The Old Testament And Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Seventeenth century Russian philosopher Leo Tolstoy once said, “If you want to be happy, be.” His theory on happiness makes this final goal in life seem to be simple and easy to achieve. Thousands of years before Leo Tolstoy’s time, however, very different theories concerning this goal surfaced from various sources that made this goal of happiness seem much more difficult and unattainable. Two of these sources included The Bible, specifically the Old Testament, and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. In the Book of Job in the Bible, one main theme conveyed to the reader is that God is the final destination; there is nothing beyond Him. Therefore, according to the Bible, giving faith, trust, loyalty, and sacrifices to Him will grant happiness

These standards are not in place simply to prevent chaos or destruction, but rather they are moral standards. Found in the Torah (meaning “law” in Hebrew), these guidelines or commandments emphasize that God is not a leader of common law; He is a holy leader. He wants the best possible outcome for the human race. That being said, He does not want his followers to simply obey his law like blind sheep; He wants them to internalize it. These standards and intentions from God contribute to achieving the goal of a happy and well-fulfilled life because those who want to achieve this goal must follow God’s command and utilize their faith. This means that one must abandon their whole self into the very hands of the living God. This idea of faith and self-sacrifice to the Lord is displayed all throughout the Bible, but especially in the Psalms. For example, in Psalm 104, the unknown author writes, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord” (Ps 104:33-34). This concept is also emphasized in the book of Samuel, “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and listen to his voice and not rebel against [Him]… it will be well” (1 Samuel 12:14). Giving oneself fully to God guarantees an everlasting source of love and comfort. This, according to the Bible, is what true

As previously stated, Aristotle offers no specific formula to achieve this happiness. He does however assert that the highest “good” one can obtain in life is happiness. He makes this clear by explaining that happiness is never pursued for the sake of something else, everything else in life is pursued for the sake of happiness, “So happiness appears to be something complete and self-sufficient, it being an end to our actions” (Aristotle pg. 12 lines 20-21). This happiness he describes is deeper than just the pleasures of wealth, sex, self-indulgence, or anything else in life that provides temporary pleasure. These temporary pleasures are examples of vices, or bad moral habits, that prevent the progression of oneself to the highest good. As mentioned previously, the good moral habits one ought to form in life are called virtues. Living a virtuous life and forming a good moral character advances one closer and closer to happiness. Happiness, in Aristotle’s words is “an activity of soul and actions accompanied by reason… and each thing is brought to completion well in accord with the virtue proper to it” (Aristotle pg. 13 lines 13-16). This means that to be truly happy, one must make a conscious decision to do so. It is an activity for which one must put their abilities to use in order for it to be successful. Putting