The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Essay

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Two major(ip) schools of thought broadly influenced the development of the moral code of Western Civilization. The Judeo-Christian tradition gave us faith and God through with(predicate) the text of the Bible. The antediluvian Greeks gave us philosophical inquiry and the healthy through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle proposes that the Good is the highest break off of globes actions. Happiness is the Good because it is the only end man pursues with no other(a) end in mind. A man obtains this highest end by living his life in a perfect(a) manner. In marked contrast, a careful reading of Genesis shows that, in the world of the Hebrews, the highest end of a mans actions is faith in and communication with God himself. Oneness with God is the highest end because no other god exists. A man obtains this highest end by obeying Gods commands and fulfilling Gods plan for him. On first examination, the differences between these twain constructs seem negligible. But when we look closely at the ways in which the men of Genesis obtain their highest ends, we find that their means are less(prenominal) than virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle. To reach God, the ends seem to justify the means, eyepatch to reach the Good, the virtuous path is crucial. Although this inherent difference in the two systems of morality seems to oppose them to nonpareil another, the difference between them has in truth helped meld them together to form our modern view of happiness. We need some(prenominal) views that wicked means will corrupt even the best ends, and that well-grounded ends can justify any means. In fact, there are stories in each text that describe a man who finds happiness through God, or the Good, ... ...e which cannot be taken away second, according to Genesis, because we have been stipulation happiness by communion with a God who is ever present. Alt hough not everyone considered to be a member of Western society holds these views on happiness, one can see these two roots in our construct of happiness. In our very American constitution, we acknowledge our inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. This phrasal idiom represents nothing other than the ultimate union of Aristotle and Genesis we are guaranteed as humans, as a God-given right, the ability to strive for happiness through the Aristotelic process. NOTES1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Upper Saddle River Prentice Hall, 1999).2. Genesis, trans. Robert Alter (New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1996).3. The Holy Bible, King James mutant (New York American Bible Society).