 concept of happiness. It is in the VA third semester, eighth course and number of this unit is unit 8. Now first we will see the learning objectives of this unit. After going through this unit, you will be able to know what Aristotle's concept of happiness is. What is the highest end of life? You will be able to know the differences between voluntary and non-voluntary actions. Again, you will be able to know the relationship between happiness and the freedom of will and you will be able to know how to define Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia. Now, so far as the concept of happiness is concerned, it is a concept which can be regarded to be the concerned of all ethics. That means so far as ethics is concerned, ethics is something where the concept of happiness has an important role to play. Now, almost all the ancient thinkers or atheists tries to claim that ideas they portrayed the ingredients of a happy life. Now, it is found that in some kinds of ethics like utilitarianism, it is mentioned that an action is regarded to be moral or immoral on the basis of observing the fact that the degrees of happiness created by that particular act. Now, in the contemporary ethics also, so far as the concept of happiness is concerned, it has an important role to play. That means, so far as Aristotle is concerned, you will find that Aristotle has an important viewpoint regarding the concept of happiness. For him, happiness is the highest virtue in life. So far as our life is concerned and so happiness has an important role to play. Now, in this particular unit, we will particularly discuss about Aristotle's concept of happiness. Now, what is Aristotle's concept of happiness? So far as Aristotle is concerned, you will find that according to him, like all other things of the world, man is a combination of form and matter. You know that so far as Aristotle's philosophy is concerned, form and matter are playing an important role and man, according to him, man is also a combination of form and matter. Now here, one question can be asked that what is the matter of man? It is said by Aristotle that a matter of a man includes actually what is the corporal religion, living things and especially animals. That is why the form of man moves and transforms in man his physiochemical activities, vegetative sex and the senses in man. According to Socrates, this form is nothing but reason. That means Socrates has given an important role in reason so far as it is concerned. Now, reason is a distinctive feature of man. You know that so far as this particular concept called reason is concerned, reason is a particular quality which only human beings are possessing. Other animals do not have this particular quality called reason. Now the highest and the man is to become the highest thing or the attainment of goodness or a life of virtue that is context of goodness. Aristotle vaguely tells that the highest thing that the man contemplates is goodness of God. In fact, this can be regarded to be the highest and the human being. Now another question that can be found to be raised here is that what is the highest and that means which is that means what is the highest and a man is possessing or what is the highest and a man can attain in his life and the answer will be nothing but happiness. Now, so far as Aristotle's philosophy is concerned or Aristotle's ethics is concerned, according to him, happiness is the highest end of life. Now, one question is found to be around here. That is, it is seen that the pleasure is the satisfaction of passion and appetites. Then, is it the case that pleasure is the highest end of life? Here, Aristotle has given an answer and that answer is no. For Aristotle, appetites and fashion are the matter of ethical life and they have to regulated by form which is for man is reason. Okay, that means reason is the form. Okay, reason is the form. That is why pleasure cannot be the end of man. Form is the activity which uses to actualize matter towards its highest becoming or end but appetite and passion are safe to be passive potentiality or feeling. So, feeling cannot be the highest end of irrational man. Hence, the pleasure can never be the ultimate end of man's moral life. From the above explanation, that can be we can come to a conclusion that hedonism is something which is totally rejected by Aristotle. Now, according to Aristotle, Chopra's man is concerned he is a living body and a man has to live with his appetites for food, meat and fear, etc. As these particular things are indispensable activity, so a man should include them in his day-to-day rational activity. That means, without having these particular activities, a man cannot become a rational animal. Okay, all these things must have to be included in his rational activity. According to Aristotle, feeling cannot be the guide of life but it can be followed as a necessary consequences or accompaniment of man's rational life. In this way, pleasure has become a moral pursuit of the entire rational human's life. According to Aristotle, the pursuit of the highest rational end of man means nothing but the control of one's passion and appetites by reason. This particular act is known as diagnosing. Now, again, it is also seen that Aristotle does not deny the place of personal good as riches, friends, good fortune, health, etc. Actually, their auxiliary means of a moral life. That means they are also part and partial of our moral life. Therefore, that is why Aristotle denies cynicism. Now, what is the cynicism? According to him, cynicism is a mode of thinking which believes that people are generally selfish and dishonest. However, external good fortune is not constitutive but merely a help for moral life. The essential of a moral life is the control of appetites and passions by reason and this has to be constantly exercised. The habitual control of appetites and passions by reason is known as virtue. That means what is virtue? Virtue is nothing but the habitual control of appetite and passion by reason. In the new course, virtue creates a good disposition and character. This character is an inward organization of subtle habit of a will pertains to a good moral life. Hence, neither appetite has to be excluded as asceticism wrongly does not maintain nor appetites have to be satisfied as hedonism holds. But appetites should be regulated by reason. This regulation of appetites by reason has to be carried out by moderation and tact. Now, it can be said in other words that moderation means an insight into the reasonable desire. It makes neither the excess nor the denial of appetite has to be allowed. This is known as the principle of golden mean. Now, so far as the arismatical term, the meaning of the mean is concerned, it can be said that it is arismatical term mean that is each case there is some quantitative mean. In each case, one has to decide to oneself the mean of rational choice. As for example, courage is a mean between blushfulness and shamefulness and so on. This regulation by rule of adopting a mean is generally assisted by the cultivation of virtue that is the subtle habit of will in the choice