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Aristotle: Justice And Happiness

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Philosophers have debated the distinct subjects such as justice and happiness extensively. For instance, Plato discusses the subject of justice by arguing that justice is what allows people to live excellently. In contrast, Aristotle discusses happiness by arguing that acquiring virtues enables people to achieve the ultimate goal of happiness. What is the meaning of the terms justice and happiness? The term happiness could be elucidated as a satisfaction from goals achieved or from one’s status. Analogously, the term justice is defined as a quality of becoming fair. It is notable that different philosophers also contributed to the topics in question. This owes to the truth that Thrasymachus, Cephalus, and Polemarchus discussed justice. This paper not only analyzes philosophies from Plato and Aristotle who discuss justice and happiness respectively, but also highlights the similarities between the two philosophers. Prior to Plato’s analysis of the term justice, different philosophers had communicated their opinions on justice. This owes to the fact that Cephalus believed that “ 'justice consists in speaking the truth and paying one 's debt.” Consequently, Polemarchus concurred with Cephalus’ argument, but added a little ingredient to Cephalus’ meaning of justice. According to Polemarchus, “justice is doing good to friends and harm to enemies.” It is critical that Thrasymachus defined justice as the “interest for the stronger.” Nonetheless, Plato disagreed with opinions from

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