Aristotle: How to Be Happy

[@natezgreat]

this video is baller. it takes a lot of skill and effort to make something this engaging and rewarding. nice work!

[@GreatBooksProf]

haha. Thanks very much!

[@JMLatvala92]

Aristotle also mentions a story, or a saying taken out of Herodote's Histories, where Solon is talking to Croesus about hapiness, and Solon explains to Croesus that he can't tell him whether he is happy or not, for his happiness cannot be evaluated properly until Croseus had died. Aristotle writes that to be 'eudaimm' and 'to be eudaimon' is the same. While these phrases are almost impossible to translate, they are saying that "to live well" and "to have lived well" are one and the same, as long as life lasts. This, together with the assertion that hapiness is a lasting state of being, uninterrupted by passing moods and good fortune, which we sometimes have and sometimes don't. Aristotle suggests that happiness is not a state or an activity which changes the quality of a person, like learning and being learned, which come one after the other (like we, today, imagine that if we do something, we will after become happy). Happiness is an 'eu-daimon', a good daimon. Daimon is, according to Plato, something that accompanies each man throughout life and is his distinct identity. When Socrates is asked about his 'daimon', he says that the problem with it is that only others can see it, while he is forever unable to see it. 'Eudaimonia' is therefore a story, a biography of a person that other people tell. As far as it is interesting and talks about great deeds or great words, people tell a story about this individual, like the story of Achiles. Achiles is "happy"/eudaimon, because he managed to transcend his mortality. Which was the highest possible attainment of a human's life according to the Greeks, and also the reason why Herodotus starts his Histories by stating his purpose: "to preserve that which owes its existence to men, lest it be obliterated by time, and to bestow upon the glorious, wondrous deeds of Greeks sufficient praise to assure their remembrance by posterity and thus make their glory shine through the centuries.

[@GreatBooksProf]

All good observations. Aristotle's engagement with the Troy story is quite interesting throughout the Ethics. Priam, for instance, figures as a haunting example of a man who lives a good life into old age and then suffers unthinkable disasters rendering his life, on the whole, unhappy. Achilles is an interesting case for lots of reasons, though in the Aristotelian account he might not be so happy, since glory, Aristotle tells us, is ultimately not the path to happiness. The life of study (or philosophy) seems like the best bet.

[@JMLatvala92]

@@GreatBooksProf Yes, the life of study is the best bet, as Aristotle says. This is obvious if you think about the fact that his story is actually always present in his ideas, that we (for most people) unknowingly think and express. Every word has its own history, and this history contains stories of men who thought about them. In this same sense, we talk about Achiles' deeds and words, his "Achiles tnedon" etc. Glory is not the safest bet, because it is subjected to everchanging moods and values of men, but is a still bet worth placing, because glory is only achieved by exceptional feats. And serious thinking, or philosophising IS an exceptional feat, and always was.

[@ilucio26]

Love this! I myself have also contemplated why us people do what we do. What's the point of all this?!?! Really, why is everyone so obsessed with going to school, getting a job, buying a house and retiring? Sometimes it seems like no one ever questions their lives. But I agree, being virtuous is what truly makes us happiest and I'm glad you revealed that in this video, it has probably saved me many more years of contemplating haha! Keep these videos coming, you're doing great :)

[@GreatBooksProf]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Lucio! I'm glad you found the video interesting. Funnily enough, Aristotle will ultimately say that the activity MOST conducive to human happiness is "years of contemplating!" 😂 So don't give up thinking about all of this stuff! The questioning might be the very thing that leads us to meaning!

[@ilucio26]

@@GreatBooksProf really? I didn't know that! Well, that makes me feel a little less crazy now😂 thanks a lot, I certainly will :)

[@roshjoei]

Clear. Engaging. Fun. Educational. Thank you so much for this, sir!

[@GreatBooksProf]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jiaxifam]

Thank you! Gonna need this for my seminar paper

[@alienzooband]

awesome. and excellent camera work too.

[@GreatBooksProf]

Thanks! Glad you liked it. Are you studying Aristotle for school? Or do you just enjoy philosophy?

[@michellec1307]

Awesome. I teach this the same way! Nicely done!

[@sundaymuchika763]

Thanks for the video, very educative...deep philosophy

[@YourRandomQuestionGuy]

Loved learning about these dudes in Classics at school...had an awesome hippy teacher who we used to call Jesus Smith! Nice vid dude

[@dtotief]

These videos are a great way to bring philosophy to the masses at an era where people prefer to watch than read. One thing though (fun fact); he should be called with his Greek name "Aristotelis" and not Aristotle, especially in this video because his name actually consists of two words: Aristos (best, in a sense of virtuous) and Telos which, as you explain in your video, means end goal, purpose. So, in this matter his name is his theory and vice versa.

[@SUBSOLOWMUSIC]

This video is so good. Thank you.

[@RijkarAlles]

Tahkn you for making this video

[@thedownwarddoug6642]

That was an excellent video.

[@GreatBooksProf]

Thanks! Happy you found it worthwhile!

