Nichomachean Ethics

Happiness can be the chief good of morality. According to Aristotle and John Stuart Mill, happiness is the end or chief good of morality. Aristotle argues that happiness is the chief good of morality because everything a person will do leads to being happy. Every action performed by a person is aimed toward a good happiness. In Aristotle’s “Nichomachean Ethics” Aristotle argues that man must complete his job or duty in order to reach happiness. When trying to obtain happiness, man must be doing an activity that is unique to a human. Both philosophers agreed that humans have a higher level for happiness. In Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” he explains that every action that a human performs is aimed at a good. Throughout his writings he contemplated
what the real chief end was, and he finally found that it is happiness. Aristotle says that virtues lead to happiness and happiness is not just an activity or habit, but a way of living life. He says that if a person is truly happy that something very devastating must occur to make him unhappy. Happiness is a high point to Aristotle, the chief good, so it is hard to get away from it when it is achieved. Happiness is also achieved through reason. Another thing that Aristotle describes that humans have over any other type of creature is the ability to reason. Being able to live in a way that uses reason and also being able to respect other people can bring about true happiness. John Stuart Mill also argues that happiness is the end of morality, and explains it in his writings of “Utilitarianism”.
In this writing, Mill argues that happiness is a whole and you have to do many things to achieve it. Mill believes in the principle of Utility, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness.” (Mill, 7) This happiness that Mill describes is pleasure, which is the absent of pain. Along with this, Mill also explains that something that brings out the most pleasure and brings out the pleasure in the most people is considered something good. He argues that if you are searching for pleasure and it brings any amount of pain, you should stop doing that activity. Also, if you are doing something and it is hurting others around you, you should also stop. This theory states that the good of others must be considered when trying to achieve
happiness. Any other chief end of morality does not seem to really be an end.
Happiness to me seems like the only logical end for a human being. Many people go throughout their everyday lives doing things to try to make themselves happy. People do things for an end result, which is happiness. Happiness is definitely the chief good because humans go out of their way to achieve it. People do not go out of their way to achieve unhappiness. However, a human cannot always be happy. While searching for happiness, there will be some points that will bring pain. Those disappointments will help a person to search for happiness more. The search for happiness will help lead a person to true happiness. According to Aristotle, “Happiness is something we have to learn.” If a human has to learn what happiness is through their life, that would mean that happiness is the chief good. As a human grows up, happiness is learned more from experience. Also, a human being needs to have virtue, or the act of doing something excellently. This also involves friendship because friendship is necessary to live a virtuous life. Through virtues, a human can reach
happiness. Both men agreed that humans have more abilities over animals involving happiness and reason, but their arguments are still different. Since Mill and Aristotle are well known philosophers, their arguments are known as well. Happiness can truly be the end of morality. Both philosophers have very good points, but Aristotle’s arguments seem more convincing in the state that happiness is the chief good because of his descriptions. Aristotle’s description seems like he was saying that a human should live out to their potential, living life with reason. Aristotle argues that actions are performed for their own sake alone, for their own sake and the sake of something else, or just for the sake of something else. To Aristotle, happiness is human flourishing. This life of human flourishing is a life that involves virtues.