Daily Comments Nov. 5

• Mia asks whether Aristotle considered himself to have a pretty good human life. Owen asks whether Aristotle thought he himself achieved eudaemonia.
• We know very little about Aristotle personally. We do have what looks like a copy of his will, but nothing like an assessment of his own life.
• Iris notes that in Ancient Greece, it seems that citizens could participate more in politics than is generally true today.
• Yes: Ancient Greek city-states were small towns by our standards, and in Athens, a citizen would be asked to participate more than most US citizens will ever be asked to participate.That is, of course, partly because a much smaller portion of the population were citizens then.
  
• Thad says that he finds that the law and what is ethical are not as interwoven as might be expected and wonders what Aristotle thought.
• Great question. I'm not sure I want to just make something up off the cuff: best place to look would be first in the index to Aristotle (maybe under 'law' or 'legislation') and track down what he has to say about law.
• Ziqin thinks Aristotle over-glorifies and overestimates politics: politics does not aim at the good in practice, but  often serves particular interests more than the collective good.
• Absolutely right about politics, but Aristotle is talking about what politics can be if done right, the theory of what it should be.
• Cameron asks, if eudaemonia is achieved by happiness which is found by good morals and good living, it raises the question if this morality is dependent on internal virtue or the actions that are derived from said virtue.
• A great thought. One thing, eudaemonia is happiness, or at least that his how eudaemonia is often translated (it's more like flourishing or thriving).
  
• Aristotle thought that actions are the result of one's inner state. His ethics are agent-centered. He does not speak so much about whether this action is right or wrong as such, but rather of what the inner state should be in order for the action to be virtuous. Not sure that addresses your thought.
• Joseph suggests that Aristotle seems to foreshadow Epicureanism more than Stoicism at times.
• I'd like to hear more about that thought.
• Aristotle seems to have thought pleasure in and of itself is good, something one naturally chooses, and that pain in and of itself should be avoided, but he did not make them the major criteria for whether or not to do something. Epicureans believed that the goal of life is pleasure, but one must realize that the defined pleasure as the absence of pain, so they have a very different idea of pleasure than most people do.
• Olivia thinks Aristotle's ethics are remarkably relevant today and it makes sense that everyone is seeking happiness.
• Beatrice wonders whether Aristotle would have voted for Kamala or Trump.
• Aristotle said that one's actions are one's character. I'll leave you to draw conclusions.
• Charlotte thinks Aristotle focused too much on constant happiness.
• THat might be true if he were talking about a fleeting emotion or upturn in life: he is, however, talking about the tenor of a whole life, and so I can't really agree with that.
• But I understand the thought and think it might have to do with the unfortunateness of using 'happiness' as a translation of 'eudaemonia' when it refers to 'flourishing' or 'well being.'
• Oliver notes that he once wrote a paper on Aristotle's v. the Stoics view of happiness and looks forward to hearing more.
• Great! Please help me explain it!
• Mary Beth wonders if Aristotle puts too much weight on outside factors (luck) that affect happiness.
• You seem to lean a bit Stoic, Mary Beth.
  
• The Stoics like to formulate things in extreme and provocative ways, but their ideas are actually very attractive and make a great deal of sense. I think it's probably overall a good idea to have the stability and confidence of character to not let many of the trials and tribulations that life throws at us disconcert us.