In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happiness.

He argues that happiness consists in ‘activity of the soul in accordance with virtue’, for example with moral virtues, such as courage, generosity and justice, and intellectual virtues, such as knowledge, wisdom and insight. The Ethics also discusses the nature of practical reasoning, the value and the objects of pleasure, the different forms of friendship, and the relationship between individual virtue, society and the State. Aristotle’s work has had a profound and lasting influence on all subsequent Western thought about ethical matters.

About the Author

Aristotle was born in 384 BC, and studied in Athens under Plato. His writings were of extraordinary range, and many of them have survived. He died in 323 BC.

 
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“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe starts this post with an apt quote which states, perhaps wisely, how one should apply the knowledge and experiences, they have accumulated in life, towards making the best possible decisions.

Therefore, by making a reasoned decision when called for, will not only make us more virtuous but will also put us on the true path towards goodness and happiness.

According to ‘The Art of Manliness’ bloggers Brett and Kate McKay, Aristotle’s philosophy of phronesis – which usually translates to ‘practical wisdom’ – best describes a more pragmatic life (rather than just contemplative) towards right action and virtue which deals, adequately, with all possible circumstances that may arise. Read more…

The Hermetica are a body of theological-philosophical texts written in late antiquity, but long believed to be much older. Their supposed author, Hermes Trismegistus, was thought to be a contemporary of Moses, and the Hermetic philosophy was regarded as an ancient theology, parallel to the received wisdom of the Bible.

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As much as I love the Christmas period with all the food and drink you can consume, as well as spending quality time with loved ones, there are times when it can all become a stress-filled, conflict-ridden and decadent exercise which can do more harm than good to one’s mind, body and spirit.

Everyone, I guess, is entitled to self-indulge (within reason, mind) at least once a year, but we must be careful not to enter the new year carrying too much weight, anxiety and damaged relationships.

Christmas should be a time to reinvigorate ourselves and to reconnect with friends and family who we have, directly or indirectly, long since neglected.

Surely, we’re not too busy for the important things in life?

Just to let you know that I don’t belong to any religious faith whatsoever, but felt the need to propose the following ten commandments (with a bit of humour thrown in for good measure) of my own for you to adopt towards having a happy Christmas of moderation.  So no belief in God or morality are required.

These precepts or maxims may or may not  help you to negotiate life more wisely, as well as put you in very good stead for the coming New Year and beyond.  Just remember to have fun along the way.

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The ripe sayings of the Ancient Wisdom, as spoken again in the world of Greece–a world so much vaster than the area of the Greek peninsula–are somewhat fading from the minds born anew into the hurrying life of the twentieth-century West. But the West cannot afford to let them fade away, for more than ever are they needed now to breathe their undying music into the ears stunned with the clashing discords of a materialistic and luxurious civilization. Life grows too crowded and too showy; crowded, not full–for crowd is from without, fullness from within; showy,

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not splendid–for show is the veneer of wealth covering a base metal, while splendour is the gleam of the golden thread of stateliness interwoven with the silken web of noble character. Sorely is needed in such a life the strong, pure teaching of the elder days, when learning was held to be richer than wealth, and simplicity finer than lavishness. The Greece of Pythagoras, with its mathematics and music–order and harmony–has a message for the modern nations, disorderly and discordant, and this message may best come through those who, their own natures attuned by brooding over the Pythagorean wisdom, can teach by life more than by word “the Beauty which was Greece.” Read more…

The following metaphorical experiment involving monkeys reminds me much of a quote on Truth by Arthur Schopenhauer, especially the “violently opposed” part.  The quote is:

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

As for the experiment (true or not), it seems that the majority of the human race have replaced the monkeys in terms of our minds being imprisoned by those in, so-called, authority as well as the societal pressures to conform.

There is no doubt that we have all but become easily frightened and obedient monkeys, through the apparent use of the “carrot and stick” policy instigated by those who wish to coerce us into doing their bidding, whilst we violently turn on those who dare to step out the status quo. Read more…