Therefore if there is an end for all that we do, this will be the good achievable by action, and if there are more than one, this will be the goods achievable by action. And why activity? Because it makes us happy to pursue something which we think is good for us: Therefore it is the activity in itself that is common to all these many pursuits. In other words, when we finish one activity, we look to another. I might go to war and my purpose is victory, but the victory points to another end beyond it. So the house again has another purpose behind it. I might build a house, but the house is for living in. What is this end they are seeking?Īristotle says that all these activities are designed to achieve something other than the apparent purpose for which we do them. They are entertained, challenged, moved, satisfied, interested - in a word, they do these things with some particular end in view. But for her, the interest is not in the novels as such, but because she likes to fantasise about love and foreign countries.Īnd so we can go through a long list of activities people do. But if he asks himself why he does this, he would answer, it makes me feel good to help others.ĭ. Bill is ambitious and wants public recognition for helping poor people. But it isn’t the money for itself, but because she can buy what she wants with it.Ĭ. Jacqueline like lots of money in the bank. In the main his interest is just in a good game.ī. Of course he likes to win, but that’s not the end of it. Let’s look at a few examples and ask, why does a person do this?Ī. For example, some want to get married and have children, others want to do business or play sports, or travel to distant lands, or read books, or they like to sit in parliament, or they want to be professional soldiers.Īristotle asked, is there something in these many activities which they have in common? I believe that Aristotle discovered something really fundamental about human beings when he thought about what makes them happy, what they want out of life and how they wish to organise society to achieve it.Īristotle finds that people pursue many different activities. What would Aristotle’s response be to ‘what is the meaning of life?’įor Aristotle the meaning of life is eudaimonia.
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