Essay Sample on Human Flourishing

Introduction

Aristotle says that for one to lead a flourishing life they have to be happy at what they are doing and happiness is thus determined according to him by how one nurtures that happiness. The nurturing of happiness is achieved by being good and virtuous. There are virtuous which Aristotle believes one must have to be happy and as such to live a flourishing life. The virtues necessary for a flourishing life are justice, courage, temperance, and practical wisdom. He says that "to flourish as a human being-to be truly happy-is to be performing well those activities characteristic of humans."

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A person for example with a big mansion, the best cars money could buy, and all the business that one could only wish for could consider himself as being flourished or living a flourishing life. However, if on the other hand, this person has found their riches in stealing, deceiving and corruption, he would not be truly happy and as such would not be living a flourishing life. Aristotle believes that for someone to have flourishing life they must be truly happy, but this kind of person is not happy because he knows that any one time all these possessions could be taken away.

Just like in the example above, I do not believe that someone who is deceitful, selfish, greedy, self-indulgent, and yet enjoys great pleasure and appears to be quite happy is living a flourishing life because they do not have the virtues of justice, courage, temperance, and practical wisdom. First of all because of his deceit he does not believe in justice and as such is not virtuous and as such he would not be happy. The fact that this person is self-indulgent means that all he cares about is himself and as such lacks the virtue of practical wisdom which he would require to have to know how to live with others and care for them as well.

My father has always been a man who loved to help people, and as such every other time when he got his paycheck as we were growing up he could take some of his money and buy food to take to a homeless shelter where he would take me with him. He always felt that these people deserved someone to talk with and he figured he could be that person for them. I watched how they were fond of him and seemed to be happy when he was around. Besides that, my father had a successful business, and regular job suffices to say we had a comfortable life. From this example of my father, I believe that he was leading a flourishing life because he had virtuous which made him happy. This total happiness according to Aristotle can only be achieved by someone who is virtuous.

Responses

Elizabeth Webb

Truly people who are deceitful selfish and greedy would try to show off that they are happy, but they would be masking their pain and unhappiness. For someone like your husband they truly must be living a flourishing life because as a soldier one must have virtues which make them yearn to help and protect people.

Thaddeus Beaulieu

I agree with you Beaulieu that a person who is successful as Manny Pacquiao and has millions but drinks and does not have meaningful relationships would not be considered as a man living a flourishing life. Aristotle is of the view that someone to be truly happy and live a flourishing life, they have to be virtuous and have four specific virtues which are justice, courage, temperance, and practical wisdom. For someone to have these virtues they have to know how to balance their life and if they find the balance in God, then that would help them live a flourishing life.