亚里士多德:幸福是一项政治成就

Happiness as a Political Achievement in Aristotle

生活幸福需要一定数量的三类善,即灵魂的善、身体的善和外在的善。这三类善可以归结为“社会的善”,只有在组织起来以便供应它们的共同体中,它们才是可以长期获得的可靠的善。我们习惯于把实践智慧私有化、伦理化,但对于亚里士多德,实践智慧是政治德性的核心。沉思生活实际上是与行为有关的生活,而且是比政治生活更具实践性(含有更多行为)的生活。幸福不是老式的沉思,而是最卓越的、契合相应德性的那种沉思,也就是理论智慧。改进后的政治生活和改进后的沉思生活是人类生活的两个方面,而不是两种分离开的生活。若缺少改进后的沉思生活,那么改进后的政治生活的最高幸福就是不充分的,就像一座没有顶峰的高山;若缺少改进后的政治生活的幸福,那么沉思生活的幸福是一座突兀的高峰,它并不立于高山之上。

Some amount of all three sorts of goods——of soul,of body,and those that are external——are needed for happiness.These three sorts of goods could be named social goods,and what I mean is that they are goods reliably made available in the long term only within a community organized to provide them.We are used to privatizing practical wisdom,or“ethicizing”it,so to speak,but for Aristotle it is at heart a political virtue.The contemplative life is in fact a life of action,and one,moreover,that is more practical——more action-involving——than the political life.Happiness,as activity in accordance with complete virtue,is not just any old sort of contemplation,but the most excellent sort,the sort that is in accordance with the relevant virtue,which is theoretical wisdom.The crude political life and the crude contemplative life are indeed distinct lives,but that the refined political life and refined contemplative life are indeed the same.They are one human life with two sides,not two separate lives.The peek happiness of the refined political life without that of the refined contemplative one is deficient in happiness,it is a mountain without its highest peak——a life always conscious of an intrinsic deficiency.Without the happiness of the refined political life,there is no mountain for the happiness of the contemplative life to be the peak of.