of the mean by rule, which is a wise man in his practical life would avoid. Now, we will discuss about happiness and freedom of will. That means whether happiness has a role in freedom of will or not will know after discussing this particular point. Now, so far as Aristotle is concerned, in his context, it can be said that he has also given emphasis on justice. For Aristotle, justice does not come under individual ethics, but it comes under state. Now, according to Aristotle, justice is something which can be attained with the help of two processes and they are distributive and corrective. Now, so far as distributive is concerned, you will find that the distributive justice means reward or right activity and the corrective justice means is something which can be attained with the help of punishing wrong actions. According to Aristotle, that is why voluntary and non-voluntary actions can be regarded to be moral. Involuntary actions are actually spontaneous actions. Now, we will have to know what is voluntary action, what is non-voluntary action and what is involuntary action. As for example, if a mosquito bites us, we automatically use to slap it or when itching will be started, our hand will automatically go to that particular place. These actions are called involuntary actions because here we don't have to choose. It automatically comes from our mind. Actually, we do not have control over this kind of actions. Now, so far as morality is concerned, it does not have anything to do with this kind of action. So far as voluntary actions are concerned, it derives from the asin's own mind. It means that we do. It is totally controlled by my mind or desire. That means voluntary actions always associate with reason of a human brain. In this context, Aristotle brings the concept of freedom of will. For Aristotle, freedom of will means freedom of choice. That means, according to Aristotle, there isn't any difference between freedom of will and freedom of choice. There are two uses of choices. That is, either choice can be used as a mean or it can be used as an end. It means choice is the thing for which action can be done. Here, Roche, a philosopher, whose name is Roche, he says that Aristotle has actually meant that the choice as a mean and not as an end. According to him, choice is only the mean and our action, what we'll do, it will be the end. But our motive is the end. To attain the end only, choice is used as a mean. According to Aristotle, the main end of any human being is the attainment of the ultimate end of life. And what is the ultimate end in life? That is the happiness. Now, the ultimate end of life is nothing but the goodness or the goodness of God. I have already told it. Now, Aristotle has said that choice is the mean to attain this end. But another question can arise here. What kind of choices will be the main mean to attain the end? In this regard, Aristotle has maintained that human beings have one particular quality, which is not possessed by other rational animal of the world. And what is that quality? That quality is called rationality. Now, all of us have the power to use reason. Because if we are a normal human being, that means we have the quality called reason and we have the power to use that. So, in order to determine our choice, we should use the rational capacity of us and as a tool to determine the right of choice. According to Aristotle, choice is nothing but the choice of means for attainment of the highest end in life. So far as Aristotle is concerned, it is found that he is a great supporter of freedom of will. Aristotle plays that those actions which can be regarded to be virtuous are not only voluntary, but also in accordance with rational choice of a human being. And that is why, so far as the question of virtue and vice are concerned, according to Aristotle, they are within the power of means. It can be said that moral actions of virtuous actions of necessity is something which cannot be regarded to be a performance of man. Because of this reason, Aristotle harshly criticized Socrates for saying that nobody does wrong voluntarily. That means in this point, Aristotle ideas to slightly totally differentiate the idea of Socrates. For Aristotle, both virtue and vice are outcome of free choice. Again, Aristotle further criticizes for stating that man is only rational. Because according to Aristotle, the rational man has also some animal instincts too. So, in this regard, Aristotle says that naturally at times, knowing the right course of action, a man is overpowered by his passion by means of rational choice. Now, we'll have to know what is the Aristotle concept of Eudomonia. Okay, now let us discuss about it. According to Aristotle, Eudomonia is the chief code for every man. The term Eudomonia is basically a Greek word which consists of two terms, U, which means good and Danon, which means spirit. Eudomonia is generally translated as happiness. This is considered by Aristotle to be the self-sufficient, final and the greatest end of life. It is also said by Aristotle that the state of Eudomonia is not the psychological state. It is actually a condition of well-being or fearing well. But it is also said by him that there is a connection between being happy and having one's life go well. It is already said that man is not only a biological entity, as animated qualities are possessed by all the lower animals of the world too. Aristotle said that rational elements of every human being is the unique quality. In the famous book, Nicomonia and Ethics, Aristotle maintains that the activity of soul exhibiting excellence and if there be more than one excellence in accordance with the best and the more complete. Now, we have already discussed about the concept of happiness of Aristotle and we have also discussed the idea of Eudomonia given by Aristotle. Now, on the basis of, we have already discussed about the main things of the chapter of the unit. Now, let us come to the conclusion of the unit. Here we will find that it is said by Aristotle that goodness of God is the end of a human being and so far as one's moral life is concerned, it can be said that happiness and only happiness is the end of moral life. Now, it is also said by Aristotle that perfect happiness lies in the best activity of human being which is also regarded to be contemplative. In the fact that the idea of best activity comes from the fact that virtuous activities aim at the goodness of life. Now, so in these activities where we will attain the goodness of God, the elements of happiness will also be there. The happiness according to Aristotle is the pure and perfect happiness. According to Aristotle, the action or the act from where pure happiness will come out can also be regarded to be the most virtuous act. As only virtuous act can be produced pure happiness and that is the good will of God too. So, we have discussed about Aristotle's concept of happiness and I think from this today's class, at least from today's discussion, you have at least have some idea about this particular concept. So, please go to the SLM and I think it will be helpful for you. Thank you.