Aristotelianism

When it comes to Western philosophy, Aristotle is considered to be one of the greatest contributors. He believed that humans were distinctly defined by their character traits rather than their behavior. Aristotle supported this belief by explaining the concept of achieving eudaimonia through living virtuously. Through evaluating his theory of human nature we are given the answers to three of the most common questions humans face today. These common questions are:
1. What should we strive for, and how do we achieve this goal?
2. What makes us special if anything?
3. What tends to go wrong in the pursuit of our goal?

Aristotle teaches, “everyone aims, ultimately, for eudaimonia”. Eudaimonia is the Greek term, which means human flourishing. For the ancient Greeks, the term flourishing relates to one being successful in life. “Aristotle realizes, of course, that there are many different opinions about just what eudaimonia is” (to be successful).
“In order to sort through these opinions, separating the plausible from the true, Aristotle discerns three preconditions for a proper understanding of eudaimonia”. “According to Aristotle, whatever eudaimonia is, it must be such as to be final, self sufficient, and the end of action”.

In order for eudaimonia to be final, it cannot be achieved for the sake of something else. This means that our goal of achieving eudaimonia should not serve to meet another goal. A good example of a non-final goal would be one setting their goal to make a million dollars. However, the only reason they want a million dollars is so they can buy their dream car. Because they only want the money in order to get something else with it, this would be considered a goal for the sake of something of something else. In other words, our goals have to serve a purpose to fulfill a final result. In order for eudaimonia to be