Discussion #1: The Virtues
Part 1: Aristotle says that the virtues are necessary for humans to attain happiness, but he means this in terms of something we might call “flourishing†or “living wellâ€, which he considers quite different than simply feeling good. Thus, according to Aristotle some people might feel that they are happy, but because they lack the virtues they are not truly flourishing. However, imagine someone that is deceitful, selfish, greedy, self-indulgent, and yet enjoys great pleasure and appears to be quite happy.
Part 2: Aristotle claims that if you are suffering terrible misfortune, you cannot truly be considered happy or flourishing. However, there are many examples from current and past history, religious traditions, and fiction of people that might seem to contradict this claim (for example, in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12, Luke 6:20-23) Jesus describes people that seem to be suffering in various ways and calls them “blessedâ€; some translations say “happyâ€).
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