Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle - Essay Example For this reason, happiness seems to be unreachable. Yet if one would look at happiness not on the basis of fulfilled desires, perhaps, happiness is indeed attainable – but undiscovered by many. Hence, this draws to the question on how happiness can be used to measure life’s worth. In such case, it seems appropriate to rely on moral principles dictated by ethics. Aristotle (12) defines happiness to be a measure of good life and good action. While it is understandable how happiness is equated to good life, the concept of ‘good’ often remains subjective. For a peasant who has been enduring months of labor, an abundant harvest defines a good life. Yet this may not mean anything to a powerful landowner who has already been living in abundance all his life. In the same sense, it is common to think that the children of the peasants, who inherited slavery from their parents, are bound not to live a good life. However, Aristotle (13) pointed that life is already goo d in itself. This is to say that regardless of the condition, whether it be of the landowner or the peasant, life is always good for goodness is a state of soul (Aristotle 13). It is essential, therefore, to discover the goodness in one’s life even though at times, goodness is not blatantly laid before us. It has to be realized for it to be discovered. To illustrate, it is said that there are people born with inborn talents. However, without practice, the talent will remain undiscovered. If a dancer is too shy to perform, no one would appreciate the talent no matter how good the person is and as such, the person would not be recognized as talented even if the truth is, the talent is inborn to that person. Through time, the talent will remain hidden, unpracticed and never discovered. Moreover, with regards to the landowner in the previous example, despite the abundance of harvests, life for him may remain to be not good, perhaps due to lack of satisfaction. Therefore, this is to say that what seems to be good to some may not necessarily be considered as so by others even if in reality, it is indeed good in itself. Nevertheless, the above example shows how something which the majority is likely to consider ‘good’ may still be perceived otherwise by the one who failed to discover its goodness. However, there are also things which the majority would agree to be ‘not good’ such as ugliness and poverty. But then again, in line with principles of Aristotle, this agreement is not true for everything is innately good (13). Take for instance, slavery. While it is uncommon to realize its goodness, doing so is still possible. In Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, poor Celie has been praying to God whom she has always thought of as a male white man. Yet despite her prayers, she continues to experience exploitation and was even forced by her father to leave the house and marry an abusive husband. But then, if she were not born to this situation, she would not have met the people who would teach her the meaning of life in deeper perspective. There was Shug, her husband’s lover, who made her realize that her image of God is simply what the society dictates her and Sophia who showed her that women are not born oppressed and it is possible to be superior over men. These people define goodness in the life of Celie. One cannot assign qualities to things despite of what the society agrees on for even poverty and slavery carry innate goodness. But then again, one may