Bill Clegg and Mathew Dickmans Prescription for Eudemonia - Essay Example

Instruction: Task: Bill Clegg and Mathew Dickman’s Prescription for Eudemonia Aristotle’s concept, eudaimonia roughly translates to the state of happiness and the feeling of bodily contentment for an individual. Aristotle connects the ethics of eudemonia to the range of actions, moral virtue, reason, perception and the nature of the being (Newby 99). Through this, Aristotle asserts that all actions that individuals undertake are aimed at some conclusion. Most of the deeds point towards the end of a peaceful state of contentment and overall happiness. This is as the doer views it since everyone is in the pursuit of happiness according to Aristotle (Newby 87). This may not always augur well with other people, but the doer will always possess the feeling of contentment. Despite this, not all individuals easily achieve this state of eudemonia as easily as they would want to. This is as highlighted by Bill Clegg’s memoirs, Ninety Days as he highlights his struggle to fight addiction and the turmoil he goes through in his quest for a good life. On the other hand, Mathew Dickman’s All American Poem as a collection of poems tries to analyze the various facets of life in relation to the pursuit of the good life. Therefore, in the quest for a good and happy life, both Clegg and Dickman take on varying perspectives in relation to Aristotle’s concept of eudemonia, with Clegg focusing more on the aspect of honesty with self, coupled with sobriety, while Dickson’s prescription heavily lies on a positive attitude incorporated with family ties. Bill Clegg tries to look at the issue of achieving the good life from various perspectives that fit into his predicament of fighting addiction that has threatened to annihilate him. Given that Aristotle views eudaimonia as the seclusion of some life aspects in order to remain with only those that make life desirable, Clegg sets to do away with addiction as the vice is tearing him apart. However, this does not turn out to be easy as he postulates, “…and I can feel that old burn, that hibernating want, come awake…the relief that first hit will deliver…That craving, once it begins, is almost impossible to reverse…” This serves to show the difficulty that lies in the quest to achieve eudaimonia in Clegg’s perspective. His concept of the good life lies in eliminating the addiction and adopting a life free of it. This guides to the perspective that his concept on happiness and the good life relies on obtaining the state of sobriety and as such, Clegg sets out with a variety of steps aimed at attaining the sober state. His basic step towards attaining sobriety, and hence the good life, is to be at a state of candor both with self and with others around him. He accepts that indeed he has an addiction and needs friends and company to help him deal with his situation. This virtue of honesty with self and others connects him with such friends as Asa and Polly, and they share their experiences, thereby creating a sense of belonging among them. Through this, it can be deduced that his sense of happiness lies in the virtue of a free will both with others and with self in order to create a sense of belonging. This is further enhanced with Clegg’s conceptualization of the need for a community-based setting, and he takes part in gatherings customarily as he clearly understands the significance of such support groups. Moreover, given that his quest is to do away with addiction, he sticks by the advice to keep away from zones that would most likely prompt him to reverse his conviction. This apparent fervor is a further pointer towards his desire to achieve the state of eudaimonia. Furthermore, Clegg’s honesty with himself is utterly astonishing as he paints most instances with outright sincerity. This is especially evident when he depicts the scene where he is in front of the Meeting House, and numerous thoughts are crossing his mind. Through these thoughts, his level of honesty can be easily noticed, and the essence of this in line with Aristotle’s idea of eudemonia is to point out the aspect of laying bare yourself to achieve the state of a good life. Clegg posits that the pursuit of the good life is no easy task as he initially fails in the first attempts, but the conviction he has lets him hold on, thereby showing that the aspect of an inherent passion has to be present for overall success. On the other hand, Mathew Dickman also has his own perspectives and viewpoints in the concept of attaining a state of happiness as laid down by Aristotle’s ideology of eudemonia. Mathew’s perspective on the conceptualization of happiness lies heavily with the family of an individual. He asserts that there is a deep connection between a person’s family and his or her level or state of happiness. This is through his numerous references to family members, as in the poem “Slow Dance”, where he so passionately describes a dance with his brother. Lines 6 to 7go thus, “like being held in the arms…of my brother…the slow dance of siblings…” and this