On February fourth, 1963, The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom, aired an episode titled, “Class Reunion.” In this episode, the main character, Sherriff Andy Taylor is speaking to his high school sweetheart about life, in general, when he says, “that’s the main thing, ain’t it? That’s the goal that every individual is shootin’ for, ain’t it? It’s kinda the prize of the game—to be happy” (Andy Taylor). Although they are more than two thousand years apart, Andy Taylor and Aristotle, a great Greek philosopher, have a similar theory on happiness. Like Andy Taylor, Aristotle believes that happiness is the end goal of human existence, he also believes that one can achieve happiness by acting ethically and being rational and that genuine happiness…show more content… However Aristotle believes that this is curable by simply living a virtuous life, he states, “a clumsy archer may indeed get better with practice, so long as he keeps aiming for the target” (Aristotle). Aristotle’s theory underscores that the result of living virtuously is ultimately a life of pure happiness. According to Aristotle, one should aim to obtain as many virtues as possible. These virtues include, but are not limited to: good health, knowledge, courage, forgiveness and friendship. To illustrate the benefits of living a virtuous life, Aristotle states, “he is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life” (Aristotle). Aristotle believes that along with acting virtuously, one should also act ethically and use his or her God-given ability to reason. Aristotle’s ethics are also known as the “virtue ethics” because of the focus on character building, more than morality. Humans should use their rationality to decide what is right or wrong thing to do in an ethical dilemma. Aristotle’s ideas are now a part of the Catholic ethical reflections thanks to Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas built on Aristotle’s ideas and developed the theory of “Natural Law.” Natural Law is based off of the rational nature of human beings. The character trait of rationality needs to be constantly…show more content… A virtuous friendship is one that involves the ability to feel joy for others, even if they may be better off than most individuals. Aristotle’s theory parallels to a quote from the Bible, “this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13). This type of relationship takes a lot of work, as Aristotle notes one who obtains the virtue of friendship cannot have many other friends because of the extreme amount of time and care it requires. That being said, Aristotle also notes that no one, or a rare few, would ever choose to live without friendship, he states, “being loved, however, people enjoy for its own sake, and for this reason it would seem it is something better than being honoured and that friendship is chosen for its own sake” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1159a25-28). That being said, a virtuous friendship is the most fulfilling because it combines both happiness and virtue which are the most rewarding aspects of