Lecture Notes: How to Live a Good Life according to Aristotle

Key Concept: Eudaimonia

• Eudaimonia: Often translated as "flourishing" or "living well."
• It is the ultimate goal that people seek for its own sake.
• Not simply happiness or a few moments of bliss; rather, a lifelong pursuit.

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

• Considered one of the earliest self-help books.
• Discusses how to achieve eudaimonia through living virtuously.

Living Virtuously

• Virtue: A disposition to behave in a certain way, finding a balance between extremes.
• The concept of the "Golden Mean" where virtue lies between two extremes.
  • Courage: Between cowardice (too much fear) and recklessness (too little fear).
  • Generosity: Between stinginess (being too mean) and profligacy (being overly generous with money).

Factors Influencing Virtuous Living

• Moral Education: Upbringing plays a role in one's ability to act virtuously.
• Choices: Personal choices also determine one's ability to live according to virtues.
• Successful cultivation of virtues leads to appropriate actions and emotions in various situations.

Summary

• Aristotle's philosophy on living a good life revolves around developing virtues that lead to eudaimonia.
• Achieving eudaimonia is a lifelong journey rather than temporary happiness, requiring moral education and deliberate choices.