In this paper I shall go a step further: happiness not only requires living with friends in a state, but consists of governing a state. On the contrary, instead of individual virtue aided by a concerned friend, Aristotle's account of the best friendships emphasizes mutual interest and common activity. ( 6) That a happy life mostly involves the cultivation and exercise of personal virtues, whether alone or with friends, is an assumption that interpreters have brought to Aristotle without, I believe, offering evidence. ( 5) Yet they, too, presume that happiness is mainly a private pursuit, for they imagine that concern for others manifests itself when the other's interest conflicts with one's ownas if, even among friends, personal interests must conflict and the person who furthers the interests of his friend does so only with some detriment to his own. ( 4) Recent writers have attacked this contrast, pointing to the importance Aristotle accords concern for others in friendship ( philia) and the centrality of friendship in happiness.

( 3) The idea that happiness is a private pursuit is implicit in the contrast, formerly drawn often, between the egoism of ancient ethicists and the properly moral analyses of modern philosophers. Mulgan a bulwark protecting individual ends from subordination to those of the state. ( 1) Though it is also recognized that participating in the governing of the state could play some important, or even necessary, role in a good life, the predominant view is that happiness is mostly pursued individually or with friends. Why does Aristotle think that the good life must be lived in a state ( polis)? It is usually supposed that the state serves to provide the security and stability that individuals need for virtuous acts.

Politics by aristotle