The Human Function as It Pertains to Happiness Essay

The Human Function as it Pertains to Happiness Humans have a function, according to Aristotle, and so it would follow that fulfilling that function makes us happy. Before we can establish that fulfilment of purpose results in happiness, we must first establish what the human function actually is, and also what constitutes good and happiness for humans. Aristotle’s arguments for happiness and human purpose help to provide answers to these questions, though as with all philosophical topics there are those who disagree. To begin the evaluation of human function and whether or not it brings happiness, defining function and what constitutes human function must occur. The dictionary definition of function is ‘an activity that is natural to or†¦show more content†¦As Aristotle points out, we should be aware that there is a difference between what something has the potential to be and what it actually becomes, since all things need the right conditions in which they can flourish. An example given in Trigg (1999) is that just because humans may be sociable by nature, does not mean that every individual will always be so. So according to Aristotle’s reasoning, to be the most successful at achieving human function, a person must be good at realizing the full potential of reason and acting upon it. Prior to deciding whether fulfilling our purpose of reasoning will make us happy, we must first uncover what happiness is for humans. Happiness, in today’s sense of the word, is not what Aristotle was trying to emphasize. The Greek word used was eudemonia, which has other more accurate translations than happiness, such as ‘flourishing’ and ‘living well’. These alternate translations are more stable and objective than the fleeting emotion, happiness. Aristotle believed that the final goal of all our objectives is happiness (eudemonia). 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