Aristotle's Philosophy of Happiness and Drug Use
Aristotle was a significant proponent of theoretical knowledge in a variety of domains, including Ethics and Psychology. This discussion focuses primarily on Aristotle's philosophy of happiness and how it applies to drug use issues. It examined the underlying principles of pleasure and the building blocks of happiness as presented and evaluated by Aristotle, and it drew a link between these principles and an individual's drug use as a form of self-gratification (Mortimer, 116). The discussion considers two positions; whether keeping drugs illegal leads to more happiness or is it that legalizing certain drugs would lead to more happiness. In this context, this paper adopts the reasoning that legalizing certain drugs would lead to more happiness. It demonstrates this position in light of Aristotle's doctrine on happiness as well as other contrasting views.
Aristotle's Doctrine of Happiness and Drug Use
Aristotle defines happiness as an ultimate good, and it is pursued by every individual, not because it is a means to an end to another state but rather for its sake. It is this qualification that makes a distinction between happiness and pleasure seeking (LaFollette, 370).
Pleasure Seeking versus Happiness
Pleasure seeking may quite easily be mistaken by individuals to be synonymous with happiness. As Aristotle defended in his doctrine, pleasure-seeking is markedly different from happiness. He opines that what most individuals engage in is pleasure seeking which only yields an instantaneous, short-lived gratification. After this satisfaction, pleasure seeking individual only goes back to his initial state. This can, therefore, be contrasted to happiness which is more long-term and has permanent effects on an individuals' life (Mortimer, 123). This implies that an individual can only be considered happy after achieving all that he wanted to achieve in health, wealth, relationship, family, and career for example. This means that happiness can only be determined at the end of one's life and not during one's life (Mortimer, 116).
Drug Use and Pleasure Seeking
In this context of drug use, a drug user may be regarded as a pleasure-seeking individual and not a happy individual. This is because the sensation and stimulation received from a puff or sniff of a certain drug can only last for so long especially if the individual took the drug as a means to escape the situational life challenges that one could be going through ranging from relationship to career and other financial related challenges. After this short-lived sensation is over, the individual returns back to his deprived state and the urge to revive the sensation emerges again (LaFollette, 370). This, in the end, leads to an unending cycle of deprivation and sensation from drug use which eventually leads to drug addiction. The short-lived nature of these sensations is what Aristotle explained as pleasure-seeking activities which by themselves do not lead to happiness (Treddenick, 45).
Virtues and Drug Use
Aristotle emphasizes the importance of virtues in happiness. He says, "He is happy who lives by complete virtue and is sufficiently occupied with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life" (Mortimer, 116). By this, Aristotle asserts that attainment of happiness will need an exercise and cultivation of virtues in an individual's life. To this end, virtues imply cultivation of courageousness, courteousness, trustworthiness, responsible and kindness in an individual's life (Treddenick, 38). From empirical data, it can be shown that most drug users lack these and other virtues that would make an individual be regarded as virtuous. This deficiency in virtues is largely attributed to being the side effects of drug use which make such people exhibit rashness, violence, and disrespect to other individuals. Accordingly, therefore, a drug user is well out of the path of a virtuous person, and so there is no way that happiness can be attained by deviating from a moral life. Also, Aristotle considers that the exercise of a balance between two extremes is what defines a virtuous individual in what he referred to as the mean (Mortimer, 107).
The Mean and Drug Use
The mean is "a settled condition of the soul which wills or chooses the mean relatively to ourselves, this means being determined by a rule or whatever we like to call that by which the wise man determines it" (LaFollette, 368). Kindness is, therefore, a mean between being mean and being too kind. An addicted drug user may find it impossible to strike balances between two extremes to practice virtues in his/her life. This means that drug use incapacitates an individual to discern the mean and exercise and cultivate virtues in his/her daily life and interactions thereby deviating the individual from the path to attain happiness (Mortimer, 123).
Legalizing Drugs and Happiness
This situation implies that there is no justifiable reason that a drug user may give for his drug consumption as means of being happy in life. Therefore, there is no plausibility in legalizing drugs and so keeping drugs illegal will lead to more happiness (Treddenick, 45). This is because drugs only hinder one from doing all that pertains to leading a happy life including exercising good virtues and instead only blinds the user on short-lived pleasure-seeking sensations that do not relate to a happy life at all. By keeping drug use illegal, the government mitigates drug use an intake among the society removing a major obstruction towards cultivating a virtuous life.
Does Legalizing Certain Drugs Lead to More Happiness?
A contrasting opinion to keeping drug use illegal is to make drug use legal. In fact, recently, states such as Washington and Oregon have legalized the use of recreational marijuana. Perhaps a formidable argument that drug users may give is that drugs make them escape certain harshness within their lives and attain pleasure. Taken over a period, one is therefore consistently predisposed to pleasure and fulfillment in one's life as a result of the drug use (LaFollette, 370). Besides, Aristotle asserts that "Happiness depends on ourselves." This means that it is the individual himself who would define what makes him/her happy. If taking drugs makes one happy, then one should be allowed to do so without any discrimination or judgments extended to that person. This is heavily wedged on the fact that no two individuals are the entirely the same and so activities that may make an individual happy may be different from those that make another equally happy (LaFollette, 368).
The Mean and Drug Use
Also, Aristotle points out that the mean is "relative to individuals." Being kind, responsible and caring may be the mean of other people but different from those of others. Therefore, a drug user should not be confined to being kind and caring as these may not be his mean in the first place. Lack of this does not imply that a drug user is not virtuous. In as much as these positions hold, instant gratification as is the case with drug use will never lead to happiness. Instead, an individual should aim at leading an entirely virtuous life. As difficult as this may be especially with drug use, an individual needs to cultivate and strive for the complete moral life. Efforts towards this are hampered by the weakness of the will that in this case many drug users experiences (LaFollette, 368). Every drug user acknowledges that drugs intake does not accommodate one leading a virtuous life. However, due to the weakness will, a drug user finds him/herself under the trappings of drug use and addiction. Aristotle explains "The mass of mankind are evidently quite lavish in their tastes preferring a life suitable to beasts" (Mortimer, 107). To free oneself from this bondage would mean to consistently strive to avoid drug use and cultivate virtues in one's daily interactions as daunting as this may be for the drug user (Mortimer, 107).
Legalizing Drugs and Happiness
In bolstering efforts towards refraining from drug use and abuse, it, therefore, seems plausible that drugs should be kept illegal. Legalizing certain drugs, therefore, does not lead to more happiness as it will only predispose drug users to instant gratification and hampers efforts towards an entirely virtuous life which is a necessary ingredient for a happy life (Mortimer, 123).
Conclusion
Happiness according to Aristotle should be the ultimate goal that defines the existence of any individual. This is different from pleasure. Drug intake does not lead to happiness but yields instant gratification to the person through pleasure. Drug use harbors the user from exercising an entirely virtuous life that is necessary for the attainment of happiness in one's life. For these reasons, drug use should be discouraged rather than being encouraged. That is, keeping drugs illegal puts a cap on drug use in the larger society, and so it allows individuals to focus more on exercising good morals and lead a virtuous life. This way, individuals' capabilities to attain happiness in life are enhanced.
Works Cited
LaFollette, Hugh. Ethics in Practice: An Anthology (4th Ed.). Wiley, 2014, pp. 365-378. Print.
Mortimer, Adler. Aristotle for Everybody. Oxford University Press, 1981, pp.102-134. Print.
Treddenick, Hugh. Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics. Penguin, 2004 pp.32-56. Print.
