“Happiness is activity in accordance with virtue, and this activity is its own reward.”
— Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 7
Real-World Connection
① Social Entrepreneurship
- Virtuous Action: Launching a fair-trade coffee co-op in Colombia.
- Activity Reward: Farmers’ pride in ethical cultivation (intrinsic).
- Lifespan Impact: 20 years later, their children lead rainforest conservation (generational eudaimonia).
② Athlete’s Ethical Triumph
- Virtuous Action: Soccer star rejecting match-fixing bribes.
- Activity Reward: Quiet self-respect during late-night training (intrinsic).
- Legacy: Post-retirement, establishing anti-corruption sports clinics (virtue’s compounding return).
③ Creative Integrity
- Virtuous Action: Novelist writing about mental health stigma.
- Activity Reward: Healing through artistic truth-telling (intrinsic).
- Cultural Shift: Book sparks national suicide hotline reform (societal eudaimonia).
The Golden Equation
- Virtue Without Action = A Stradivarius violin locked in a vault (unheard genius).
- Action Without Virtue = AI-generated art sold as NFTs (technically flawless, soulically empty).
- Synthesis = Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach’s Cello Suites (skill + soul = transcendent beauty).