The Virtues of Happiness

            The ultimate goal in human activity is to achieve, through reason in virtues, happiness, .
             a state desirable in itself for no other reason. Happiness is the ultimate goal because it is desirable in itself for no other reason, meaning that there is no reason to achieve happiness other than to be happy. It's complete in itself. Aristotle says "that an end pursued in its own right is more complete than an end pursued because of something else" (Aristotle 7). By this definition happiness is more complete than anything else. Take work as an example, some people don't necessarily like their job, but they continue to work. Why? They gain wealth and by gaining wealth they can buy things. By buying things they think it will make them happy. So through this process working was just an end taken in order to gain wealth and wealth was just an end to gain items, which leads to happiness. But once to the point of happiness there is nothing further. People don't gain happiness to be in love or they don't gain happiness to be free. It's the other way around; we are in love, which in turn brings us happiness. Happiness is the end. People are happy to be happy. But in order to achieve happiness Aristotle says that one must use reason in virtue.
             Aristotle concludes that the ability to use reason is a special trait with which humans contain. He comes to this conclusion because living is shared with plants, and nutrition and growth are shared with animals, leaving reason to human beings. It is this ability which humans have that allows happiness to be attained. In his teachings Aristotle says "for anyone who is not deformed [in his capacity] for virtue will be able to achieve happiness through some sort of learning and attention" (Aristotle 12). Aristotle says that humans use reason to find a balance between excesses and deficiencies in life virtues. Since virtues are vices which help man attain happiness and man has to go through a life of thought and reason to reach the median of these virtues, happiness is "an activity of the soul" (Aristotle 12).