Ⅴ．In Response to A Counterargument

This paper addresses a typical challenge: Alexandria was associated with physical pleasure but not ultimate happiness, so it betrayed Aristotle's ethics.

Some people, however, argue that Alexandria's lavish outlook and economy emphasize the needs of physical pleasure, not those of happiness.Indeed, Alexandria once had a prosperous economy and lavish decorations.That city was one of the most astonishing cities in the ancient world for a long time, and lives were largely materialistic.

At the first glance, since Aristotle argues that the ultimate end of a polis rests in the fulfillment of eudaimonia, and Alexandria contradicts this principle, the construction of Alexandria betrays Aristotle's philosophy of happiness.

It is true that Alexandria was an economically flourishing city, but this fact did not contradict Aristotle's doctrine. In Ethics , there are three lives: pleasure, politics, and understanding. In particular, the life of moneymaking is for the sake of something further. Although Aristotle regards the first two forms of life as superficial and not the ultimate end, he does not explicitly reject the lawfulness of pleasure derived from a flourishing economy and politics. Instead, Aristotle contends that a well-lived life requires necessities. There is no reason to argue that Aristotle demands a life in privation in order to be virtuous. Moreover, proper physical pleasures are desirable in themselves, which contribute to the ultimate end: eudaimonia. Aristotle suggests that since all animals aim at pleasure,pleasure is justified as a good thing . Similarly, according to Richard Kraut,politics for Aristotle is not the ultimate end, but it helps people to achieve their ultimate end since human beings cannot achieve eudaimonia without being embedded in the good communities with virtuous habits and “basic equipment of a well-lived life” . In essence, human beings are social animals. Thus, the presence of physical pleasure and political community in Alexandria does not directly contradict with Aristotle's philosophical doctrine.