The starting point of Aristotle’s ethical theory is happiness.

Aristotle believes people to be rational creatures who make decisions that will lead to their ultimate good. The Greek word eudaimonia is often translated as ‘happiness’, but a better interpretation is ‘doing well’, ‘success’ or ‘flourishing’.

Aristotle’s ‘final cause’ says that everything in nature is built with an end or purpose in mind. A tree or a person is programmed to flourish in a certain way, and it uses the conditions available to do so.

As rational beings, our greatest happiness comes from choices that are arrived at through reason. We work out what is best for us in the long run, and in following that path happiness comes as a by-product. A life of mere pleasure deprives us of rational, purposeful action

The most virtuous path is that which gives us the greatest genuine (rather than fleeting) pleasure. For example, the pleasure of reading a light romance or a thriller is not at the same level as the great meaning and satisfaction to be gained from reading Tolstoy.

People who seek a life of mere gratification Aristotle are no better than ‘grazing animals’. To have a ‘complete life’, action must be combined with virtue, or constant application to refine ourselves and our skills.

Genuine happiness emerges through work on ourselves and our aims over time. Aristotle describes time as “a good partner in discovery” – of ourselves and our unique function, and of the world

“For one swallow does not make a spring, nor does one day, nor, similarly, does one day or a short time make us blessed and happy.”

Friendship is part of a good and complete life, Aristotle says, because it promotes the sharing of reasoning and thinking. Through reasoned, constructive action, we help friends achieve their aims, and in doing so our own rational qualities, or our character, is enlarged.

This naturally makes us happy. The same principle applies to the community or city in which we live. By working for its betterment, we naturally strengthen our own character and therefore increase our happiness.