Book 1 / Chapter 10
Paragraph 7 - Defining Happiness and the Complete Life
Explanation - Part By Part
"When then should we not say that he is happy who is active in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life?"
Aristotle is essentially asking: Shouldn't we define a truly happy person as someone who lives in alignment with complete virtue (moral excellence) and has enough external goods (basic resources, opportunities, and conditions like health, friendships, and wealth) to support such a life—not just temporarily, but consistently over the course of their entire life?
In simpler terms, he’s arguing that true happiness isn’t just fleeting pleasure or success in the moment. It requires living a life of good character (complete virtue) and having the external circumstances necessary to sustain a meaningful and fulfilled existence. Happiness, in this sense, is a deeper, long-term state of flourishing rather than something superficial or temporary.
"Or must we add 'and who is destined to live thus and die as befits his life'? Certainly the future is obscure to us, while happiness, we claim, is an end and something in every way final."
In this part, Aristotle is exploring whether we need to include not just how a person lives but also how they die in our understanding of happiness. He raises the idea that happiness might depend on not only living virtuously and having sufficient external goods throughout life but also on whether a person's life ends in a manner that aligns with how they've lived.
However, he acknowledges a major challenge: the future is uncertain and unpredictable—we can't fully know or control what will happen in the end. Despite this uncertainty, Aristotle reaffirms the idea that happiness is the ultimate goal of life, something "final" that we strive toward. This means that happiness isn't just a fleeting emotion or a temporary state but a lasting fulfillment that defines a complete and virtuous life.
"If so, we shall call happy those among living men in whom these conditions are, and are to be, fulfilled- but happy men."
Aristotle is making a distinction here. He says that we can regard those who meet the conditions of happiness—living virtuously, having sufficient external goods (like wealth or health), and maintaining these over a complete life—as "happy" while they are alive. However, he implies that full and unquestionable happiness is something that can only be judged in hindsight, once someone’s entire life—including their death—has demonstrated that these conditions were stable and truly fulfilled. In short, happiness isn't just a fleeting moment; it's about a lifetime of flourishing.
"So much for these questions."
In this segment, Aristotle is wrapping up an important discussion about the nature of happiness (eudaimonia). He has argued that true happiness is not fleeting or susceptible to sudden changes due to everyday misfortunes. Instead, happiness is achieved by living a life of virtuous activity, supported by sufficient external goods (like health, wealth, and friends), sustained over the course of a complete life.
He acknowledges that the future is uncertain—none of us can predict exactly what will happen during the rest of our lives or how things will end. Despite this uncertainty, Aristotle suggests we can still reasonably call someone "happy" if they are living virtuously, equipped with what they need to thrive, and their circumstances appear stable enough to continue this way throughout their life. This perspective treats happiness as the ultimate goal (or "final end") of human life—something complete and self-sufficient.
By saying, "So much for these questions," he's concluding this particular set of reflections on the topic of what it means to truly live a happy life.