Virtue and Pleasure

We take pleasure in the things we love and desire comes from our soul; where happiness is based. Everyone agrees that a pleasurable life is doing what we love. A horse is pleasant to a lover of horses, scenery is pleasant to a lover of nature. Justice and Virtue are also pleasant to those who love them. This causes a conflict in most people. Even though we know by nature doing right is the most satisfying thing to do, at times there are other things we feel would be more enjoyable. There are some people who seem naturals at doing what is right but we see that they also don’t know how to have fun. But we still say someone who doesn't do what is right is a bad person. If they actually dislike being just or liberal, we cannot call them good. This causes us to conclude that virtuous actions are both universal and essential for true happiness. But there must also be a fulfillment of our desires with it. A person who understands this is considered a good person. Virtue is universal and brings stability while things that are enjoyed vary with each person.  The inscription at Delos says, “The most noble thing is justice. The best thing is to have health, but it is pleasant to win what we love.

In order to add pleasure to our lives we need external goods, to some extent, since equipment is necessary to accomplish anything. Influence and friends are also needed in order to get the things we enjoy. People sometimes equate a lack of certain things with unhappiness, such as good looks, poverty or being childless. Those who have a child go bad or lost friends and family to death see that this lack does cause unhappiness. It has to be recognized that happiness involves some kind of prosperity. Some push the idea that happiness is good fortune alone while others will say it is virtue alone. But we see it as a combination of the two. Virtue for stability and good fortune for pleasure. Next we will examine how we form our ideals.