Communications in Humanities Research
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Communications in Humanities Research
Vol. 5, 14 September 2023
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Aristotle’s Account of Eudemonia and the Defence of Altruism
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Abstract
Aristotle’s Theory of Eudemonia is based on a profound perception of humanity. This theory is consistently practical for ordinary people, albeit in discussions about happiness and its components or explanations of varying lifestyles. Aristotle’s conception can be used to achieve a realistic ‘the best life’, which largely contrasts other eudemonic theories that can only realistically be applied by philosophical or divine individuals. In this essay, it will be argued that self-interest and other concerning factors exist with Aristotle’s theory, even though Aristotle himself never refuted the claim that his theory is profoundly egoistic. The self-interested aspect of Aristotelian theory is only relevant to how individuals perceive humans in general. Nonetheless, other concerns (such as how individuals treat others and the outcomes of their actions) are legitimate. Aristotle’s most significant achievement in this field was his promotion of virtue as a means of resolving any potential conflict between individuals’ personal interests and the outside world.
Keywords
altruism, egoism, eudemonia, happiness
References
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5. WHITE, N. (1995). Conflicting Parts of Happiness in Aristotle’s Ethics. Ethics, 105(2): 258-283.
6. Wolf, S. (1997). Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life. Social Philosophy & Policy, 14(1): 207-225.
7. Annas, J. (1995). The Morality of Happiness. Oxford University Press.
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Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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- Volume Title
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies
- ISBN (Print)
- 978-1-83558-003-5
- ISBN (Online)
- 978-1-83558-004-2
- Published Date
- 14 September 2023
- Series
- Communications in Humanities Research
- ISSN (Print)
- 2753-7064
- ISSN (Online)
- 2753-7072
- DOI
- 10.54254/2753-7064/5/20230082
- Copyright
- 14 September 2023
- Open Access
- This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited