Although he died almost 2000 years ago, Aristotle is still one of the most frequently cited and greatly appreciated philosophers ever. And he still plays a crucial philosophical role worldwide, especially in Western countries.
Aristotle’s Ethics
Aristotle conceived Ethics as a science that could never be precise since its basis was ultimately made of opinions. Regardless, he thought Ethics was something not just cognitive, but also practical, defending the proposition that every human activity had an immediate end, and that said immediate end was a means for an “ultimate good.”
This “good” was happiness. Thus, in Aristotelian theory, if a human being chooses to pursue something, in the final analysis, he or she is pursuing happiness, i.e. he or she is directing action in order to be happy.
To learn more about Aristotle and his most important philosophical exponent, Ayn Rand, see our video:
Furthermore, in his Ethics, Aristotle distinguished virtue and vice. The virtue-vice duality is associated with concepts like moderation, excess, and deficit. Acting virtuously could mean acting with moderation, while acting toward vice could mean acting with excess or deficit. This idea may be illustrated with several examples, one of them being bodily actions (like drinking, eating, or having sex). Practicing these actions in an excessive or deficient way, Aristotle thought, was tied in with vice; in this case, the vices of profligacy or insensitivity. Practicing them with moderation, on the other hand, meant possessing virtue; in this case, the virtue of temperance.
Aristotle and Politics
Aristotle transferred his views on Ethics to Politics. In his perspective, political entities such as community, constitution, laws, and organization should be aligned with the end of creating a hopeful environment for virtue. In terms of community, Aristotle upheld small ones, like the city-states found in his native Greece, governed by an enlightened elite whose leisure should be based on slave work — one of his few ideas that does not still hold up.
Aristotle’s insights on happiness and their ties to Maslow’s psychology
I think Aristotle’s perspective on happiness does still hold up, however. When someone picks a life goal, with aspirations like wealth, honor, pleasure, or good health, in the end, that person does so because he wants to be happy.
One of my life goals is to visit every continent, but I have this desire because traveling and getting to know new places and cultures make me feel happy. Thus, what I ultimately seek is not travel, per se, but happiness.
Here a parallel may be found between Aristotle’s views on the pursuit of happiness and psychology — in particular, Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs, which is often displayed in pyramid form:

Maslow’s hierarchy is pyramid-shaped because he thought human beings can only reach self-actualization if they have their physiological, safety, social, and self-esteem needs fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Aristotle believed that, as a political animal, man could only achieve full happiness by living in society. This conception is supported, too, by Maslow’s theory, which identifies “belonging” as a basic need.
Conclusion
Aristotle and Maslow might have lived twenty centuries apart and dedicated their lives to exploring vastly different fields, but the former’s insights on happiness can be found in the latter’s most renowned theory.
Here’s how: Both thinkers perceived happiness as the final aim of human existence! Aristotle called it the “ultimate good” and Maslow called it “self-actualization” but they’re similar concepts. Because, as both thinkers recognized, achieving happiness requires filling other necessities first.
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