Aristotle on Luck, Happiness, and Solon’s Dictum

Abstract

Aristotle’s thoughts on luck and happiness (eudaimonia) are seminal, subtle, and rich. There can be no doubt that for Aristotle it is moral virtue that we should seek and pray for as the good that “confers” value on the non-moral goods. He states this clearly near the end of the Eudemian Ethics. Aristotle definitely sees virtue and wisdom, or the lack of them, as what controls or determines the true value of the non-moral goods in an agent’s life. It is worth noting that what has emerged as Aristotle’s position has two rather surprising implications. In the first place, if the non-moral goods do not add genuine value to a life unless it is a life of active virtue and wisdom. The second one follows from the completeness criterion for happiness. We feel a strong tug toward the sage Solon’s dictum “Do not say ‘happy’ of the living, but only once the end is reached.”.