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Copyright of Quaestio Iuris (QI) is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article contributes to the debate on the relation of Aristotle’s practical and theoretical philosophy. It argues that his practical philosophy depends to a considerable extent on his teleological conception of nature. This thesis is primarily directed against scholars who maintain that Aristotle does not derive political and human relations from natural or cosmic conditions. The paper defends David Sedley’s anthropocentric interpretation of Aristotle’s natural teleology and shows how Aristotle applies teleological explanations to power relations among human beings – among men and women and among freemen and natural slaves – and their purposes and goals. The article focuses on Aristotle’s human ‘function’ (ergon) argument, which is a teleological argument at the center of his practical philosophy. It argues that this argument, which Aristotle presents to define ‘human flourishing’ or ‘happiness’ (eudaimonia), depends on his definition of man as the only ‘living being that has language and reason’ (zôon logon echon). It further claims that the dispute about whether Aristotle identifies eudaimonia only with a life of contemplation or whether eudaimonia includes a political life can be clarified by referring to the natural purpose of logos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eudaimonia is described by Aristotle as a well-living (eu zen) constituted by the virtuous activities of our potentialities as animals that have reason and that follow reason. We are, therefore, animals and rational, and a life of this kind needs to take into account these two aspects of our nature. When defending an Aristotelian conception of the good life that takes into account both rationality as a characteristic trait of human beings and also their undeniable animal nature, we need to think about the relationship between this good life and tykhe. Is it possible to satisfactorily accommodate fortune in a life that is said to be self--sufficient and educated by reason, but is influenced by the world and nature? In this text, I intend to expose how Aristotle sought to solve this apparent problem by trying to make living compatible with world events that do not depend on us for their realization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present Henrique Cláudio de Lima Vaz's original exegesis, concerning Saint Thomas' position that articulates the concept of beatitude and the destination of the spirit, according to the specific nature of his "scientific personality". Lima Vaz describes it as a mix of interest in all the main currents of ideas prevailing in the thirteenth century, not only Aristotle's ambiguous relationship between Platonism and empiricism, but also Neoplatonism, Arabian influences, and the biblical tradition that provided St Thomas with a new leaven, allowing him to extend the Aristotelian phenomenology of beatitude in a completely natural movement, converging towards the top and narrowing as it progresses, in order to reach an apex in which the Universe becomes an intelligible synthesis in the human spirit that, in turn, finds its Principle, its own intimate and transcendent Good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Aufklärung: Revista de Filosofia is the property of Aufklarung: Revista de Filosofia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Kant’s position on the link between law and the natural impulse toward happiness is examined. If the State is established to satisfy particular ends, the result is a justification of despotism and popular rebellion. Two hypotheses are given: a) the principle of happiness should be replaced by the idea of a general legislative will as the only normative-evaluative criterion for the legitimacy of political obligation; and b) this juridic principle a priori requires the sovereign and the people to adopt the perspective of general will to judge the prevailing political power.

The present study intended to explore the conceptualizations of happiness of Portuguese adolescents, the most significant aspects of their lives, which factors can give meaning to their lives; and to understand the levels of Happiness and Meaning in several life domains and its impact on happiness and meaning in life in general. We used the Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Instrument (EHHI: Delle Fave, Brdar, Freire, Vella- Brodrick, & Wissing, 2011), which tries to access, qualitatively and quantitatively, the hedonic and eudaimonic components of Happiness. The sample comprised 216 adolescents, with mean age of 16.6 (DP=1.2), being 68,5% female and 31,5% male. The qualitative results showed that the definition of happiness amongst adolescents, the meaning as well as the underlying motifs to the attribution of meaning, includes both psychological dimensions and aspects related with life domains, integrating hedonic and eudaimonic components. The quantitative results allowed understanding that happiness and meaning contribute in a different but complementary way to well-being. These results are discussed using current hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives on the study of wellbeing, contributing for a holistic understanding of the various components that contribute and are involved in the Happiness of adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]