gain wealth and influence; and 3) slaves, people treated as property who couldn\u2019t participate politically and often had little to no rights or belongings. By claiming prosperity is necessary for a happy life, Aristotle is likely making an observation about the only people in ancient Athens that could<\/em> do philosophy\u2014men who were citizens or wealthy metics (like Aristotle himself).)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longevity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A happy life is a long life. A happy life is a good life, and, for a person to be as good as possible, they need to consistently do good things over the course of an entire human lifespan. Therefore, Aristotle suggests that people who die young can\u2019t achieve happiness\u2014they have less time to live and therefore will do fewer good acts. This doesn\u2019t mean people who die young necessarily live bad or miserable lives, but it does mean that they weren\u2019t able to achieve the best possible (and therefore happiest possible) human life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: To understand why Aristotle says people who die young can\u2019t be happy, consider his overall project. Aristotle believes that everything has a telos<\/em>, or ultimate goal. Collectively, this adds up to a teleological view of the world, where everything in existence has a natural and intended function<\/a>. In Nicomachean Ethics<\/em>, Aristotle tries to discover how humans can best accomplish their telos<\/em>\u2014this informs his entire definition of a good life. From this perspective, it\u2019s clear why longevity is necessary for happiness: The fact that humans have a defined lifespan means that we are naturally meant<\/em> to live for that entire period. Therefore, the best human life (which best fulfills our natural functions) lasts for that full amount of time.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What makes a happy life? Must you have or do something in particular? According to Aristotle, a person must have certain life circumstances to be capable of happiness. Specifically, he notes two requirements of a happy life: prosperity and longevity. Continue reading to learn more about Aristotle’s two ingredients for happiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,21,9],"tags":[707],"class_list":["post-74653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-philosophy","category-psychology","tag-nicomachean-ethics","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Makes a Happy Life: Aristotle's Recipe for Happiness - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What makes a happy life? 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