[@thedownwarddoug6642]

@@GreatBooksProf yeah bud. Humour was on point. And info was delivered so well

[@nakia4230]

Thank you for this video, Going to have to watch it again. But it really help me understand Aristotle. I'm taking Philosophy class and this is the subject for this week. And we have to do a summary about Aristotle. I tried reading and was so lost. But thanks for the video!!! :)

[@GreatBooksProf]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@primaveralily3453]

Clear and entertaining, too!

[@GreatBooksProf]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[@agharyma8353]

Great explanation thank you!! ❤

[@kazimeherenhaque3305]

Feeling very happy after watching this video ❤

[@SomeFinnishGuyJukka]

Thanks. I had a happy lunch listening to you!

[@GreatBooksProf]

Happy to hear it! 😄

[@rk41gator]

The whole point of Genesis 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' concept album. We are responable for our happiness. (understanding what is real) "As I cuddled the porcupine He said I had none to blame, but me." from the song Back in N.Y.C. “Look across the mirror sonny, before you choose, decide.” from the song 'IT'

[@tahowesj]

Great video! How come the subtitles don't work? It says they are auto-generated in Portuguese... Thanks!

[@queenie.lawyergirl.pittymom]

I'm 900 words into my 2000 word reflective summary of the Nicomachean ethics. I'm going to close it out by outlining my issues and pointing out some weaknesses. In closing I'm planning to compare and contrast Aristotle, Kant and Platos unique arguments on eudemonia. ❤ Personally, I think Epictetus and Aurelius have the right idea. Letting go of things you cannot control and creating happiness with positive thoughts and feelings. That's how I live. It has very little to do with a good government that has my best interest at heart. That's one of the weaknesses of the argument, in my opinion. It's not applicable in today's day and age.

[@mahonnicklin9108]

I got content when I realised there's nothing I can do to make myself happy, and that becoming happy is the result of understanding what a man named Jesus did in pursuit of my happiness. He is the way, there is no other. If Aristotle had been around in the AD common era, I know he'd get it too. I mastered in Linguistics and that lead me to the philosophy that the cost of my iniquities is infinite, which is the equivalent of God's life. It's perfectly logical and the ultimate solution to the cracks in your soul that you alone can never repair.

[@pepebetorangel]

Excelente vídeo! 👌

[@GreatBooksProf]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@lalannej]

And now we live in the great modern world experiment, where more prosperity and liberty has resulted in more population, but not necessarily more virtue. We might even say that the lesson we have learned is that prosperity only corrupts. It is adversity which teaches us to value humility and simplicity, and striving which gives life its worth and savor. There is an objective , universal, moral "good" outside of each of us, which is why we must live by rules of virtue, and love our neighbor as ourself, or more than ourself. We must recognize that the material world is an illusion which turns to dust and must not be clung to. We must believe in an overarching moral or spiritual capacity or existence. We must posit an infinite, divine creator and final judge or judgment. Earth is just a waystation to an eternal state of existence. The fate of the soul is infinitely more important than the fate of the body.

[@beetogarcia9983]

2:12 I’m watching it because of a course

[@akrolelasushe6422]

Can u explain aristotle idea of happiness

[@GreatBooksProf]

Do you mean what happiness looks like? The content of happiness? It’s going to vary from person to person. Some people will enjoy playing football on weekends while others will enjoy reading a book. But the fundamental thing for Aristotle, the most important thing is that one exercises reason about the most important matters - actions that concern virtue. The person who does courageous things and does temperate things because they have worked out the right course of action and undertaken it is virtuous and happy. A happy life also seems to require Friendship. And, in Book X of the Ethics, Aristotle may suggest that the happiest of happy lives is a life of philosophy. Are you studying the Ethics in school?

[@arttu_hietala]

No, you go to work in order to buy food.

[@mengdelacruz6788]

What are the three concepts of happy lives according to aristotle?

[@GreatBooksProf]

This sounds like a good essay question. 😉

[@Pian0Mon]

"Happiness is nothing." ~ Some dude in that Vikings show.

[@imprivsoaugustinei1910]

Here is my issue about philosophical, new takes ande condensing, this is for agarins, “farmers” ande “urban” oriented to agriculture , augeiraiii solariums Ande sharpan impurities ( beware to the minimal I am incompetent at the moment , the only thing I know for certain I know nothing at all ) reporting for bollocks Ande horsedung media company James Thomas Bodie over to you anchor man.

[@imprivsoaugustinei1910]

Happy April’s fools day.

[@ez1803]

I don't agree with him when he said that: he's going to argue that in most extreme cases,... Not necessarily

[@JoelAdamson]

Automatic like for mentioning hyenas.

[@GreatBooksProf]

It would be funny if there were a hyena-bot on here that just liked everything that mentioned hyenas.

[@JoelAdamson]

@@GreatBooksProf Hmmmm...

[@bastianmaoro8278]

How to be happy: being greek

[@Dino_Medici]

Arete brings Ataraxia to live in Eudaimonia 🦦🦦🦦🦦