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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/cadet-virtue-ethics-happiness

In virtue ethics, what does happiness really mean?

Flourishing: the lasting satisfaction of living up to your potential.

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  1. Having as much fun as possible
  2. A pleasant feeling that disappears quickly
  3. Flourishing by living up to your potential ✔

Why: Virtue ethics, from Aristotle, treats happiness as deep fulfillment that stays with you, not a quick good feeling. You reach it by building virtue, an excellence of character.

Huh, didn't know that: Aristotle's ethics is called teleological: everything works toward a final goal.

The dad joke
Why was the acorn so happy? It knew it was growing into something great.
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References

Answer: Flourishing by living up to your potential. Virtue ethics, from Aristotle, treats happiness as deep fulfillment that stays with you, not a quick good feeling. You reach it by building virtue, an excellence of character.

  1. Learn to Lead, Volume 3: Indirect Leadership, chapter 9 (Civil Air Patrol) www.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/L2LVolume_3__LOW_FINAL_4_MAY_13CC68236BDFE.pdf
    happiness is a flourishing, the self-satisfaction you get by living up to your potential.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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