Pleasures vs. Happiness

“So the life these people lead has no additional need of pleasure as a sort of appendage, but has its pleasure in itself” (1099a 10).

Aristotle is very specific when he talks about pleasures. I feel like we used the term too loosely in class, calling pleasures sleeping in or eating more than necessary when in fact pleasures are encompassed in our natural necessities and consequently, virtue. Pleasures are in accordance with “the good.” Now even though this good cannot be clearly defined, we know from other philosophical works that it includes moderation and rational thought. These excessive things that we think are pleasures and balance our soul by feeding desires are actually, “in conflict with one another” (1099a 10). This all relates back to harmony within the soul. In addition, when we think of pleasures as fleeting moments of enjoyment that make us happy, we are making happiness a temporary feeling rather than what Aristotle is referring to as a state of mind or overall achievement for a human life or soul. However, I don’t think we can clearly define these pleasures at this point in the book. We must first understand what happiness is before we define these components.