Aristotle Quotes on Happiness
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics gives eudaimonia — usually translated as flourishing rather than happiness — its founding philosophical treatment. Eudaimonia is not a feeling state but the lifelong activity of the rational soul in accordance with virtue, exercised within a well-ordered political community and supported by some external goods. Aristotle is careful to distinguish his account from hedonist alternatives: pleasure accompanies virtuous activity but does not constitute the human good.
Quotes
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Attributed to Aristotle:
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
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Attributed to Aristotle:
“The good for man is an activity of the soul in conformity with virtue.”
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Attributed to Aristotle:
“The end of labour is to gain leisure.”
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Attributed to Aristotle:
“Happiness is found to be something perfect and self-sufficient, being the end to which our actions are directed.”