Rational Selfishness #71
Aristotle on looking at one's own benefit... intelligently
Welcome to another instalment of our exploration of Aristotle’s philosophy of happiness! Last time, we talked about the importance of staying young in our own mind and alert to the changes that happen in the world all around us. Today, we’ll talk a bit more about how to apply Aristotle’s ideas to the — often selfish — world of work and careers.
The interconnectedness of success
Aristotle believes that being good benefits oneself as well as others — in fact, these two are interconnected and cannot be separated from each other. The state of being truly happy he calls “eudaimonia.” This means, literally, to be “in good spirits,” or to be guided by a good spirit. And this state comes about when everything is going well for us. But things won’t go consistently well by accident. What makes them go well is the result of our own virtuous behaviour.
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