How To Be Happy; A Critical Evaluation Of Aristotle’s “Golden Mean”

ARISTOTLE
For the purpose of this long essay, it would be a big jump not to begin with a clear knowledge of the philosopher we are examining his philosophy. Consequently, it is pertinent first and foremost to look at the life of Aristotle, the influences that motivated him and finally, the product of his philosophical life.

1.1 HIS BIOGRAPHY
Aristotle was born in the summer of 384 B.C in the small town of Stagira on the north east coast of Thrace. His father, Nichomachus, was a court physician to Amyntas III king of Macedonia, father of Philip II and grandfather of Alexander the Great. His parents were both Ionians in origin. Aristotle was thus not an Athenian by birth although he lived a greater part of his life and did all his writings in and around Athens
Being a son of a doctor, he was heir to scientific tradition. He was thus introduced to Greek medicine and biology at an early age. It was the custom according to Galen, for families in the guild of Asclepiadae to train their sons in the art of dissection. While Aristotle was still a youth, he lost his father. Under the auspices of Proxenus, probably a relative of his father he studied in the platonic academy for twenty years. He was said to have been called by Plato, “the intellect of the school.” He was greatly influenced by Plato’s thought and personality though he was eventually to break away from Plato’s philosophy in order to formulate his own version of certain philosophical problems. The years Aristotle spent in Plato’s academy formed the three main periods comprising his intellectual development.

On Plato’s death in 348/47 B.C, Aristotle left the academy and accepted the invitation of Hermeias to come to Assos. He gathered a small group of thinkers into his court, and here Aristotle was able for the next three years to write, teach and carry on research. While at Hermeias’ court, Aristotle gave a sentimental collaboration to their tie by marrying Hermeias’ niece and adopted daughter, Pythias, who bore him a daughter. Later when he had returned to Athens, his wife died and Aristotle entered into a relationship with Herpyllis who bore him a son, Nicomachus, after whom the Nicomachean Ethics was named.

In 343/42 B.C, Philip of Macedon invited Aristotle to become the tutor of his son Alexander who was then thirteen years old. As a tutor to a future ruler, Aristotle’s interests included politics. He was to prepare Alexander for his future role as the military leader of the now United Greek World. Upon Philip’s death, Aristotle’s duty as tutor came to an end as Alexander now ascended the throne. A brief stay in his hometown of Stagira saw him once more in Athens.

Upon his return in 335/34 B.C in Athens, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum. The school was so organized that it included philosophical discussions, lectures and technicals, for small audiences and others of a more poplar nature for a larger audience. For twelve of thirteen years, Aristotle remained as head of the Lyceum teaching and lecturing and above all, formulating his ideas about the classification of the sciences, fashioning a bold new science of logic and writing his advanced idea in every major area of philosophy.

When Alexander died in 323 B.C, a wave of anti-Macedonian feeling arose making Aristotle’s position in Athens very precarious because of his close connection with Macedonia. Aristotle was charged with impiety for the elegy he wrote to Hermas twenty years before. Recalling the fate of Socrates, he fled to his mother’s property in Chalcis declaring, “I will not let the Athenians offend twice against philosophy.” He lived in Chalcis for some months and died in 322 B.C of a digestive disease of long standing. His will discloses the care with which he puts his affairs in order. He provided for his wife as she wished.
Aristotle’s thought was of such decisive power that it was to influence philosophy for centuries to come. Having gone so far, let us examine certain elements in Aristotle’s eventful life, which might have left their influences on his thought.

1.2 MAJOR INFLUENCES
The development of Aristotle’s philosophy was motivated and influenced by a number of individuals and conditions. A look at a few of these influences will help us situate our study in Aristotle.

Firstly, Aristotle’s father was a doctor and a physician to the king of Macedonia. Little wonder why he so expertly handled his treatise on Biology. It could be said that his interest in Biology and science in general was nurtured in his early childhood. This can be linked to a custom in those days that made it possible for children from certain families to be taught and trained in the art of dissection. Furthermore, the influences on his biological works may have come from other influences:
Some of the observations used in Aristotle’s biological works probably came from the Easter Aegean …we might trace his biological interests to the academy.

Secondly, the shadows of Socrates and especially Plato lie across his thought. Aristotle accepted in general the ethical positions of Socrates and Plato though his philosophical outlook proved some marked differences. Aristotle was more interested in something else:
…he was more interested in the concrete details of the moral life than in the abstract underlying principles, and we have in his Ethics not a description of an ideal community as we have in the Republic of the moral life as it was found in the Greek city states of his own day.

Again, the long stay at the academy of Plato had a huge influence in Aristotle’s thought. This is most evident in several passages of his work that explicitly reject or defend a platonic thesis. A close look at some of Aristotle’s work shows that he drank deeply from the platonic springs.

Thirdly, Aristotle’s life was largely devoted to the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge. This may explain his classification of state from the study of a hundred and fifty-eight constitutions. The age in which Aristotle lived was politically unstable and his own life was constantly interrupted by external events. This is surely connected to the stand he maintained and the answers he proffered in his Ethics. A brief look at his Ethics would help us focus more on the aim of our study….