According to Ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle:
“Happiness is the Meaning and Purpose of Life . . . It is the Whole Aim and End of Human Existence.”
I agree . . . do YOU?
Aristotle was the embodiment of a renaissance man, evidenced by his prolific writings on a variety of subjects, including biology, ethics, logic, metaphysics, politics, music and theatre. He lived over 23 centuries ago in a place and time of philosophical enlightenment, and studied under Plato, who was mentored by Socrates.
His philosophy on life was as profound as it was simple, and has withstood the test of time.
A Provocative Question
Try this out: Ask those you know this question:
What is the Meaning and Purpose of Life . . . TO YOU?
You will invariably receive a variety of existential answers, but you’ll find something fascinating about the responses — you will likely conclude they are ALL just different ways of saying the same thing . . . “happiness“.
And what makes this such a powerful question is this:
- Everyone has experienced “Life” and has an opinion about it;
- Most have thought about it before and likely on more than one occasion; and
- It boils everything down to what motivates a person to do what they do.
EVERYONE Goes Through Life in the Pursuit of Happiness
The Quest for Lasting Happiness
So if all 7 billion or so human beings on the earth today are going about their lives pursuing happiness, and this has been going on for at least 23 centuries (and most likely since the dawn of mankind), how is it this quest can be so elusive and difficult to sustain for many?
I believe it all comes down to whether or not a person has been able to satisfy their need to self-actualize, which is covered in the section titled: “What is Self-Actualization?“