shows the compassionate connection between the concept of having a family and being in a state of happiness and contentment. Moreover, the transition from this poem that depicts the happiness and love between siblings to the subsequent poem, “Trouble”, further enhances the theme of family connection in happiness. This is especially due to the inclusion of his brother in the poem’s storyline, which is about suicidal deaths. The way in which the reader suddenly gets a melancholic mood attributes the fact that Mathew’s idea of happiness has a deep connection to the family. Furthermore, the humorous descriptions and dialogue connotations in reference to the U.S. states serves another purpose in highlighting Mathew’s idea of happiness. The manner in which the states are personified through highly humorous, and light-hearted references show that humor serves a significant role in Mathew’s idea of happiness. This is especially through such lines as “…need the Holy Ghost…Right Kansas? Kansas! My yellow brick road of intelligent design…they are all in prison, right Texas? Texas, I was with you on the fourth of July watching the sky undress…” These lines allude to humor, and show how Mathew connects humor to overall happiness and state of good life. Collectively, the whole of Mathew’s literay work points to having the right attitude for everyday life, with special emphasis on the way in which one views the different aspects that life throws at them. In Mathew’s perspective, everyone can have and lead a good life just through looking at life itself from a positive outlook. In addition, the concept of company is also highly shown through such allusions as to family members. Mathew conceives that through such company, the human-social attributes of the person are nurtured thereby enhancing the concept of eudaimonia and subsequently overall state of satisfaction and happiness. To add onto this, the model of love also plays an important role in achieving eudaimonia according to Mathew’s lens. This theory of love extends to the notion of family in affecting an individual’s state of contentment. Apart from the love guided towards family members as shown by such poems as “Love”, the author also alludes to unconditional love directed towards all, in the pursuit of the good life. Considering both Clegg’s and Mathew’s prescriptions and perspectives on the issue of eudainomia, some similarities arise notwithstanding the contrasts that can be discerned from the two. The general perspective of the two in regards to eudaimonia is that a person cannot attain the state of good life and happiness as an individual entity. They both posit that the contribution of external factors plays an important role in this quest. Clegg’s idealization of the concept of external factors relies on his perspective on friends and being part of a community, that one easily identifies with. Meanwhile, Mathew considers companionship more from a family point of view but still alludes to other forms of friendships through the concept of love. On the other hand, a variety of differences and contrasts also arise on the various perspectives of attaining a good life through the lenses of both Clegg and Mathew. From an evaluative point of view, one can discern that Clegg’s alludes to the achievement of eudaimonia as a tough call, which requires extreme determination and perseverance. This is in sharp contrast to Mathew, who brings out a smooth allusion that makes the achievement of eudaimonia look an easy feat that does not require so much input. This is due to the way in which the poems in All American Poems having humorous and feel-good flow, as opposed to Clegg’s more serious and stern approach. Furthermore, Mathew points more towards the function performed by the family in the quest for eudaimonia while Clegg’s perspective is more in identifying the right community of friends as the chief point to consider in attaining the state of utopia. Despite these contrasts, both have feasible guides towards achieving eudaimonia, though their points of focus are dependent upon personal experiences. The concept of eudaimonia aims at analyzing the ways through which individuals can attain the coveted state of enjoying a whole and enriching life full of happiness and wellbeing (Newby 111). The achievement of this state wholly lies in the individuals perspectives on life. In this regard, the perspectives of Bill Clegg and Mathew Dickman show how their perspectives on the issue of eudaimonia are reliant on varying factors. Mathew’s exuberating poems give an insight onto his buoyant viewpoint of life while Clegg’s struggles in a bid to lead a sober life give an upshot on his life experiences in relation to the matter of eudaimonia. On a much wider platform, the two allude to different ways of achieving this state, and though the perspectives are contrasting in some aspects, their stances all aim at achieving the good life in line with Aristotle’s eudaimonia. Works Cited. Newby, M. Eudaimonia: Happiness Is Not Enough. Leicester, LE: Troubadour Publishing Ltd, 2011. Print. Read More