Essay written by Elizabeth SippelFrom the search for pleasure to the avoidance of pain, life ultimately seems to boil down to achieving happiness . However, how to define and obtain happiness has been and continues to be a widely debated issue. In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle gives his vision of happiness. According to Aristotle, different types of people pursue different goals. “The many,” ordinary people, seek pleasure, while politicians seek glory. However, refined people seek happiness. Happiness is the highest goal because it is an end desired entirely for its own sake and is sufficient in itself. To define happiness, we must consider the function of man. Aristotle says that what makes man unique is his ability to reason. So reason must be linked to happiness in some way. Aristotle further argues that virtue is also linked to happiness. Virtue can be classified as intellectual or moral. Intellectual virtue, as its name indicates, corresponds to the reasoning self. Moral virtue, on the other hand, corresponds to the desiring self. Thus morality vi...